About the Book
By focusing on effective communication strategies and leveraging cutting-edge research, Mental Health Communication for Underserved Populations makes meaningful progress toward improving mental health outcomes for everyone, with a particular emphasis on underserved populations.
Health communication research offers a critical lens for examining mental health, especially in relation to marginalized populations. Contributors to this volume identify and critically analyze key individual and societal barriers many often face when seeking mental health information and care-including stigma, lack of resources, and cultural differences, among others-and provide informed recommendations for future research as well as for the design of inclusive and effective mental health communication campaigns.
Table of Contents:
About the Contributors
Introduction: Reaching the Unreached: Enhancing Mental Health through Effective Communication Strategies for Underserved Populations
David Kim (University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA) & Jin-Ae Kang (East Carolina University, USA)
1. The Use of Storytelling as a Form of Liberatory Agency: Palestinian Refugees in the United States
Amnee K. Elkhalid (University of Arkansas, USA) & Walid A. Afifi (University of California-Santa Barbara, USA)
2. Mental Health and LGBTQ+ Populations: Communicative Solutions for LGBTQ+ Well-Being
Leandra Hinojosa Hernandez (University of Utah, USA) & Natalia Peraza (University of Southern California, USA)
3. An Examination of the Multifaceted Mental Health Stigma Surrounding United States Military Veterans
Rikki A. Roscoe (University of Kansas, USA)
4. Communicating What Is Silent: Black Women Navigating Mental Health
Adrienne F. Muldrow (East Carolina University, USA) & Karlene Cunningham (East Carolina University, USA)
5. Designing Mental Health Communication Strategies for Hispanic and Latino Populations in the U.S.
Do Kyun David Kim & Jinae Kang
6. Housing Instability and Homelessness in Memphis: Mental Health Literacy and Community-Based Research
Joy V. Goldsmith (Independent Scholar, USA), Diana R. Humble (University of Memphis, USA), Sachiko Terui (University of Georgia, USA), Tharwa Bilbeisi (Independent Scholar, USA), & Regina Alabere (University of Memphis, USA)
7. e-Mental Health Intervention Strategies for the Low-income Population: A Communicative Approach
Kyung Jung Han (California State University, Bakersfield, USA)
8. Addressing Mental Health Issues of Older People for Healthy Aging
Jin-Ae Kang & Do Kyun David Kim
9. Mental Health Communication for Religious Minorities
Jacob Watson (Indiana University - Indianapolis, USA), Jorge Seifert (USA), & John Parrish-Sprowl (Indiana University, USA)
10. Mental Health Communication Strategies for Individuals with Disabilities: Applying a Socio-Ecological Framework
Jaehyun Kim (East Carolina University, USA)
11. Communication in Substance Use Counseling: The Role of Aggressive Communication
Theodore A. Avtgis (Western Illinois University-Quad Cities, USA) & Veronica Nuzzolo (Independent Scholar, USA)
12. Rural Communities and Mental Health: Challenges and Recommendations from a Health Communication Perspective
Lindsey Jo Hand (Contractor, USA)
13. Mental Health Problems and Computer-Mediated Support: Focus on the Case of North Korean Defectors in South Korea
Surin Chung (Sogang University, South Korea) & Ma Angelica Mercado (Sogang University, South Korea)
14. Cross-Cultural Dialogues: Unraveling and Addressing Mental Health Challenges in International Students through Innovative Health Communication Strategies
Anne Amegbeha Amissah (University of Kentucky, USA), Sarah A. Geegan (University of Kentucky, USA), & Kimberly A. Parker (Independent Scholar, USA)
Index
About the Author :
Do Kyun David Kim is Richard D'Aquin/BORSF Endowed Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA.
Jin-Ae Kang is Professor of Strategic Communication in the School of Communication at East Carolina University, USA.
Review :
This well-written edited volume raises aspects of mental health that may particularly affect unique population groups and proposes health communication strategies to benefit the members of these groups. Many of the chapters are personal-told from the perspective of individuals whose mental health may be strengthened through effective health communication.
Mental Health Communication for Underserved Populations arrives just in time to herald (a) a new and both exciting and uncertain era of the integration of revolutionary technology and interfaces into health communication (b) a massive reset of the health professions challenged to serve populations often ignored in the past. The contributors are experts who explain in clear and accessible language and terms yet with deep scholarly insight what a set of populations who have missed in media and communications on health issues in the past could use now in the future. This is a book that should be consulted by journalists, scholars, policymakers, and all health professionals.
I strongly endorse this important new edited book, Mental Health Communication for Underserved Populations (edited by Do Kyun David Kim & Jin-Ae Kang) as an excellent contribution to the evolving literature on health communication, that has only recently begun focusing seriously on examining the role of communication in mental health issues. The book clearly describes the serious mental health challenges faced by members of marginalized populations who often confront serious stigma, prejudice, and social stress. Members of these at-risk groups include immigrants/refugees, those who identify as LGBTQ+, many military personnel and veterans, ethnic and racial minorities, women, homeless (unhoused) people, people living in poverty, the aged, religious minorities, those who disabled/disfigured, people coping with addiction, international students, and many others who are not well-accepted in society. The strong argument made in the book is that social stigma and lack of support can often lead to tremendous stress and alienation for members of these marginalized populations, making members of these groups susceptible to a variety of mental health challenges, such as depression, stress-related disorders, self-harm, anti-social behavior, and unduly high levels of suicidal ideation. Each of the chapters in the book also describes communication intervention strategies that can be used to both identify mental health challenges facing members of these diverse underserved populations and provide therapeutic support to promote coping, adjustment, and long-term wellbeing. I strongly recommend this book for those who want to increase their understanding about the communication dynamics that lead to unique mental health challenges for at-risk populations, as well as for those who are seeking communication strategies for building resilience and rehabilitation for people suffering from mental health problems in modern life.
