2022 Zero Suicide Implementation in Oregon: Cross‐Site Follow‐up Change Report

This implementation self‐assessment and the accompanying web survey were adapted for the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) by Portland State University in collaboration with the OHA Youth Suicide Prevention staff. The assessment was adapted from three existing Zero Suicide resources available at http://zerosuicide.org/. The Organizational Self‐Study is a questionnaire about the extent to which each component of the Zero Suicide approach is in place at a single organization. Zero Suicide recommends completing this self‐study at the start of an organization’s Zero Suicide initiative, then every 12 months after that as a measure of fidelity to the model. The self‐study questions serve as the basis for this Oregon Zero Suicide Implementation Assessment and have been reformulated as indicators. The response options (or anchors) for each question are included in the grid to define the level of implementation for each indicator. The Data Elements Worksheet contains primary and supplemental measures recommended for behavioral health care organizations to strive for to maintain fidelity to a comprehensive suicide care model. The supplemental measures are clinically significant but may be much harder to measure than the primary measures. Zero Suicide recommends reviewing these data elements every three months in order to determine areas for improvement. Starting with element #3 (Identify) of this implementation assessment, these data points are requested for each relevant indicator as documentation for the rank awarded. OHA is using this implementation assessment to track change over time related to suicide prevention efforts among organizations statewide as part of Cooperative Agreements to Implement Zero Suicide in Health Systems project (2020 – 2025)

FUSE: People with Frequent Utilization of Public Services in Clackamas County, Oregon: Potential Service Enhancements

The goal of this study was to answer five very specific questions about individuals with high service utilization and the systems that serve them. The data for this study comes from administrative system data, informational conversations and meetings with community partners, formal interviews with service providers, and interviews with consumers with frequent service utilization. Limitations: The rates of mental illness, addiction and homelessness are likely to be higher than they appear in this report due to the way these characteristics were gathered or recorded in system databases. Historically marginalized populations are increasingly underrepresented in datasets

Examining Emergency Citizen Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Emergent Groups Addressing Food Insecurity in Portland, Oregon

Emergency response agencies commonly focus on how hard infrastructure will interact with extreme climatic and geologic events: bridges during an earthquake and buildings following a tornado, for example. Peoples\u27 actual experience of these extreme events vary, however, based on socially constructed consequences of natural hazard events and their interaction with a depleted or robust social safety net. Previous research shows people living with depleted social safety nets and who experience a natural hazard event are likely to help where they see disaster. Individuals consistently form groups, called emergent groups, to organize their efforts. This research explored emergent groups that formed in Portland, Oregon, to address food insecurity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-two emergent groups were identified. Nine organizers participated in structured interviews about the groups they helped form. Six of those groups remain active after two years; three of which are now codified as tax-exempt 501(c)3 organizations. Those groups now have paid staff, contracts with social service agencies to provide regular meals, and plan to provide additional services in the future. This research found emergent groups were disproportionately led by people of color with lived experience of poverty who struggled to finance their efforts. Anticipating the formation of emergent groups could mitigate disasters following hazard events. Creating streamlined financial support pathways for emergent groups could lead to more equitable and flexible resource distribution for the communities most impacted by hazard events

2022 Community Needs Assessment of Klamath County Residential Services and Housing Needs

The PSU Regional Research Institute for Human Services (RRI) was asked by Klamath Basin Behavioral Health (KBBH) and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to conduct a community-wide needs assessment focusing on residential services and housing needs for populations that (1) Have behavioral health needs, and (2) Identify with a community experiencing inequities in access to health care resources. The assessment was conducted in collaboration with KBBH and other community partners. Data sources included key informant interviews, written surveys of individuals impacted by mental health challenges and/or housing needs, and focus groups with representatives from underserved communities in Klamath County, Oregon. Funding for this project was provided by a grant from the Oregon Health Authority as part of a larger OHA effort to eliminate behavioral health inequities by 2030

Tools for Addressing Intimate partner Violence and Suicide Risk: Lessons Learned from OHA’s COVID-19 Emergency response for Suicide Prevention Grant

In August 2020, the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence (OCADSV), the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), and Portland State University’s Regional Research Institute for Human Services (PSU RRI) began an 18-month collaboration to strengthen support for domestic violence and mental health agencies during COVID-19. As part of this grant, six domestic violence advocacy organizations around Oregon were able to place co-located advocates with their mental health partner agencies for services and cross-training. The content of this booklet is another product of this collaboration

Walking and Talking: Recommendations for Doing Mobile Interviews with Older Adults

Mobile methods, including walking interviews, have rarely been used in research with older adults. We compare and contrast two studies that engaged older adults in walking interviews conducted by the coauthors. The first study examined the meaning of food access with residents of publicly-subsidized housing, and the second involved Black Americans in a study of brain health and gentrification. Older adults, including those with physical and mild cognitive impairment, can participate in walking interviews. Key decisions and advice for researchers interested in using mobile methods with this population, including participant safety, comfort abilities, and technology use, are provided

What Keeps Me Awake at Night : Assisted Living Administrator Responses to COVID-19.

Assisted living (AL) constitutes an important sector of residential long-term care, yet there has been limited research about the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in this setting. This qualitative study sought to understand the impact of the early stages of the pandemic (February-August 2020) from AL administrators\u27 perspectives

Cascadian Terrace Apartments Community Engagement Report

This report is the culmination of an interdisciplinary collaboration between Community Development Partners (CDP), the Center for Public Interest Design (CPID), Salazar Architect and OHSU-PSU School of Public Health documenting the resident engagement events, action research and design efforts at Cascadian Terrace Apartments. CDP acquired the property in 2015 with the intention of performing a complete renovation. CDP asked CPID to assist in the process using an Asset Based Community Development approach, engaging the residents and surrounding neighborhood, in order to define the scope of rehabilitation that is currently underway. Findings and recommendations focus on improvements to the community areas by activating underutilized space, building community identity among residents, new programming oriented around food security and nutrition, and creating paths to connect residents to neighborhood resources and social services