January 27, 2014

As part of a new Design Challenge, a collaboration of organizations is asking the community to submit ideas on a pressing issue: mental health care in the United States.

This year’s challenge is based on the premise that, as healthcare continues to develop, grow, and change, integration between physical health with mental health is critically important across the continuum of healthcare from prevention to recovery and everywhere in-between. Integration of care will create better health outcomes for those who need it the most. An American Heart Association (AHA) report stated that in order to improve the quality of mental health care in the United States, needed changes include: Improving public awareness of effective treatment, making it easier to find the care needed and obtain access to it, and reducing the financial barriers to treatment.

The Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation and Family Practice and Counseling Network have orchestrated this year’s Design Challenge, in partnership with two MPH students, Greg Caplan and Teresa Moore, at the Drexel University School of Public Health who are leading the project as their Community-Based Master’s Project.

The challenge aims to address integrating mental health care into retail clinics. Retail clinics are small health clinics located within a larger store (CVS's Minute Clinic, Walgreens's Take Care Clinic, and various local healthcare systems’ clinics) where patients can receive basic primary health care. Such clinics have existed since 2000 and are best known for their convenience, low cost, and high quality care. Today, the typical retail clinic focuses on basic physical health and does not include mental health interventions (e.g. screening, referral, or crisis management).

The Design Challenge, operated by the Scattergood Foundation, is in its third year and has had successful campaigns in helping to develop a robust Mental Health First Aid training program with the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health as well as a stigma reduction campaign won by the Penn State University chapter of Active Minds.  Drexel University School of Public Health students have also helped organize previous Design Challenges.

This year’s Design Challenge has two unique aspects which include the Scattergood’s inaugural launch into crowdfunding on the Web site Indiegogo, as well as the potential for the winning intervention to be implemented at the Family Practice and Counseling Network’s recently opened retail clinic in North Philadelphia, QCare.

Participate or Donate

To participate in this year’s Design Challenge and help integrate mental health into retail clinics, or to learn more about this Design Challenge please visit the Scattergood Web site: www.scattergoodfoundation.org/design-challenge.

To donate and follow the Scattergood’s goal of raising $10,000 please visit their crowdfunding Web site: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/making-mental-health-care-accessible.