Local factors affecting mental health

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Sample Paper
Using at least 10 sources of academic and professional references, write a paper describing the need for Community-level Mental Health interventions in your home county of your current state. Make sure to discuss what is lacking in the community (what they need) regarding community-level mental health interventions, and clearly discuss the types of interventions you would implement and how you would implement them for the benefit of the community health. If you have trouble finding information on your home area, then research somewhere you would like to work in the future. When discussing interventions, make sure the discussion includes primary, secondary, AND tertiarymethods of mental illness prevention.
The following are some characteristics that you may want to include as you describe the population the community is comprised of:

  1. Geography
  2. Population size
  3. Age distribution
  4. Gender distribution
  5. Ethnicity distribution
  6. Religion
  7. Languages predominantly spoken
  8. Population trends
  9. Literacy levels
  10. Mental health status of the population
    • Measures of health
  11. Local factors affecting mental health (positive and negative)

When providing a picture of the current state of the community, here are some of the local factors that may affect mental health, that you may want to include in your assessment:

  1. Work and employment
    • Occupational diseases
    • Income levels
    • Self-worth
  2. Poverty and income
  3. Environment
    • Pollution
    • Sanitation
    • Housing
    • Transportation
  4. Social cohesion
    • Networks
    • Migration
    • Marginal groups
    • Pleasure and leisure
  5. Destabilizing factors
  6. Resources: formal and informal
    • Informal
    • Formal

When discussing what is lacking in the community, regarding mental health care and promotion, here are some things to keep in mind:

  1. Who are the most disadvantaged in the community?
  2. Why are they disadvantaged?
  3. Who has unmet mental health care needs in the community?
  4. Who does not have access to mental health care in the community?
  5. What can be done about it?

Goals of the paper:

  1. To identify local mental health issues and needs – especially those not given enough importance or attention
  2. To find out about mental health services you may not currently be aware of
  3. To properly identify and address the mental health needs of hidden or marginalized groups in the community
  4. To identify gaps in local mental health care provision
  5. To discuss how to use scarce resources most effectively and equitably

The paper must be 7 to 10 pages long (not including title and reference pages, which would bring the total to 9 to 12 pages), double-spaced, and in APA-style format. Make sure to use APA-style headings and sub-headings to organize and differentiate the separate sections of the paper (points will be deducted from your final grade if you do not use headings, because this is part of proper APA format). Lastly, proofread the paper and make sure writing is clear and concise – using proper sentence and paragraph format. TIP: While proofreading, read the paper out loud, using short pauses for commas and longer pauses for periods. This will help with easier detection of any awkward or run-on sentences.
Attached here, you will find the grading criteria I will use to grade this assignment. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this assignment or the grading criteria.
Use the following criteria as a guide when writing your paper. You can use them as a checklist and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Grading Criteria­
Choose your home county of your current state or your home stateDescribe the need for community-level mental health interventions in your countyDiscuss what is lacking in the community regarding mental health knowledge, mental health promotion, and access to mental health care
Discuss the types of interventions you would implementDiscuss how you would implement them for the benefit of the community health
Use at least 10 sources of professional references to write the paper
Write in a very clear manner that can be understood by a laypersonWrite in a concise manner that is not overly verbose or rambling – get to the point & support your statements/arguments with evidence (sources)Make sure to use proper grammar & don’t forget to proofread
The body of paper must be 10-12 pages long (when Title & Reference pages are added then paper will be 7 pages long)The paper should be written in APA format (no Abstract needed)Use headings to separate the main sections of the paper, in order to provide clarity and direction as to where the discussion is heading