Today’s healthcare system encompasses a coalition of diverse stakeholders that include the same goal, which is proficient patient care and accessibility. As a public health nurse, collaboration is important to ensure that all aspects of an individual are addressed. According to Thatcher, coalitions can be used to directly address health problems and can address future problems (2017). The Jed Foundation (JED) is a coalition that pertains to my team topic, females ages 12-17 with depression in the United States. This foundation is the leading nonprofit that preserves adolescent emotional health and prevents suicide by empowering adolescents through using nationally recognized programs, social media, working directly with high schools, and partnerships that encourage positive mental health and mental health behaviors (JED Foundation, n.d). It was founded by a couple, Phil and Donna, after their son Jed committed suicide. It encourages struggling students to seek help and be recognized, connect to care, and feel supported. It is funded through donations and accepts grant donations (The JED Foundation, n.d).
JED has an abundance of individuals who work within the foundation. The company is composed of CEO John MacPhee, a board of directors of twenty individuals, and an advisory board with twenty-six individuals (The JED Foundation. n.d). John received his business degree from Columbia College, a masters in business from New York University and an MPH from Columbia University. Additionally, he earned a masters in public health at the Mailman School of Public Health, where he specialized in the department of Health Policy and Management (Mammen, n.d). He recounts his own struggles with mental health as an adolescent and states, “Although I wasn’t diagnosed, now I can recognize I was dealing with anxiety and depression” (Mammen, n.d). He endorses that coaches and his admissions officer offered him a support system that helped him successfully navigate his mental health hurdles and their impact on his life influenced his desire to advocate for others. He reflects, “I was already very interested in mental health due to my own experiences. The (JED) foundation was well-regarded with very good ideas, but small. I believed I could grow it and raise the money required to bring these ideas to fruition” (Mammen, n.d, para. 4). His personal experiences and educated background confirm that John was an appropriate mental health advocate and candidate to lead the foundation to success.
The Jed Foundation has had great success over the years. JED Voices has gained over 3 million views and engaged in conversations with mental health advocates who discuss what mental health means to them (The JED Foundation, n.d). JED’s Academic Programs (including JED Campus, JED High School, JED Boarding School, and the District Comprehensive Approach Pilot) are currently assisting over 1,200 schools, districts, and campuses to create a safer culture and environment for students by improving mental health (The JED Foundation, n.d). This represents over 6.5 million students from PreK through college, nationwide (The JED Foundation, n.d).
Reflecting on our team topic, collaborating with this foundation would be beneficial. Adolescents with depression would benefit from earlier mental health screenings, increased resources of support, and participating in a culture and community that emphasizes mental health wellbeing. Collaboration could be envisioned as partnering with social media outlets, middle schools, and high schools that will implement programs and strategies to promote depression coping mechanisms and behaviors. As public health nurses, we can use coalitions and collaborations strategies to increase health promotion. Coalitions can positively affect social determinants of health and promote better community health outcomes (Nagorcka-Smith, et al., 2022). Health promotion works through community action in “setting priorities, making decisions, planning strategies and implementing them to achieve better health” (World Health Organization, n.d). Partnering with the JED Foundation and utilizing their resources could positively impact adolescents with depression.
References
The JED Foundation. (n.d). Ways to Give. https://jedfoundation.org/other-ways-to-give/
The JED Foundation. (n.d). Who We Are. https://jedfoundation.org/the-story-of-jed/
The JED Foundation. (n.d). Our Team. https://jedfoundation.org/meet-our-team/
The JED Foundation. (n.d). Our Impact. https://jedfoundation.org/our-impact/
Mammen, Sabrina. (n.d). Alumni Spotlight. Columbia University
Mailman School of Public Health). https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/academics/departments/health-policy-management/who-we-are/alumni/alumni-spotlight#:~:text=John%20MacPhee%20is%20a%20public,among%20teens%20and%20young%20adults.
Nagorcka-Smith, P., Bolton, K. A., Dam, J., Nichols, M., Alston, L., Johnstone, M., & Allender,
S. (2022). The impact of coalition characteristics on outcomes in community-based initiatives targeting the social determinants of health: a systematic review. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 1358. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-022-13678-9
Thatcher, E., Park, E., & Kulbok, P. (2017). Working together: Collaboration, Coalition Building
and Community Organizing. In M. Truglio-Londrigan & S. B. Lewenson (Eds.), Public Health Nursing: Practicing Population-Based Care: Practicing Population-Based Care (3rd edition, pp. 319–337). Jones & Bartlett Learning. https://classes.pace.edu/content/enforced/393107-NURS-803-20737.202420/Thatcher,%202018,%20Working%20together.pdf?ou=393107
World Health Organization (n.d). Health Promotion.
https://www.who.int/teams/health-promotion/enhanced-wellbeing/first-global-conference/actions