© 2002 American Public Health Association
Michael B. Blank is with the Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Marcus Mahmood is with the Department of Sociology, Loyola University, New Orleans, La. Jeanne C. Fox is Professor Emeritus in the School of Nursing and former Director of the Southeastern Rural Mental Health Research Center, University of Virginia, Charlottesville. Thomas Guterbock is with the Department of Sociology, University of Virginia. Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Michael B. Blank, PhD, Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research, University of Pennsylvania, 3535 Market St, Suite 3020, Philadelphia, PA 191042648 (e-mail: mblank2{at}mail.med.upenn.edu).
Objectives. This study determined the extent to which churches in the South were providing mental health and social services to congregations and had established linkages with formal systems of care. Methods. A computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) survey was conducted with pastors from 269 Southern churches. Results. Black churches reported providing many more services than did White churches, regardless of urban or rural location. Few links between churches and formal provider systems were found, irrespective of the locationurban or ruralor racial composition of the churches. Conclusions. Results are discussed in terms of the potential for linking faith communities and formal systems of care, given the centrality of the Black church in historical context. This article has been cited by other articles:
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