Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The overall project goal is to educate and build capacity for strengthening mental health among rural counties in Indiana, including suicide and substance use (such as opioids) prevention. To accomplish this goal, Purdue Extension will deliver research-based programming including its Compassion & Resilience Education at Work (CREW) Curriculum and the Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR) program.These programs will be offered to audiences in rural Indiana counties with a RUCC of 4 or higher. Indiana has 92 counites and 48 counties meet criteria to be classified as rural. Collectively, delivering these programs will increase capacity among rural residents and those who serve rural counties to address mental health and substance use. The anticipated number of individuals served by the project activities during the funding period is approximately 670 individuals.These efforts are relevant to the goals of this grant program in that they increase access to health promotion education and activities, share information about the value of good health and personal responsibility for health, and build capacity for health leadership in rural counties.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The overall project goal is to educate and build capacity for strengthening mental health amongThe overall project goal is to educate and build capacity for strengthening mental health among rural counties in Indiana, including suicide and substance use (such as opioids) prevention. To accomplish this goal, Purdue Extension will deliver research-based programming including its Compassion & Resilience Education at Work (CREW) Curriculum and the Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR) program.Project Goal: To educate and build capacity for strengthening mental health among rural counties in Indiana, including suicide and substance use (such as opioids) prevention.Objective #1: By the end of Year 3, Purdue Extension will scale up to deliver 30 sessions or 11 series of the CREW Curriculum to workplaces in rural Indiana counties.Objective #2: By the end of Year 3, Purdue Extension will build capacity in rural communities by offering QPR training to approximately 370 individuals in rural communities and those who serve rural communities.
Project Methods
The first program that will be utilized in this proposed project effort is the Compassion & Resilience Education at Work (CREW) Curriculum. CREW is a health education curriculum to address workplaces' need for programming that supports employee mental health. The broad objectives of the CREW Curriculum are to provide knowledge and skills about mental health and substance use to employees; foster recovery friendly work environments; and encourage destigmatized work cultures. The CREW Curriculum is designed for flexibility to meet different workplace needs and environments. It can be offered as a standalone session of one hour or less, or as a series of three sessions. This curriculum can also be adapted for in person or virtual delivery formats, for different industry priorities, and for rural or urban communities.The CREW Curriculum was developed by Purdue Extension Health & Human Sciences during 2020 - 2023 and will launch for use statewide in June 2023. As part of the curriculum development process, Purdue Extension collaborated with content experts from across academic and clinical domains, as well as with Extension professionals from other states who have a strong understanding for Extension programming needs. The curriculum development process also included two pilots to test the content delivery and responses. Outcomes from the pilots demonstrated overall positive responses from employee participants and employers, as well as interest for future engagement with the curriculum once it is available. Anticipated impact from the CREW Curriculum is for participants to have demonstrable knowledge about mental health and substance use terms; confidence in stress management, work-life balance, and stigma reduction skills; and reduced internal stigma toward people with mental health and substance use concerns. Purdue Extension will deliver the CREW Curriculum in partnership with employers in rural counties who are motivated to address their employees' health and well-being. Delivery of the CREW Curriculum will be scaled up to more workplaces over the course of the proposed project, with 6 sessions being delivered in Year 1, 9 sessions in Year 2, and 15 sessions in Year 3.The second program that will be utilized in this project effort is the Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) program. QPR is an emergency mental health intervention training to address and prevent suicide. QPR was created by Dr. Paul Quinnett and its concepts date back to 1995. The broad objectives for QPR are to equip participants with skills for identifying and responding to someone exhibiting suicide warning signs and behaviors. QPR is founded in Signal Detection Theory (SDT), with the premise that individuals who are equipped to detect warning signs and have the skills to intervene can transition from being inactive or passive to becoming a "Gatekeeper" who takes action to prevent suicide.19 QPR trainings consist of education and skills-building about how to engage with someone who may be experiencing suicidal ideations, and about how to appropriately connect that person with professional help. The QPR program also has flexible adaptations for asynchronous, virtual delivery format, in-person delivery with a certified trainer, or different modules based on professional or layperson role. The virtual, 60-minute online version of QPR has trained over 5 million people worldwide.20Outcomes and impact from QPR training are maintained by the QPR Institute, which was established in 1999 to manage the program. The outcomes determined for QPR from studies conducted for the National Registry of Evidence-based Practice and Policies include the following measures: increased declarative knowledge, perceived knowledge, self-efficacy, diffusion of Gatekeeper training information, and Gatekeeper skills - which consist of engaging in active listening, asking clarifying questions, and making an appropriate referral.21 Regarding impact, research has shown QPR training to an effective tool to increase individuals' intentions to intervene.22 Purdue Extension will utilize both in-person and virtual QPR trainings to enhance the capacity of rural residents and other professionals who serve rural communities. As QPR trainings must be delivered by instructors certified by the QPR Institute,23 Purdue Extension will partner with a QPR Institute affiliate to secure certified instructors for training delivery.