Community organization capacity and barriers to mental health promotion efforts: a configurational analysis

Mental health concerns have been on the rise in recent years, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Minoritized racial and ethnic groups are especially at risk for untreated mental health concerns. Mental health promotion via culturally relevant approaches in community settings serving minoritized groups can help to address mental health concerns among these populations. However, mental health promotion activities require resources reflective of organizational capacity. The current study investigates the role of organizational capacity and characteristics in barriers to mental health promotion among community organizations.

We surveyed 21 leaders of distinct community organizations (e.g., mosques, housing communities, and public libraries) in Maryland to assess their organizational capacity, characteristics, and barriers to mental health promotion. Data were analyzed using configurational analysis to identify characteristics that distinguished organizations with low, medium, and high levels of barriers to mental health promotion.

While no single variable explained the level of barriers to mental health promotion, characteristics differentiating the level of barriers experienced by organizations in the current sample included county in which the organization was located, leader interest in health promotion, number of members in the organization, organization type (e.g., mosque or housing community), presence of a health team, and budget for health promotion. Organizations reporting the fewest barriers to mental health promotion were located in an urban city and had an increase in leader interest in health promotion following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic or were medium-sized (100-399 active members) mosques. Organizations reporting the greatest number of barriers to mental health promotion were located in an urban city and had no increase in leader interest in health promotion following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic or were large organizations (400 + active members) with sufficient financial resources but no established health team.

Building community organization capacity for, and interest in, mental health promotion may be one way to encourage the availability and utilization of mental health supporting services among populations that may not otherwise receive such care.