Promoting Wellness for People in Mental Health Recovery

CSPNJ and UIC: Promoting Wellness for People in Recovery

Promoting Wellness for People in Mental Health Recovery

A Step-by-Step Guide to Planning and Conducting a Successful Health Fair

Prepared by: Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey UIC Center on Psychiatric Disability and Co-Occurring Medical Conditions

CSPNJ and UIC: Promoting Wellness for People in Recovery CSPNJ and UIC: Promoting Wellness for People in Recovery

Contributing authors: Margaret Swarbrick, PhD

Jessica A. Jonikas, MA Jay Yudof, MS, CPRP

Maureen Kenny Jennifer Cohn, BS, CPRP Christina Serrano, BS, CPRP

Chantelle Yost, BA Lisa A. Razzano, Ph.D., CPRP

Judith A. Cook, Ph.D.

? 2014 University of Illinois at Chicago Center on Psychiatric Disability and Co-Occurring Medical Conditions and Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey. All unattributed photos are property of the authors.

The UIC Center on Psychiatric Disability and Co-Occurring Medical Conditions is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research; and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, Cooperative Agreement #H133B100028. The views expressed herein do not reflect the policy or position of any Federal agency.

For additional copies of the manual, contact the UIC Center on Psychiatric Disability and Co-Occurring Medical Conditions.

UIC Center on Psychiatric Disability and Co-Occurring Medical Conditions UIC School of Public Health/Psychiatric Institute 1601 West Taylor Street, MC 912 Chicago, IL 60612 312.355.1696 cmhsrp.uic.edu/health/index.asp

Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey 8 Spring Street Freehold, NJ 07728



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CSPNJ and UIC: Promoting Wellness for People in Recovery

Table of Contents

Chapter I - Introduction and Purpose of the Guidebook.............................4 Chapter 2 - Reasons to Conduct a Health Fair ..........................................8 Chapter 3 - Who Will You Reach & How Will You Advertise?...........................15 Chapter 4 - Preparing Attendees for Your Fair...........................................20 Chapter 5 - Choosing the Venue for Your Fair............................................26 Chapter 6 ? Health Fair Supplies and Resources........................................35 Chapter 7 - Planning and Operating Your Health Fair Stations....................45 Chapter 8 ? Staffing Your Fair...................................................................83 Chapter 9 ? Financial Considerations in Running a Health Fair...................88

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CSPNJ and UIC: Promoting Wellness for People in Recovery

Chapter I - Introduction and Purpose of the Guidebook

We have created this guidebook to help groups and programs that serve people living with mental health and/or substance use problems plan and conduct health fairs.

Why offer health fairs to people in recovery?

Many are managing serious medical conditions that can be improved with education and support.

Health fairs provide personalized health information, including body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels.

Health fairs are a popular way to help people become aware of and make choices that lead to a satisfying lifestyle centered on wellness.

Health fairs teach people about risk behaviors and factors under their own control, such as what they eat and habits like sleeping, walking, smoking, or alcohol use. By learning about these things, people can make more informed choices about next steps.

Health fairs encourage prevention in order to avoid new medical conditions.

What are the Benefits of a Health Fair?

Access to health screenings and tests are the major benefit of attending a health fair. Additionally, fairs include education, support, training, and tangible resources. Health fairs can also include information tables, booths staffed by health providers and selfhelp group representatives, cooking demonstrations, and brief exercise classes like aerobics or yoga. Information tables are especially important because two primary goals of health fairs are making people aware of health issues and providing tools to manage them. For instance, a health fair participant might learn about the impact of smoking on life expectancy, and then, receive information on QuitLines, nicotine replacement therapy, and smoking cessation support groups. At the same time, a health fair can be fun and rewarding for participants by offering them raffle prizes (pedometers, gift cards), wellness services such as massage and reflexology, and information about local clinics, farmers' markets, and so forth.

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CSPNJ and UIC: Promoting Wellness for People in Recovery

A Wellness Partnership

The authors of this guidebook represent a collaboration between the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Center on Psychiatric Disability and Co-Occurring Medical Conditions and the peer partnership program, Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey (CSPNJ). CSPNJ began by conducting health screenings and fairs throughout the state of New Jersey (including self-help centers, community mental health programs, community events, and peer conferences). They also conducted these events at the annual Alternatives consumer conference in Nebraska, Oregon, California, and Florida. CSPNJ also helped local peer-operated groups and agencies, as well as psychiatric rehabilitation programs across the country, to plan and conduct health fairs throughout the year as well as during Wellness Week (promoteacceptance.10by10/wellness_week.aspx). Beginning in 2010, UIC joined CSPNJ in hosting health fairs at which over 480 participants voluntarily contributed their screening results to a research effort designed to better understand whose health was at risk and why ( health_screening.asp). Our shared vision and commitment to wellness and recovery motivated us to work together in addressing the issues that peers face as they manage their physical and emotional health.

This guidebook is written from our practical and personal perspectives. We learned a lot of the details "the hard way" when running health fairs around the country. Throughout this guidebook, we share tips and tools that we have found to be helpful. We offer insights so that you can plan a rewarding event for the people you care about.

You Can Do It!

It is important for readers to keep a sense of perspective! We offer many details in this guidebook, but it's good to bear in mind that fairs can range from small, simple events to larger, more complex ones. We share how we started with small health screenings, and worked our way up to larger health and wellness fairs.

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