Project VERO will develop and test a personalized normative feedback intervention to reduce vaccine hesitancy among young adults. Phase one entails rapid prototyping – utilizing concepts from user experience research – to refine the content and design of the brief intervention. The second phase entails an RCT enrolling unvaccinated young adults from around the US to fully test the efficacy of the intervention in terms of vaccine uptake, intentions, and attitudes towards vaccination. This project is conducted in collaboration with Drs. Jennifer Duckworth (Washington State University) and Cynthia Stappenbeck (Georgia State University).
Geographic Area: National
Enhancing engagement with digital mental health care
Although several randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that digital mental health (DMH) tools are highly effective, most consumers do not sustain their use of these tools. The field currently lacks an understanding of DMH tool engagement, how engagement is associated with well-being, and what practices are effective at sustaining engagement. In this partnership between Mental Health America, Talkspace, and the University of Washington (UW), we propose a naturalistic and experimental, theory driven program of research, with the aim of understanding 1) how consumer engagement in self-help and clinician assisted DMH varies and what engagement patterns exist, 2) the association between patterns of engagement and important consumer outcomes, and 3) the effectiveness of personalized strategies for optimal engagement with DMH treatment.
NORTH: Developing a mobile health intervention to support treatment seeking in early psychosis
The proposed research project proposes to develop and test a mobile intervention, Normalizing Orientation to Treatment and Help-Seeking (NORTH) designed to impact knowledge and attitudes to encourage help-seeking among young adults at risk for psychosis. This project involves (1) a needs assessment to understand barriers, interests and preferences related to mHealth and in-person treatment, (2) development, refinement and usability testing of NORTH, and (3) a pilot randomized controlled trial assessing feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy compared to an active control mHealth intervention providing only stress management.
Establishing the Current State of Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Implementation in the U.S.
This study aims to fill a significant knowledge gap that has impeded empirically-informed implementation and sustainability of high-fidelity Assertive Community Treatment (ACT). Investigators are conducting a survey of ACT stakeholders, including specialty adaptations (e.g., Forensic ACT [FACT]) across all U.S. states and territories, examining the relationship between ACT fidelity and outcomes, and examining contextual factors (e.g., financing and policy) that impact high-fidelity ACT implementation and sustainability.
The ATTEND study for Healthcare Workers and First Responders
Healthcare workers and first responders working during the COVID-19 pandemic have experienced increased exposure to suffering and loss; prolonged work hours; and increased personal risk. Although associated increases in psychiatric symptoms and occupational burnout are well documented, what aspects of the experiences are most strongly associated with negative outcomes over time – and what interventions are most likely to protect healthcare workers and first responders – are poorly understood.
The ATTEND study is designed to address the impact of occupational stress related to working during the COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers and first responders (police, fire, EMTs) through a national longitudinal survey paired with a local interventional clinical trial. The interventional clinical trial is designed to test the impact of treating sleep disruption with prazosin during or shortly after the period of exposure.
State Opioid Response Technical Assistance
This project is contributing to the expanded offering of the Opioid Response Network (ORN), a national partnership of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry and the Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) network, to provide on-demand technical assistance in areas of prevention, treatment, and recovery for care related to opioid and stimulant use disorders.
Opioid State Targeted Response – Technical Assistance for HHS Region 10
This project contributed to the sustained offering of the Opioid Response Network (ORN), a national partnership of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry and the Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) network, to provide on-demand technical assistance in areas of prevention, treatment, and recovery for care related to opioid use disorders.
Implementing Contingency Management in Opioid Treatment Centers Across New England: A Hybrid Type 3 Trial
This research is testing the utility of external facilitation and pay-for-performance incentives as implementation strategies to facilitate adoption and implementation of contingency management in a cluster-randomized trial of 30 opioid treatment programs in New England.
Opioid State Targeted Response – Technical Assistance for HHS Region 10
This project contributed to the initial offering of the Opioid Response Network (ORN), a national partnership of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry and the Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) network, to provide on-demand technical assistance in areas of prevention, treatment, and recovery for care related to opioid use disorders.
Informing Dissemination of Behavior Therapies To Enhance HIV Care Among Substance Abusers
This A-START award included the conduct of secondary analyses of the national CNICS HIV care database to examine the prevalence and impact of substance use disorders on HIV care indices, and a mixed-method study of the contextual readiness of regional HIV care settings for empirically-supported behavior therapies.
