Aaron R. Lyon, PhD

This planning grant is designed to develop a school-specific adaptation of the Collaborative Care model and associated training materials in order to: (1) Enhance capacity to provide SBMH services by increasing the number of healthcare providers (including primary care providers and indigenous school-based personnel) who can participate in the delivery of mental health services to youth experiencing mood and anxiety problems; (2) Improve SBMH accessibility by reducing stigma via the utilization of primary care providers and indigenous school personnel as points of entry for services; and (3) Increase the extent to which SBMH services reflect high quality evidence-based practices.

This project will use machine learning algorithms to evaluate the extent to which high school students' social media posts provide the information needed to accurately predict and manage suicide risk in real time.

We have developed and are currently testing the Beliefs and Attitudes for Successful Implementation in Schools (BASIS) implementation strategy. BASIS is a theoretically-drive, intervention-agnostic, and individually-focused implementation strategy designed to increase motivation and engagement prior to – and immediately following – initial training in evidence-based practices. Access the BASIS R01 study protocol here.   Check out related projects: BASIS-Optimization and BASIS-T

The goal of this study is to make the theory driven pre-implementation - Beliefs and Attitudes for Successful Implementation in Schools (BASIS) - to be most impactful and optimized for effectiveness and delivered in a digitized, resource-sensitive, scalable, and potentially sustainable way to improve school-based mental health providers’ implementation of evidence-based practices (EBP). The BASIS optimization project is funded as a component of the NIMH-funded IMPACT Center at the University of Washington.

We have developed – and are currently conducting a large-scale randomized trial of – at teacher-focused version of the Beliefs and Attitudes for Successful Implementation in Schools (BASIS) implementation strategy. BASIS-T is being tested in context of Positive Greetings at the Door (PGD) implementation. Details are available in a study protocol published in Implementation Science.

This project is designed to deliver and evaluate an early warning system and Tier 2 intervention (Student Engagement and Empowerment) to improve student attendance, behavior, and achievement. In doing so, this project investigates the effects of building capacity within schools to make data-driven decisions surrounding the selection and delivery of evidence-based, brief, relatively low-cost interventions proven to improve students’ mindsets and school belonging, two constructs linked to increased school engagement and safety.

BOLT is focused on designing and texting an online training platform and post-training consultation procedures to support measurement-based care / routine outcome monitoring among school-based mental health providers. Both the platform and the training will be iteratively developed using best practices from the field of user-centered design.

The HELM project will adapt and test an existing leadership-focused implementation strategy (Leadership and Organizational Change for Implementation; https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13012-014-0192-y) for use with elementary school principals in buildings where universal social, emotional, and behavioral program are being implemented. For more information about this project, click here.

This study is the first to examine the specific impact of overlapping organizational contexts in which evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation increasingly occurs. This exploratory mixed-methods research was conducted to evaluate the intra- and inter-organizational implementation contexts of schools and community-based organizations (CBO) as they relate to mental health EBP implementation. We estimated the effects of different aspects of the school and CBO organizational influences on the implementation outcomes identified as most critical to school-based mental health (fidelity, acceptability, appropriateness). We also explored the mechanisms through which inter-organizational alignment influences implementation outcomes. Using a sample that represents the vast majority (>90%) of CBOs in two geographically distinct and diverse regions, we addressed the following aims: Aim 1: Using quantitative methods, estimate the effects of (a) each intra-organizational implementation context (school and CBO) and (b) inter-organizational alignment (IOA) on implementation outcomes. Aim 1a: Estimate the moderating effect of clinicians' degree of school embeddedness on Aim 1 effects. Aim 2: Using a sequential mixed methods approach, examine the underlying mechanisms through which IOA facilitates or hinders EBP implementation. Interested in learning more? Check out publications from this project.

(non-research) The SMART Center Postdoctoral Research Training Program in School Mental Health is funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute for Education Sciences (IES).The fellowship’s areas of focus align with those of the SMART Center and include research-based school behavioral health strategies and policies, implementation science, educational equity, clinical research methodology, and understanding and reducing ethnic and racial disparities.

In this study, the researchers will examine the efficacy of the Helping Educational Leaders Mobilize Evidence (HELM) implementation strategy for promoting building-level implementation leadership, implementation climate, and high-fidelity delivery of evidence-based practices. This study tests whether HELM improves outcomes when used in conjunction with Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), an evidence-based practice. The researchers will compare the effects of PBIS implemented with usual supports and PBIS implemented with HELM. They will also explore what for whom, under what conditions, how equitably, and through which processes HELM works to improve student academic outcomes, as well as its cost-effectiveness.

The main purpose of this Goal 5 Measurement Development and Refinement Project is to develop a suite of valid, practical, and usable measures to assess characteristics of the organizational implementation context in authentic educational settings in order to support the adoption and sustainment of evidence-based practices that improve student outcomes.

The University of Washington Research Institute for Implementation Science in Education (RIISE) is the first of its kind and reflects a collaborative, innovative effort to develop the implementation research workforce in education and improve educational and related outcomes. Led by a group of Core Faculty with extensive experience conducting implementation research in schools, RIISE provides training and mentorship to established education scholars (Fellows) to increase their expertise in conceptualizing, designing, and executing implementation research studies. Specifically, the RIISE training program will support Fellows in acquiring, building fluency with, and applying implementation research knowledge and skills in their education research to develop high-quality implementation studies that bridge the “last mile” in which education research fails to reach the individuals for whom it was intended. Learn more about RIISE here.

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Want to participate? See information below.

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Project Information

The aims of this project are to:

1. Evaluate the usability of leading, evidence-based Tier 1 social-emotional learning (SEL) programs and practices and identify unique and common usability problems.
2. Explore the links between SEL programs/practices usability and implementation and student outcomes.
3. Refine the USABILITY theory of change, develop a matrix of usability problems and redesign solutions, and articulate guidance to the field for designing usable Tier 1 SEL programs/practices.

  The research reported here is supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305A230391 to the University of Washington. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.

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Importance

This is the first study to evaluate the usability of school-wide, universal SEL programs - in other words, how easy (or hard) they are to implement from the perspectives of teachers and students. We will also explore how much a SEL program/practice's usability matters to school and student outcomes.

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Recruitment

The study is actively recruiting participants to complete the virtual user testing component.

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ELIGIBILITY

We invite teachers and students who meet the following criteria to participate.

Teachers Employed at elementary school Teach K - 6th grade Teach general education students Any range of previous experience with SEL programs and practices View informational flyer here > Complete interest survey > Teachers will not participate as a representative of their school or district.

Students Enrolled at elementary school Enrolled in 4th - 6th grade General education student Any range of previous experience with SEL programs and practices View informational flyer here > Complete interest survey >

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PARTICIPATION Participants are asked to complete virtual testing of 2 SEL programs where they will: Teachers will be asked to review digital SEL program materials 2 weeks prior to the session Share thoughts and experiences on their engagement with the programs Complete brief surveys on perspectives of the programs Teachers Will participate individually Have the option to complete one 2-hour session or split their time across two 1-hour sessions Will receive $250 digital gift card (halved if only one session is attended out of two) Students Will participate in a group setting of 2 - 3 students Will complete one 2-hour session Will receive $200 digital gift card

 

Black and Latinx youth continue to receive lower quantity and quality mental healthcare compared to Non-Hispanic White youth, despite similar rates of unmet need. Clinician implicit bias has been implicated as a major contributor to inequitable mental health treatment and outcomes for youth. This study, addressing the third aim of the supplemental BOLT parent grant (NIMH 3R34MH109605-02S1), aims to pilot test a Virtual Implicit Bias Reduction and Neutralization Training (VIBRANT) for school mental health clinicians as an innovative strategy for reducing clinician implicit bias, improving the equitable delivery of high quality, evidence-based mental healthcare, and ultimately improving mental health outcomes for Black and Latinx youth.