Proyecto Juntos: improving mental and behavioral health access in rural Southeast Arizona
Proyecto Juntos
This project trains and uses community health workers and local partners to make mental and behavioral health services easier to find and use for people in three rural counties in southeastern Arizona.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Southeast Arizona Area Health Education Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nogales, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11491349 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you live in the targeted rural counties, Proyecto Juntos works with your community to find the biggest barriers to getting mental and behavioral health care. The team trains and deploys community health workers, builds partnerships between clinics, community groups, and government agencies, and creates care coordination to help people get services. The work happens in three phases: planning and community assessment, rolling out locally adapted interventions with stakeholder input and evaluation, and sharing results while building plans to keep services going. The project focuses on reducing cost, workforce shortages, and stigma so care is more approachable and usable for neighbors like you.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are residents of the three targeted counties in southeastern Arizona who need mental or behavioral health support and face barriers like long travel distances, limited local providers, or insurance challenges.
Not a fit: People who live outside the three-county region or who need immediate inpatient psychiatric hospitalization or highly specialized tertiary care are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the project could expand locally available mental and behavioral health supports, improve care coordination, and make it easier for rural residents to get help without traveling far.
How similar studies have performed: Community health worker and community-led models have improved access and engagement in other underserved areas, though this project adapts those methods to the specific needs of southeastern Arizona.
Where this research is happening
Nogales, United States
- Southeast Arizona Area Health Education Center — Nogales, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sanchez, Brenda Olivia — Southeast Arizona Area Health Education Center
- Study coordinator: Sanchez, Brenda Olivia
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.