$20 million mental health and resilience SOAR Study now enrolling across western Ohio

LIMA, Ohio – The next phase of the State of Ohio Adversity and Resilience (SOAR Study) is now accepting participants across western Ohio at Mercy Health – St. Rita’s Medical Center.

 

This research initiative, led by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, seeks to identify the root causes of the ongoing epidemic of persistent emotional distress, suicide and drug overdose. Inspired by the pioneering longitudinal Framingham Heart Study that revolutionized heart research, the SOAR Study will explore not only mental illness and addiction but also resilience and mental wellness. 

 

The SOAR Study features government, academia and the private sector working together in this innovative mental health research effort that has two parallel but connected projects. 

 

The Wellness Survey will assess the mental health of 15,000 Ohioans in all 88 counties through an online survey, and the Brain Health Study features in-person visits using an MRI to complete brain scans with 1,200 families at rural, suburban and urban sites across Ohio. 

 

“Mercy Health is proud to host SOAR at St. Rita’s Medical Center to further extend the reach of this important research among the Western Ohio community,” said Ronda Lehman, President, Mercy Health – Lima. “By supporting this important research, we hope that as an industry, we can better understand the root causes of addiction and mental health challenges. It’s our hope that the information gleaned will not only inform our own approach but also support the health and resilience of communities across Ohio and beyond.”

 

The statewide research project is funded by an initial $20 million grant from The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS). 

 

The SOAR Mobile MRI unit now based at Mercy Health – St. Rita’s Medical Center, 718 W Market St. in Lima, Ohio, is enrolling study participants ages 12 and up.

 

The SOAR Study will investigate social, environmental, psychological, trauma-related, genetic, and biological factors that lead to – or protect from – the development of persistent distress, mental illness, substance use, overdose and suicide. 

 

"SOAR is taking a transformational step toward redesigning the future of mental health care to benefit all Ohioans. Thanks to support from the State of Ohio and our academic and community partners, we’re able to strategically deploy the SOAR mobile MRI unit and bring high-impact science and innovation directly to the people, reaching patients who are integral to the project's success,” said John J. Warner, MD, chief executive officer of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and executive vice president at Ohio State.

 

The SOAR Study approach allows for an integrated analysis of individual, family, group, and community factors. By studying generations of families, investigators will identify patterns of intergenerational transmission of risk and resilience. This can allow families to “break the chain” of risk for mental illness, substance use and deaths related to persistent distress.

 

The SOAR Study is led by principal investigator K. Luan Phan, MD, in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Heath at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine in collaboration with the state and several of Ohio’s public universities, including Northeast Ohio Medical University, and a private institution of higher education.

 

For more information or to register for the study, visit https://soarstudies.org/. 

 

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Caption: SOAR Study mobile MRI unit based at St. Rita's Hospital in Lima, Ohio.