Mitigating Mental and Social Health Outcomes of COVID-19: A Counseling Approach

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The goal of this clinical trial is to develop a comprehensive mental health counseling programpurposed to address the social determinant of health impacts of the coronavirus disease of2019 (COVID-19). The main questions the investigators aim to answer are: 1) What are themental and social determinant of health impacts of a COVID-19 diagnosis, and 2) What are theimpacts of a counseling program implemented to address those impacts? Participants willparticipate in individual interviews, attend individual and group counseling, and be providedresources related to their social determinants of health needs.

Detailed Description
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The social determinants of health (SDOH) are an important social justice issue affectingvarious quality of life outcomes (e.g., physical and mental health). COVID-19 hasdisproportionately affected the SDOH of underserved and minority communities, includingthose in Southern New Mexico (NM). However, there is a lack of research on specifi cally howCOVID-19 has affected individuals' SDOH, inhibiting prevention and response from mentalhealth professionals and their interprofessional collaborators. Counselor educationresearchers have also not yet conducted outcome-based studies in this area. This researchwill support the development of a comprehensive, SDOH-focused mental health counselingprogram aimed to assess for and address the SDOH impacts of COVID-19 for individuals inSouthern NM. This research will include in-depth assessment of participants' SDOH needspertinent to COVID-19. Counseling may cover topics directly related, but also adjacent, to theparticipant's COVID-19 diagnosis and its impact. Participants will be provided resources andreferrals specifi c to those needs, and engage in individual and group mental health counselingservices aimed to mitigate the adverse mental and social health outcomes of COVID-19. Thus,this research should provide understanding of (1) the SDOH impacts of COVID-19, (2)feasibility of a mental health counseling program purposed to address such needs, and (3) themental health and SDOH-related impacts of such a counseling program.

Official Title
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Mitigating Mental and Social Health Outcomes of COVID-19: A Counseling Approach

Conditions
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Social Determinants of Health, Mental Health Issue, COVID-19

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Individual counseling
* Behavioral: Group counseling
* Other: Resources


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: at least 18 years of age received a COVID-19 diagnosis within the last year reports experiencing economic, social, educational, healthcare, and/or environmentally related challenges due to their COVID-19 diagnosis is not currently receiving mental health counseling services resides in one of the following counties in Southern New Mexico (NM): Hidalgo, Grant, Catron, Luna, Doña Ana, Sierra, or Socorro County has access to the internet (not necessary for counseling services, but to complete interviews/assessments) has not experienced active suicidal or homicidal ideation or active psychosis in the lastsix months Exclusion Criteria: is not at least 18 years of age has not received a COVID-19 diagnosis within the last year does not report experiencing economic, social, educational, healthcare, and/or environmentally related challenges due to their COVID-19 diagnosis is currently receiving mental health counseling services does not reside in one of the following counties in Southern NM: Hidalgo, Grant,Catron, Luna, Doña Ana, Sierra, or Socorro County does not have access to the internet has experienced active suicidal or homicidal ideation or active psychosis in the last six months

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Clients<br>All participants will be asked to complete the following: participate in 12 individual mental health counseling sessions participate in 3 group counseling sessions receive information on community resources related to their social andmental health needs/challenges | Behavioral: Individual counseling<br>* Individual counseling sessions with a licensed mental health counselor<br>Behavioral: Group counseling<br>* Group counseling sessions with a licensed mental health counselor<br>Other: Resources<br>* Resource information provided by a licensed mental healthcounselor<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Social and Mental Health Outcomes of COVID-19 | Semi-structured, audio recorded interview to gather information on the SDOH andmental health impacts of COVID-19 | Up to three weeks | 
| Social determinants of health challenges | Self-report measure of SDOH needs through the WellRx (Page-Reeves et al., 2016) | Up to three weeks | 
| Changes in mental health | Self-report quantitative measures of depression, anxiety, and wellness | At end of study/approx. 12 weeks | 
| Program Feasibility/Impact | Qualitative data collected via semi-structured exit interviews of participants and their counselors | At end of study/approx. 12 weeks | 
| Recruitment and retention data | To understand the feasibility of this study, I will note how many individuals wererecruited for the study (Months 1 and 2), the number of individuals who consent toparticipate (Months 1 and 2), and then in subsequent months, I will note the number ofparticipants who remain in the study. Each month, I will also make note of how many self-report measures each participant completes on a monthly basis. | Throughout study, monthly |