Among the major pubic health topics singled out for special attention in the Public Health Service's 1991 Healthy People 2000 report are problems related to mental and addictive disorders. Despite the fact that millions of Americans are directly affected by these disorders, they are among the least understood and most stigmatized of all public health problems. One factor that has the potential to reduce some of the individual and societal costs associated with mental and addictive disorders is to increase people's understanding of recent advances in research on these problems. In keeping with the Healthy People 2000 initiatives, as well as the National Education Goal of increasing adult science literacy, the primary objective of the current proposal is to help members of the adult community of the three-county Northern Kentucky region (1990 population: 283,486) develop an understanding of, and an appreciation for, the basic research that underlies our knowledge about mental and addictive disorders. We propose to form an alliance among scientists at the forefront of psychopathology research, educators at Northern Kentucky University, and the staff of the Mental Health Association of Northern Kentucky for the purposes of (a) identifying the science literacy needs of the adult community of the Northern Kentucky region; (b) recruiting scientist consultants who specialize in psychopathology research relevant to these identified needs and obtaining state-of-the-art research information from them; (c) translating this cutting-edge research into readily digestible forms, thereby developing teaching modules for adult learners that may be adapted to a diverse collection of community group meetings; (d) training community-based educators to present these teaching modules to the community groups; (e) evaluating the project's programmatic and educational goals; and (f) disseminating the teaching modules and training programs to Mental Health Associations and other interested organizations. To support our assertion that adult community groups in the region will be interested in these research-oriented programs, we have gathered letters of support from individuals representing approximately 1 15 community organizations. The proposed activities should accomplish the project's primary goal and should produce the added benefits of (a) reducing the stigma associated with mental and addictive disorders, by furthering individuals'understanding of the underlying causes of these disorders; (b) increasing citizen support for funding of basic research; and (c) imparting a sense of the excitement that research holds for scientists. This project will fill a void in scientific literacy and understanding of mental and addictive disorders among our community's residents, and the unique structure of the partnership among scientists, educators, and community groups established by the project may set a precedent for communicating the importance of basic psychopathology research to nonscientists.
