Files
Date
2025
Abstract
Mental illness represents a significant public health challenge, particularly in rural areas like Androscoggin County, Maine, which faces high rates of depression, sedentary lifestyles, and a shortage of behavioral health providers. Addressing these interconnected issues is crucial for improving community well-being. This project aimed to empower residents of Lewiston-Auburn to enhance their mental health through increased physical activity, offering a cost-effective intervention independent of clinical infrastructure limitations. The intervention involved creating and distributing a two-sided, three-leaf informational pamphlet at the Central Maine Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Clinic. Written at a basic reading level, the pamphlet educates readers on the multi-factorial mental health benefits of exercise, cites official activity recommendations, and provides a compiled list of accessible, low-cost local and online physical activity resources. This resource is available for patients to take or can be provided by clinicians, streamlining patient education on exercise benefits and resources. Direct measurement of the intervention's impact is ongoing due to the project timeline. However, initial feedback from clinicians indicates the pamphlet has potential to increase access to exercise-related resources. The project hypothesizes that providing this accessible information will lead to increased physical activity among some readers, subsequently yielding mental health improvements such as reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety, improved mood, and stress reduction. While acknowledging limitations such as the pamphlet's inherent inability for personalization, this project offers a valuable, immediate step towards addressing urgent community health needs where resources are scarce. Future directions could explore broader health benefits or target specific populations.
Clinical Site
Central Maine Medical Center - Family Medicine Residency Program
Keywords
Mental Health, Mental Illness, Physical Activity, Exercise, Rural, Pamphlet, Patient Education, Community Resources
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Disciplines
Medical Education | Primary Care
Recommended Citation
Fee, Jonathan Palmer, "Improving Mental Health Among Residents of Lewiston-Auburn, Maine, by Facilitating Access to Exercise-Related Resources" (2025). Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects. 1114.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1114