(PS3-50) The Role of Mental Health Awareness and Perceived Intervention Stigma in Clinical Research Engagement Among African American Faith Communities: Implications for Help Seeking

The lower rates of engagement in clinical research by marginalized racial and ethnic groups is a commonly cited study limitation with widespread implications including the lack of generalizability of results to non-White, marginalized populations; the rejection of inclusive conceptualizations of mental health; and detrimental effects on help-seeking behaviors. This study examined the roles of mental health awareness and perceived intervention stigma on the capacity to engage in clinical research among a sample of African American faith community members. Utilizing a community-based participatory approach, data collected in this study was examined to determine the associations between mental health awareness and perceived intervention stigma on clinical research engagement. Additional examination of focus group transcript data explored themes outlining facilitators and barriers to engagement. The final sample included 143 African American faith community members (Mage = 51.02, SD = 17.20; 76% female). Results demonstrated that mental health awareness was negatively correlated with perceived intervention stigma (r = -.17) and the interaction of mental health awareness and perceived intervention stigma influenced the likelihood of participating in clinical research (β = .08). Qualitative findings spoke of the significant role played by mental health awareness and intervention stigma on the likelihood of research engagement. Findings further revealed additional factors that promoted and hindered engagement with professional care structures by African American faith communities. Implications for how these findings can better inform research and, by proxy, help seeking, are discussed. The utility and impact of community-based research procedures in addressing longstanding barriers to engagement for marginalized populations are also outlined.