Healthy Communities, Healthy Futures Washington Mini- Grant

May 18, 2017

Dr. Kelly Collins

Program Manager

Mock Foundation

Healthy Communities, Healthy Futures Washington Mini- Grant

Carver Gym 102 (TBD)

Bellingham, Washington 98225-9067

Dear Dr. Collins:

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common, debilitating, and underrepresented mental illness within the U.S., and more specifically, King County, WA. The King County Perinatal Depression (KCPD) Task Force strives to bring awareness and provide support for women living with PPD in the greater Seattle area, while destigmatizing PPD as a mental illness. Unusually high rates of PPD call for programs to mitigate its effects, and prevent the condition altogether. Mothers within King County experience PPD at a prevalence rate of 27%; over twice the national rate of 12.5%. Countless reviews of interventions and research studies suggest the effectiveness of social support campaigns for mental illness. This points to our community’s urgent need for accessible resources for social support as well as institutional resources to support the unique needs of single mothers or mothers of low socioeconomic status.

King County Perinatal Depression Task Force seeks to use proven methods for reducing the effects of maternal mental illness. Currently, the KCPD Task Force aims to reduce the far reaching impacts of PPD among vulnerable populations in the greater Seattle area. Mama’s Little Helpers, a combined advertising and social support campaign, stands as King County’s strongest potential to reduce the effects of PPD. The MOCK foundation can help fund Mama’s Little Helpers. Based on previous evidence-based interventions, Mama’s Little Helpers focuses on empowerment of symptomatic or at-risk mothers to decrease rates of PPD in King County. We would like to submit a request for $25,000 for the Healthy Communities, Healthy Futures Washington Mini-Grant.

As a foundation rooted in the betterment of societies through health and wellness, the MOCK Foundation aligns with the goals of the KCPD Task Force. With the funding provided by your foundation, the KCPD Task Force can achieve its goals in reducing the rate of PPD, as well as create a community of awareness for maternal mental health altogether. This funding would go to support mothers directly by providing transportation, meals, and social support for King County’s most vulnerable mothers. Hand in hand with the work the KCPD Task Force strives to do, the MOCK Foundation has the potential to make positive and sustainable change for the mental health of our community’s mothers.

Please reach out with any questions. We can be contacted by email at or by phone at (360) 220-8661. We appreciate your time and look forward to future collaboration.

Sincerely,

Program Coordinators, King County Perinatal Depression Task Force

MOCK Foundation

2017 Healthy Communities, Health Futures Washington Mini-Grant

Application Form

I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Cover Letter

May 18, 2017
Kelly Collins, PhD
Program Manager
MOCK Foundation
Healthy Communities, Healthy Futures Washington Mini- Grant
Carver Gym 102 (TBD)
Bellingham, Washington 98225-9067
To whom it may concern:
The King County Perinatal Depression (KCPD) Task Force respectfully requests a grant of $25,000 for Mama’s Little Helpers, a combined advertising and social support campaign, standing as King County’s strongest potential to reduce the effects of Postpartum Depression (PPD).

King County, Washington has abnormally high rates of PPD, in fact, twice the national average. The KCPD Task Force aims to lower these numbers through prevention and treatment via awareness and social support for women who are susceptible to this maternal mental illness. Unusually high rates of PPD call for programs to mitigate its effects, and prevent the condition altogether. This points to our community’s imperative need for accessible resources such as social support and institutional assets to support the individual needs of single mothers and/or mothers of low socioeconomic status.
As a foundation rooted in the betterment of societies through health and wellness, the MOCK Foundation aligns with the goals of the KCPD Task Force. The KCPD task force works toward health equity within mental health treatment. By joining multiple community coalitions, the KCPD Task Force can improve the health of all new mothers in addition to community education. The program empowers mothers to take charge of their own health by using the proper tools and resources to prevent and manage symptoms of PPD.

The KCPD Task Force is requesting the total grant amount of $25,000 from the Healthy Communities, Healthy Futures Washington Mini-Grant to fund our program that is designed to effectively and sustainably prevent and treat PPD among King County mothers. This funding would go to support mothers directly by providing transportation, meals, and social support for King County’s most vulnerable population.
Thank you for considering our request. One of our staff members will be in contact with you in the following week to answer any questions you may have, as well as to discuss the merits of our proposal. Meanwhile, should you have comments, questions, or concerns, please contact Kaylen Hebert as she will be your main point of contact at (360) 220-8661, or .
Warmest regards,
Kaylen Hebert, Patient Services Coordinator

Savannah Woodward, Director of Financial Equity

Haley Thomas, Director of Research and Evaluation

Dana Hasert, Public Relations Director

Shelby Marber, Human Resources Director

ENCLOSURE

Table of Contents

Section 1: Executive Summary...... 4

Section 2. Needs Statement ...... 5

Section 3. Program Goals and Objectives...... 6

Section 3.1 Logic Model ...... 9

Section 4. Methods and Timeline ...... 11

Section 5. Proposal Evaluation Plan ......

Section 6. Program Sustainability Plan ......

Section 7. Proposal Budget and Justification ......

Section 8: Organizational Background and Team ......

Executive Summary

The KCPD task force was established to serve the women and families affected by perinatal mental health disorders through evidence-based programming and holistic care. The purpose of the KCPD Task Force’s newest program, ‘Mama’s Little Helpers: A Community Support Campaign for Mothers with Postpartum Depression’ is to bring awareness to and destigmatize postpartum depression (PPD) in King County. PPD is a debilitating illness that can have substantial long term impacts on a mother’s health, including thoughts or actions of suicide (CDC, 2017). At present, King County experiences PPD at twice the national rate with one in eight women suffering, many of whom will not receive treatment.

Mama’s Little Helpers is an evidence-based program that calls the attention of King County as a whole through an advertising campaign and website resource to spread awareness of the truth about PPD. Additionally, Mama’s Little Helpers acts as a push against the symptoms of PPD with a support group aimed at mothers in unique situations that prevent them from seeking help from traditional support groups. Through the partnership with local mental health professionals and donors, mothers with lower socioeconomic status receive a meal, free child-care, and expert support. Over the course of a year, the KCPD Task Force will conduct internal evaluations to gauge participant satisfaction and acquired skills.

The KCPD Task Force requests $25,000 from the MOCK foundation. The campaign this grant can fund will lower the rates of PPD within King County through the spread of knowledge and support to garner healthy behaviors and awareness among its participants. As an esteemed research group seasoned in the complexities of mental and public health best practices, the KCPD Task Force stands as the foremost authority on maternal mental health within King County. Thank you for considering the KCPD Task Force for this grant. We assure you this partnership would bring King County’s PPD problem into the light.

Needs Statement

In 2004, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) recognized Postpartum Depression (PPD) as a priority illness by including it as a Healthy People 2020 sub-objective under the Maternal, Infant, and Child Health goals (Healthy People 2020, 2017). Still, one in eight mothers are affected by PPD in the US (CDC, 2017). This debilitating illness can have substantial long term impacts on the mother and a child’s development (CDC, 2017). When symptoms go untreated, this illness can escalate in severity and duration (Chadha-Hooks, Hui Park, Hilty, & Seritan, 2010). Depressed mood, increased or decreased appetite, noticeable weight gain or loss, insomnia or hypersomnia, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, or thoughts of suicide are indicative of PPD (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). This condition is differentiated from baby blues, a temporary condition that is common with the hormone fluctuations post-birth.

Though all women of childbearing ages are susceptible to PPD, mothers who experience unintended pregnancy, live in a lower socioeconomic status, have had previous experience with mental illness, or who have little social support are at a higher risk for PPD (Muzik et al., 2015). At the King County Perinatal Depression Task Force (KCPD Task Force), our mission is to alleviate these effects on mothers in our community and encourage help seeking behaviors.

King County sees twice the national average rate of PPD within mothers ages 19-40 (“Health of mothers and infants”, 2015). Presently, there are six drop-in PPD support groups located in King County (Washington Resource Guide, n.d.). While these programs offer reliable services, a gap exists in providing a valid support system representative of mothers from vulnerable populations. Due to barriers such as lack of childcare or transportation and mistrust of health-care professionals, these populations are often less likely to seek help for mental illness (Stenius and Veysey, 2005). Additionally, all current King County support groups in place have a minimum ten dollar drop in fee, which prevents accessibility. To effectively prevent PPD, the socioeconomic and racial determinants that influence this population’s vulnerability must be counteracted through recognition and personalized care. The KCPD Task Force’s program, Mama’s Little Helpers, intends to bridge accessibility gaps as it teams up with community leaders to provide support that is designed specifically for underserved populations. Mama’s Little Helpers is available free of charge and provides mothers with free on-site child care, a meal, and transportation for those in need.

It is the goal of this organization to be heavily involved within the community. With an integrated approach, this program relies on community partners in order to foster an environment conducive to healing. Meals will be provided by local restaurants who act as sponsors for this campaign. The KCPD Task Force will also partner with local Mental Health Practitioners (MPHs) to facilitate the first year of the support group. Here the MPHs will “train” mothers who suffer from PPD to be allies to other mothers and to advocate for change, even providing opportunities to facilitate future support groups.

Beyond the support group, the KCPD Task Force intends to take matters to higher levels. Advertisement initiatives will be implemented in King County, seeking to raise awareness of and lower stigma surrounding mental illness in mothers. With expansive societal barriers to obtaining maternity leave or child care, the KCPD Task Force intends to lobby for social welfare program legislation (such as maternity leave or subsidized child care). This would create not only sustainability to any reduction in PPD for mothers in and around King County, but also reinforce the work we do every day as allies for mothers suffering from mental illness.

Goals, Objectives, Methods & Evaluation

Goal one. Create a cultural shift in perception of PPD within King County using informative advertising initiatives.

Overall Activities: The managers of the KCPD Task Force will recruit speakers and audio editors for a radio ad. The managers will run a focus group of a representative population for King County residents to inform content of the ad. The ad will, at the very least, have facts about prevalence of PPD in King County and where to receive resources from the KCPD Task Force such as the website and the support group. Teaming up with local radio stations as well as local Pandora and Spotify advertising initiatives, the managers will pay Pandora and Spotify $1,500 each ($3,000 total) to run the add 250 times over the course of two months. This ad will be targeted for the population of Pandora and Spotify listeners within King County.

Objective 1.1 Process. Recruit two spokespersons, adequate crewmembers to write, voice, and edit content before airing the radio advertisement.

Activity 1.1: Program Director and Manager partner to recruit advertising producer, editor, and speaker.

Objective 1.2 Process. Prior to airing the advertisement, develop convenient, easy-to-use website where community members and mothers can access educational information, learn about available local resources, and sign up for the program’s support group.

Activity 1.2: Program Director and Manager will partner with a web design specialist to design the website with accurate information and resources.

Objective 1.3 Process. Air advertisement 14 times per week for 12 months on radio and Pandora stations. Advertisement has one month of air time prior to starting the program’s support group.

Activity 1.3: Program Manager will contact radio stations and Pandora radio to pay, and provide promotional material to air.

Objective 1.4 Impact. Of the community members in King County who are exposed to the radio ad, 20% become more aware of effects, symptoms, treatment, and prevalence of PPD within first year of advertisement airing.

Activity 1.4: Researchers from the KCPD task force will disseminate questionnaires to King County Community Members before and after the radio ad, as pre/post testing for public understanding of PPD.

Objective 1.5 Impact. Of the new mothers (i.e. has a child ages 0-1) in King County who are exposed to the radio ad, 20% become aware of effects, symptoms, treatment, and prevalence of PPD within the first year of the advertisement airing.

Activity 1.5: Program Evaluator of KCPD task force will disseminate questionnaires to King County new mothers/pregnant women before and after the radio ad, as pre/post testing for understanding of PPD among mothers.

Objective 1.6 Outcome. Of the community members that visit the website, 60% are able to list five or more symptoms/risk factors of PPD.

Activity 1.6: An online survey will be offered to all visitors of the website after 10 minutes of activity on the site. A pop-up survey will come on the screen after 10 minutes to prompt visitors to take a quick survey to help the KCPD Task Force continue to serve King County in the best way possible. Also, members of the website who can sign up for the mailing list will receive the same survey. The survey will also be provided under the resources tab on the website and framed as a “test your knowledge” activity.

Objective 1.7 Outcome. Mothers who may have PPD or show symptoms feel

empowered and able to attend a support group. At least 40% of mothers who attend support group have seen the advertisement.

Activity 1.7: When registering for the support group, mothers are asked how they found out about the support group, and their reasons for attending. Additionally, each mother will attend an orientation interview with a facilitator to evaluate their depressive symptoms by using the EPDS (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale). Facilitators will also ask questions about socioeconomic status and barriers to receiving help. Mothers are not required to attend meetings after this initial interview if they do not want to. However, the information from this interview will be used to tailor future programs by the KCPD Task Force.

Goal two. Provide support for vulnerable populations experiencing PPD in King County in effort to reduce stigma and prevalence of PPD. Vulnerable populations of mothers are defined by this program as teen-moms, non-white, unmarried, or of low socioeconomic status.

The managers of Mama’s Little helpers will recruit local mental health professionals to run a 12-week long support group. Two support groups will be run over the course of the year, with a total of four mental health professionals to facilitate these groups. Facilitators will participate in an online training through Postpartum Support International as well as a one-time training with the program managers.