Symposia
Dissemination & Implementation Science
Melanie Tran, PhD
Doctoral Student
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Tara Mehta, PhD
Associate Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Between 13-20% of youth have a mental health disorder, and this has been exacerbated by dual public health crises: COVID-19 and systemic racism. Need is high, yet treatment accessibility for vulnerable youth and capacity of traditional school/mental health services are limited. Out-of-school time programs reach >18% of US youth, have a rich history of tackling social issues, and benefit youth academic, physical, and mental health outcomes. One type of program, Sports-Based Youth Development (SBYD), typically serves underserved youth and is well-positioned to address rising physical and mental health inequities. SBYD staff are key to delivering quality programs that yield positive outcomes and have been critical in responding to youth needs during the public health crises. Thus, supporting staff is crucial for youth. Staff often report stress due to many, conflicting, and ambiguous roles, as well as motivating factors that contribute to work well-being, which impact program quality. However, contributors to staff well-being and their supports to youth vary by local, social, and historical context, and knowledge of the SBYD workforce is limited. In this community-based study we collaborate with 6 SBYD programs serving low-child-opportunity neighborhoods in Chicago to 1) Identify the well-being and needs of SBYD staff at work, 2) Identify contributors to staff well-being at work, and 3) Describe how SBYD staff support youth through public health crises. Using a sequential mixed method explanatory design, we are collecting survey data to assess staff well-being (e.g., burnout). We will use maximum variation sampling to select 10 participants for 1-hr follow-up interviews which will elaborate survey results, staff supports to youth, and contributors to well-being. Interviews will be recorded, transcribed, and analyzed via thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Based on conversations with partners, we hypothesize data will indicate high staff burnout related to job demands (e.g., role overload), work engagement related to resources (e.g., social support) and work meaningfulness, and needs related to addressing youth mental health. We predict staff will describe a range of social supports to youth, such as sharing resources (e.g., vaccine information, food insecurity) and discussing mental health and racial identity. Findings will be shared with partners to tailor staff support and development, with implications for improving program quality and youth outcomes in communities most impacted by COVID-19 and racial upheaval.