Funded Projects

Feed, Read, and Grow: Don't Panic

Project Year

2024

City & State

Blacksburg, Virginia

Program Name

CATCH Implementation

Topic

Health Literacy

Program Description

The Problem:   In October 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) declared a National State of Emergency in Children’s Mental Health (1). This declaration was made in response to a ten-year trend of rising incidence of mental health concerns and suicidality among US children which drastically increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2019 to 2020, emergency department visits for mental health reasons increased by 31% for youth between the ages of 12 and 17; between 2019 and 2021, visits for suspected suicide attempts increased by 50.6% among adolescent girls (2). It is imperative that we connect with children in our community to offer coping strategies and resources for mental health concerns. Primary Setting: Our impact areas include Montgomery County and the cities of Radford and Roanoke, which are designated Health Professional Shortage Areas for Mental Health, according to 2021 data from the Health Resources and Services Administration (3).  Number of Children Affected: As of 2015, in Montgomery County, Virginia, per 10,000 children aged 0-17 years, there were 5.8 pediatricians, 23.1 family medicine physicians, 32.1 licensed social workers, and 18.6 psychologists (4). Considering the shortage of mental health care providers in many areas, behavioral health care approaches may be integrated into pediatrician and family medicine physician practices (5).  Project Goal: The goal of this project is to engage caregivers and children in a fun learning experience about the important topic of anxiety.  Primary care providers need to have access to evidence-based educational and health promotion resources, tools, and approaches that can be flexible for implementation in a pediatrics office, home, or school-based setting. The strategies recommended by the AAP to support the mental health needs of youth and adolescents include integrating mental health interventions in pediatrics and school-based mental health care, as well as focusing on prevention programs (1).  Our project creates a StoryWalk® serving as a mental health promotion resource that can be utilized in a variety of settings. Proposed Intervention: Feed, Read, and Grow is a multi-agency program focused on improving access to health services, food, and literacy resources in the community.  This StoryWalk® idea originated while collaborating with the creative wellness company JOI NEURON by Carol Joy®, to develop strategies to promote children's mental health, with content based on recommendations from pediatricians and mental health professionals and delivered through original characters and educational songs in English and Spanish. Using the content developed by Carol Joy®, we will produce a StoryWalk® on the topic of panic attacks.  Through a partnership between the VCOM library and the Roanoke Public Libraries, this project will serve as an educational resource for our community to share knowledge about ways to promote wellness, model healthy interactions between children and caregivers, give tips for management of anxiety, and build resilience.  The StoryWalk® concept was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. It combines reading and walking in the great outdoors.  This project will create a bilingual StoryWalk® that can be placed in parks, outside clinics, outside libraries, and at events.  Anticipated Outcomes: Participants will have fun reading the Don’t Panic story while exercising.  They will gain an understanding of the definition and symptoms of a panic attack and learn a coping mechanism. Participation in the StoryWalk® will inspire open dialogue between children and their caregivers on the important topic of mental health through a shared appreciation of fictional characters, age-appropriate stories, music, and creative images. This project will increase access to mental health resources and awareness in underserved communities and provide impact data for future use. 

Project Goal

The goal of this project is to engage caregivers and children in a fun learning experience about the important topic of anxiety through a StoryWalk® entitled, "Don't Panic" by December 2024.  

Project Objective 1

Participants will have fun reading the "Don’t Panic" story and singing the song while exercising.  

Project Objective 2

Participants will gain an understanding of the definition and symptoms of a panic attack and learn a coping mechanism. 

Project Objective 3

Participation in the StoryWalk® will inspire open dialogue between children and their caregivers on the important topic of mental health through a shared appreciation of fictional characters, age-appropriate stories, and creative images.

AAP District

District IV

Institutional Name

Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine

Contact 1

Harsha Bhagtani, MD