Brain Doctors: Evaluating a Mental Health Initiative for Elementary Students

Area of Science:

• Community-engaged mental health education
• Childhood emotional wellness
• Public health initiatives in schools

Background:

• The Brain Doctors program is a community-engaged mental health education initiative.
• It utilizes the Food Doctors model to improve third graders' understanding of self and community wellness.
• This study evaluates the pilot implementation of the program.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot Brain Doctors program.
• To assess third-grade students' understanding of self and community wellness.
• To gather feedback on the program's delivery and impact.

Main Methods:

• Two 1-hour interactive sessions were developed.
• Pre- and post-session assessments measured student growth.
• Medical students delivered the program at two Milwaukee elementary schools, with participant satisfaction surveys collected.

Main Results:

• Student feedback was largely positive, indicating an enjoyable experience.
• Pre-assessment (n=116) and post-assessment (n=125) data revealed specific areas of student knowledge improvement and decline.
• Participant satisfaction surveys provided insights into program reception.

Conclusions:

• Elementary students demonstrated enthusiasm for the emotional wellness education program.
• The study confirmed that both elementary and medical students can meaningfully engage in such educational initiatives.
• The pilot provided valuable data for refining the Brain Doctors program.