Research Impact Story: Building Cultures that Heal and Thrive
This downloadable PDF was designed to share the impact and results of the University of North Carolina’s community-led research project.
The University of North Carolina partnered with Community Enrichment Organization on a youth-led research project to improve mental health care among young people in the rural North Carolina community of Tarboro, Edgecombe County. The research team worked with a group of high school students to explore how youth conceptualize mental health, identify the types of mental health services that exist in the community, and what Black youth perceive as their unique needs for improved mental health.
The findings highlighted limited self- and emotion-awareness and stress-management skills, a desire for peer-informed supports, stigma tied to ideals of strength and resilience, barriers to culturally responsive care, and the protective role of maternal–caregiver relationships amid rising suicide rates among Black youth.
As a result, this work has empowered community youth to advocate for themselves. Particularly, they have identified an evidence-based, mind-body intervention to promote self-care and mental health. They are also in the process of developing an intervention focused on youth-led conflict mediation.
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