Development and Dissemination of Rigorous Methods for Training and Implementation

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Dissemination and implementation of Evidence-Based Behavioral Health Treatments (EBHTs) is occurring nationally as part of many state and national initiatives to transform the mental health system and improve care to individuals with mental illness and substance use disorders. These methods of training and implementation, however, have received limited empirical scrutiny. While they typically reflect the good sense of the EBHT developer, colleagues, or behavioral health systems, these initiatives are often expensive and variably successful. Several researchers have developed new methods of training and implementation of behavioral health treatments which are in the early stages of evaluation (e.g., Trauma-Focused CBT, Assertive Community Treatment, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, PEARLS, and Triple-P). It is an important research agenda to have training and implementation be evaluated empirically and successful models and evaluation methodologies disseminated. This series of three conferences will bring together developers of EBHTs, researchers and systems involved in EBHT implementation, and interdisciplinary experts on training and implementation research. In addition to senior researchers in the field, the focus will also be on involvement of graduate students, fellows, and junior faculty, as well as assurance of participation among women, racial and ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities. The overall goal is threefold: (a) to disseminate effective models for training and implementation of EBHT s based in theory and behavior change research, (b) to disseminate rigorous methods for evaluating the training and implementation through its initial phases, and (c) to develop interdisciplinary collaborations to improve the quantity and quality of EBHT implementations. Conference 1 will focus on sharing information on existing EBHT training and implementation strategies and the existing literature in this area, to expose participants to each others' expertise. Conference 2 will review real-world implementations that have largely succeeded or failed. Facilitated discussions will address key strengths and barriers in these real world examples and methods for evaluating them. Conference 3 will highlight advances in the field, focusing on common measures and methods that can be used across EBHT implementations and collaborations by conference participants since the first conference.