Date of this Version

11-26-2022

Document Type

DNP Project

Abstract

It is globally estimated that one in seven youths between the ages of 10-19 years old experience a mental health disorder, yet many of those are largely unrecognized and untreated. Psychiatric risk factors are associated with the development of mental illnesses. However, not all healthcare providers understand the causative factors of psychiatric illnesses in youths. The inadequacy in knowledge makes it hard for them to guide youths on the best measures to adopt to realize a community that is free from mental illnesses. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to increase knowledge awareness of mental health risk factors in youths among healthcare providers in an outpatient psychiatric clinic in Miami, Florida. A descriptive, cross-sectional, pre- and posttest study design was used to conduct this quality improvement project. A convenience sampling method was employed to recruit ten participants and access data at an outpatient psychiatric clinic in Miami, Florida. The project, including the research-based educational intervention, was conducted remotely, and participants completed pre- and post- test surveys using Qualtrics and the modified Mental Health Literacy Tool for Educators (MHL-ED) to assess their knowledge of mental health risk factors in youth. Results revealed a significant difference between pre- and posttest results, with an overall increase in knowledge awareness among healthcare providers after an educational intervention, t(9) = 3.62, p = 0.006, (p < 0.05). Healthcare providers should be further educated and provided resources to increase knowledge awareness of mental health risk factors in youths to provide the best care consistent with the identified risks.

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