DATA AND RESEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS
Summit participants recommended convening diverse stakeholders to develop culturally-appropriate guidelines to enhance data collection, research, evaluation and grant processes. Stakeholders – including universities, community colleges, state agencies, providers and communities of color – would develop the guidelines that include community input and participation from the beginning through dissemination. This is key as research findings show that:
- Historical neglect of cultural issues by researchers has resulted in “minimal” scientific knowledge focusing on mental health differences by culture, acculturation/generational status, race or ethnicity177 demonstrating the need for improved research. In Colorado, similar issues have resulted in some information being available,178 but gaps still exist due to attempts to gather statistically significant samples by categorizing notably different cultural groups together and the inability to capture data related to acculturation levels, culturally-traditional or specific services.
- To incorporate cultural and linguistic issues fully, research of quality mental health must include active collaboration and participation of communities of color at every stage of research – in the development, analysis, review, recommendations, dissemination and including developing a feedback mechanism for researchers to gain information and communities to be able to use the information to improve services.179,180,181,182
- For example, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Colorado Division of Mental Health Services created a partnership between formal and culturally-traditional mental health providers and subcontracted with the Black Psychologists Association to conduct a needs assessment.183
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