HJAR Jan/Feb 2022

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  JAN / FEB 2022 11 that encouraged people to join with their church community to discuss symptoms of depression, learn how to recognize those mood changes and routines lacking pleasure and apply skills to copewhen they are feeling down. The goal was to improve mental health outcomes in the community. Bringing that intervention to local church- es made it highly accessible and available to participants in a setting where they felt comfortable having those discussions. The REJOICE project provided education and social support for eight weeks, at which point Haynes revisited those communities to assess their overall well-being. This latest project, Barbershop Talk, kicks off in January, but there is consider- able legwork to do first. Haynes and her team will start by talking to those familiar with substance abuse treatment and work- ing with community partners to find out what words to use, what behaviors to ask about and gather those perspectives. Next, the teamwill connect with the barbershops in those communities to get their buy-in. “Then we need to advertise this in such a way that it seems relevant and interesting to the community,” said Haynes. “We don’t want to say anything that will discourage participation.” That might be the tricky part. Asking people how much and how often they drink could feel invasive or accusatory if not handled correctly. “Trust is the most important thing we need to talk about, because we are ask- ing people to share information that they wouldn’t share with someone they don’t know,” said Haynes. “Part of that approach is going to be working with our trained community health workers, who have knowledge of and are known in the com- munity. They can help us with recruitment. We’ll also be working closely with the bar- bers because they know their customers and their community. They will be helping us think through the best way to do this.” One approach Haynes is considering is finding ways to discuss the topic of drink- ing as being about overall health, so it won’t be perceived as a judgment or criti- cism of a person’s behavior. “We are not going to go into the barber shops and say, ‘Hey, stop drinking!’ But we can help them be mindful that if they are drinking more than a certain amount, it could have an impact on their health and well-being. It’s possible that they just don’t know that. Maybe they have not experi- enced any adverse effects from drinking and don’t know how it is affecting their physical health.” Haynes’ team will provide some educa- tion on the effects of alcohol consumption on overall health, direct participants to lo- cal resources, and, when necessary, make referrals for those who have a more seri- ous issue. “We know there may be some individu- als who come to us who have drinking habits that would benefit from profession- al intervention. We’ll partner with clinics around the state so we can provide those individuals with information to connect with those services.” Haynes’ team will also work with the community health workers to make sure participants can navigate the system and connect with the resources provided. The health workers can also advise the team on any additional barriers like transporta- tion issues, availability, affordability and stigma. “When we are talking about mental health and substance abuse, I think one barrier we have to talk about is stigma — the shame that goes along with admitting you need help,” said Haynes. “Of course, we’ve seen in the national discourse and the media more conversation about men- –Tiffany Haynes, PhD “Trust is themost important thingweneed to talkabout, because we are asking people to share information that they wouldn’t share with someone they don’t know. Part of that approach is going to be working with our trained community health workers, who have knowledge of and are known in the community.”