NYAPRS Note: This posting comes to us from Ann Kasper, who writes “The following is from Sarah Porter, a social work student at the University of Washington who is seeking peers from AZ, WI and Washington State for a study in which the peers get paid. Please see the flyer and information below. Thank you for passing it on and/or applying if you are in those states! To participate in the first round, please email Sarah at sporter7@uw.edu indicating you would like to participate.
We hope this email finds you and your community well. We are a collective of PhD students from the University of Washington focusing on mental health liberation research; specifically, what types of social policies influence (positive or negative) the mental health of communities most impacted by structural oppression. Our research group recognizes that academia is woefully behind in understanding what community-led organizations have known and enacted for decades, and we are hoping to build connections with experts like you to address that gap in an intentional way.
The purpose of our study is to explore the complex ways policies create conditions that can lead to mental health crises and/or suicidality, with a specific focus on the role of diverse peer-based leaders in community support networks. By understanding experiences, challenges, and successes that you and your organization have gone through, we seek to collectively develop effective policy strategies that can create a world worth living in for all.
We are using the Delphi method, a research approach that involves multiple rounds of surveys to build consensus/agreement among experts. In this study, we will ask you to participate in four short rounds of surveys. Each round of survey builds on your insights and opinions on what kinds of social policies in your state may directly influence mental health disparities faced by historically and presently minoritized communities, including people with disabilities, Mad, neurodivergent, BIPoC, and/or LGBTQIA+. Each round should take around 10 minutes.
Your participation in all four rounds of surveys is important for us to build each round of survey, and to reach consensus around the most impactful policies. We value your expertise and would appreciate any feedback you may have around what kinds of resources this information could provide to you and others in peer-led services. We realize your time is valuable and would like to offer compensation of $75 total for your participation in all four rounds of the survey. The compensation will be provided as 4 payments in the form of gift cards ($20, $20, $20, $15), which will be emailed to you after each round.
The first round of the survey will consist of open-ended questions and will cover domains such as unmet needs of people who seek peer services, and any types of social policies that you may know of that influence that. Your responses will be kept confidential.
The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete, and we value any amount of detail you can provide. To participate in the first round, please email Sarah at sporter7@uw.edu indicating you would like to participate.
If you have any questions or concerns about the study or the Delphi process, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at uwdelphiproject@gmail.com. Our faculty adviser, Megan Moore (mm99@uw.edu), is also available to address any inquiries you may have.
Thank you for considering our invitation to participate. We deeply appreciate your time and expertise in this research.
In solidarity,
Anne Massey, PhD student, Department of Epidemiology
Kelsey Conrick, PhD student, School of Social Work
Taylor Riley, PhD candidate, Department of Epidemiology
Sarah F Porter, PhD student, School of Social Work
Zeruiah Buchanan, PhD student, Department of Epidemiology