Beyond its physical health impact, the COVID-19 pandemic also resulted in grief from loss of loved ones, isolation due to social distancing, stress, fear, and economic distress-all of which impacted mental health. How Right Now/Qué Hacer Ahora (HRN) is an award-winning, national campaign that provides emotional support to people disproportionately affected by COVID-19. We conducted a theory-based, culturally responsive evaluation to assess the campaign's effect on coping behaviors and resiliency between summer 2020 and spring 2021. We surveyed HRN's priority audiences (older adults/caregivers and those with preexisting health conditions, experiencing violence, or economic distress) in English and Spanish using NORC's national probability panel, AmeriSpeak, over three waves. We also analyzed social media data and monitored HRN website traffic and triangulated these data to understand the campaign's full impact. Campaign exposure was associated with people who were experiencing higher levels of stress and were more likely to seek information to support their emotional well-being. Campaign exposure was also positively associated with increased feelings of resilience and confidence in using coping strategies, especially for people experiencing violence or economic distress and people from racial and ethnic groups. Findings demonstrate the campaign's success in reaching its intended audiences with the mental health support they needed. Additionally, the HRN evaluation's design illustrates how the use of multiple data sources can elucidate a deeper understanding of campaign impact. Findings underscore that culturally responsive health communication interventions-like HRN-can provide needed mental health support and resources to disproportionately affected communities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

OBJECTIVES: How Right Now (HRN) is an evidence-based, culturally responsive communication campaign developed to facilitate coping and resilience among US groups disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. To inform the development of this campaign, we examined patterns in emotional health, stress, and coping strategies among HRN's audiences, focusing on differences among racial and ethnic groups. METHODS: We used a national probability panel, AmeriSpeak, to collect survey data from HRN's priority audience members in English and Spanish at 2 time points (May 2020 and May 2021). We conducted statistical testing to examine differences between time points for each subgroup (Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, and non-Hispanic White) and differences among subgroups at each time point. RESULTS: We found disparities in COVID-19-related mental health challenges and differences in coping strategies. Non-Hispanic Black respondents were more likely than non-Hispanic White respondents to report challenges related to the social determinants of health, such as affording food and housing (26.4% vs 9.4% in May 2020) and experiencing personal financial loss (46.6% vs 29.2% in May 2020). In May 2021, 30.6% of Hispanic respondents reported being unable to meet basic food or housing needs versus 8.2% of non-Hispanic White respondents, and 51.6% reported personal financial loss versus 26.5% of non-Hispanic White respondents. CONCLUSIONS: Our study further illuminates what is needed to build emotional well-being pathways for people who historically have been economically and socially marginalized. Our findings underscore the need for public health interventions to provide culturally responsive mental health support to populations disproportionately affected by COVID-19 during the pandemic and into the future, with a focus on racial and ethnic disparities.

Pandemics are stressful times, full of uncertainty and fear. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans have experienced feelings of stress, grief, and loss. How Right Now (HRN) – and its Spanish-language counterpart, Qué Hacer Ahora (QHA) – is an evidence-based, culturally-relevant communication campaign designed to promote and strengthen the emotional well-being and resiliency of populations adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with support from the CDC Foundation, the campaign aims to help all Americans but has a specific focus on some of the disproportionately affected groups, including adults over 65 and their caregivers, individuals with pre-existing physical and mental health conditions, people experiencing violence, and those experiencing economic distress. Based on rapid, but robust, formative research, HRN offers audience-centric messages representing the real, everyday experiences and emotions that these audiences are having and addresses them in actionable ways. These include messages that address the social and structural barrier that disproportionately-affected groups have been facing long before the pandemic — and which are felt more acutely now. This paper provides an overview of the rapid, mixed-method, culturally-responsive formative research process undertaken to inform the development of HRN. Specifically, it describes how HRN’s disproportionately-affected audiences describe and discuss their emotiona well-being during COVID-19 through the lens of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). We introduce a secondary theory, Vital Conditions for Health and Well-Being (VCHW), which conceptualizes holistic well-being and the conditions that give rise to it and identifies levers for community change and improvement. Data collection methods included an environmental scan (n≥700 publications); social listening (n≥1 million social media posts); partner needs-assessment calls (n=16); partner-convened listening sessions with community members (n=29), online focus groups (n=10), and a national probability survey (n=731), all in English and Spanish. Findings suggest that HRN’s priority audiences’ emotional well-being and SDOH are interconnected. Disruptions in SDOH du to the COVID-19 pandemic can lead to emotional well-being challenges (e.g., anxiety) for HRN’s priority audiences. While some disruptions may lead some people to adapt, connect with others, and be more resilient, there is a disparate impact of emotional well-being amid COVID-19 for those already experiencing disparities linked to SDOH. Understanding the perspectives and experiences of disproportionately affected populations through the lens of SDOH is vital to identifying the kinds of supports and services – like How Right Now/Qué Hacer Ahora – required for these populations. © 2021 Weston Medical Publishing. All rights reserved.