CCF Speaker Series Kimberly E. Hoagwood, Ph.D. 11-20-2015

State System Redesign, Implementation Research, and Children’s Mental Health: Preventing an Emergency Descent Kimberly E. Hoagwood, Ph.D. Dissemination-Implementation science, the newest genre for multidisciplinary studies, has emerged over the past decade replete with conceptual models and studies of barriers. This has provided limited usefulness to state systems that are undergoing massive changes consequent to healthcare restructuring. In the rush by health and mental health authorities to accommodate these changes, services for children and adolescents are being largely overlooked. And the gap between children’s mental health needs and use of effective services is widening. Ironically, the most direct way to address these trenchant and persistent problems may be through redesign of prevention and intervention services for children with a focus on social policies. This includes using metrics, monitoring and feedback to drive change, and addressing organizational, fiscal, and leadership issues. A body of research is emerging that identifies system level, organizational level, provider level, and individual level (child and family) interventions that can dramatically improve outcomes for children and adolescents. Approaches include strategic collaborative interventions, business and leadership support, population-level quality metrics, and data driven monitoring and feedback systems aligned with social policies that target the social determinants of children’s mental health. However, the current horizon line for implementation science is misaligned with these goals, focusing instead on identification of barriers and on program uptake. This presentation will provide examples of practical research-based strategies and recommend a research agenda to align implementation science with social policies to improve children’s mental health.

Kimberly E. Hoagwood Ph.D., Vice Chair of Research, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine

11/20/2015 5:00:00 PM