A National Snapshot of Training and Technical Assistance Needs Within the Mental Health Workforce.

Objective: This report summarizes results from a national survey that aimed to assess the training and technical assistance needs of individuals who work in mental health.

Methods: A survey was distributed to mental health workers by 10 regional centers of a large, nationwide, federally funded training and technical assistance network during January-October 2021.

Results: A total of 2,321 individuals from 58 states and territories responded to the survey.

Supporting Implementation Through Online Learning Communities: Lessons Learned From a National Training and Technical Assistance Network.

Recent implementation science frameworks highlight the role of training and technical assistance (TTA) in building workforce capacity to implement evidence-based practices (EBPs). However, evaluation of TTA is limited. We describe three case examples that highlight TTA by three regional centers in the national Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) network.

Educator-Informed Development of a Mental Health Literacy Course for School Staff: Classroom Well-Being Information and Strategies for Educators (Classroom WISE).

Educators play a critical role in promoting mental health and well-being with their students. Educators also recognize that they lack knowledge and relevant learning opportunities that would allow them to feel competent in supporting student mental health. As such, educators require resources and training to allow them to develop skills in this area.

Learning Collaboratives: a Strategy for Quality Improvement and Implementation in Behavioral Health.

Learning collaboratives are increasingly used in behavioral health. They generally involve bringing together teams from different organizations and using experts to educate and coach the teams in quality improvement, implementing evidence-based practices, and measuring the effects. Although learning collaboratives have demonstrated some effectiveness in general health care, the evidence is less clear in behavioral health and more rigorous studies are needed.

Virtual training and technical assistance: a shift in behavioral health workforce access and perceptions of services during emergency restrictions.

Background: To respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration-funded Technology Transfer Centers had to rapidly adapt to ensure that the behavioral health workforce had continuous access to remote training and technical assistance (TTA). Although the Technology Transfer Centers have historically relied partially upon virtual methods for delivering TTA, the shift to a strictly virtual approach necessitated by COVID-19 restrictions has raised new questions for how to best proceed with services when social distancing guidelines are relaxed. The objective of this exploratory paper was to compare TTA provision in the six-month period prior to (9/1/19 thru 2/28/20) and during (4/1/20 thru 9/30/20) early COVID-19 restrictions to determine the extent to which the shift to virtual service provision impacted the behavioral health and medical workforce.

Health Facts Medication Adherence in Transplantation (H-MAT) Study: A Secondary Analysis of Determinants and Outcomes of Medication Nonadherence in Adult Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Aims: To explore the relationship between determinants and posttransplant medication nonadherence (MNA) in adult kidney transplant recipients, and to examine the relationship between posttransplant MNA and clinical outcomes.

Methods: Using the World Health Organization's model, this retrospective, multicenter, correlational study examined the relationship between determinants, posttransplant MNA, and clinical outcomes in 16,671 adult kidney transplant recipients from the Cerner national data warehouse.

Results: With 12% MNA, those who were nonadherent were more likely to have the social/economic factors of being younger, single, Caucasian versus Hispanic race, have the condition-related factor of mental health/substance use disorder, and have the healthcare system-related factor of government/health maintenance organization/managed care insurance (' < 0.

The Setting-Intervention Fit of Nine Evidence-Based Interventions for Substance Use Disorders Within HIV Service Organizations Across the United States: Results of a National Stakeholder-Engaged Real-Time Delphi Study.

Background: Given substance use disorders (SUDs) among people with HIV are highly prevalent, integrating SUD services within HIV service settings is needed to help end the HIV epidemic. In this study, we assessed the setting-intervention fit (SIF) of 9 evidence-based SUD interventions: acamprosate, disulfiram, oral naltrexone, injectable naltrexone, oral buprenorphine, injectable buprenorphine, contingency management, motivational interviewing, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Setting: Clinical and nonclinical HIV service organizations (HSOs) in the United States.

Applying implementation science in mental health services: Technical assistance cases from the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) network.

Objective: Critical gaps exist between implementation of effective interventions and the actual services delivered to people living with mental disorders. Many technical assistance (TA) efforts rely on one-time trainings of clinical staff and printed guidelines that alone are not effective in changing clinical practice. The Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Network uses implementation science to accelerate the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs), improve performance, and bring about systems-level change.

The Prevalence and Negative Impacts of Substance Use Disorders among People with HIV in the United States: A Real-Time Delphi Survey of Key Stakeholders.

Although HIV and substance use disorders (SUDs) constitute a health syndemic, no research to date has examined the perceived negative impacts of different SUDs for people with HIV (PWH). In May 2019, 643 stakeholders in the U.S.

Resilience-Focused HIV Care to Promote Psychological Well-Being During COVID-19 and Other Catastrophes.

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected people with HIV due to disruptions in prevention and care services, economic impacts, and social isolation. These stressors have contributed to worse physical health, HIV treatment outcomes, and psychological wellness. Psychological sequelae associated with COVID-19 threaten the overall well-being of people with HIV and efforts to end the HIV epidemic.

The implementation and sustainment facilitation strategy improved implementation effectiveness and intervention effectiveness: Results from a cluster-randomized, type 2 hybrid trial.

Background: Substance use disorders (SUDs) among people with HIV are both prevalent and problematic. The Substance Abuse Treatment to HIV care project was funded to test the Implementation and Sustainment Facilitation (ISF) strategy as an adjunct to the Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) strategy for integrating a motivational interviewing-based brief intervention (MIBI) for SUDs within HIV community-based organizations.

Methods: Using a cluster-randomized, type 2 hybrid trial design, 39 HIV organizations were randomized to either (1) ATTC ( = 19) or (2) ATTC + ISF ( = 20).

Distance Versus On-Site Educational Strategies for Competency-Based Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment Education.

Background: Although the individual and public health consequences of alcohol and drug use are substantial, nursing education programs generally lack content on addiction. The goal of this evaluation was to compare the initial outcomes of on-site versus distance methods for training graduate nurse practitioner students in Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for substance use.

Method: A nonrandomized two-group pretest-posttest design was used to compare knowledge, attitudes, and skills learning outcomes between on-site (n = 45) and distance (n = 18) family or adult/geriatric Master of Science in Nursing nurse practitioner students receiving SBIRT training.

Correction to: Testing the effectiveness of a motivational interviewing-based brief intervention for substance use as an adjunct to usual care in community-based AIDS service organizations: study protocol for a multisite randomized controlled trial.

Upon publication of the original article.

Testing the effectiveness of a motivational interviewing-based brief intervention for substance use as an adjunct to usual care in community-based AIDS service organizations: study protocol for a multisite randomized controlled trial.

Background: In 2010, the first comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States was released and included three goals: (1) reducing the number of people who become infected with HIV, (2) increasing access to care and improving health outcomes for people living with HIV, and (3) reducing HIV-related health disparities and health inequities. In 2013, as part of its effort to help address the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) funded a type 2 effectiveness-implementation hybrid trial titled the Substance Abuse Treatment to HIV Care (SAT2HIV) Project. Aim 1 of the SAT2HIV Project tests the effectiveness of a motivational interviewing-based brief intervention (MIBI) for substance use as an adjunct to usual care within AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs) as part of its MIBI Experiment.

Testing the implementation and sustainment facilitation (ISF) strategy as an effective adjunct to the Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) strategy: study protocol for a cluster randomized trial.

Background: Improving the extent to which evidence-based practices (EBPs)-treatments that have been empirically shown to be efficacious or effective-are integrated within routine practice is a well-documented challenge across numerous areas of health. In 2014, the National Institute on Drug Abuse funded a type 2 effectiveness-implementation hybrid trial titled the substance abuse treatment to HIV Care (SAT2HIV) Project. Aim 1 of the SAT2HIV Project tests the effectiveness of a motivational interviewing-based brief intervention (MIBI) for substance use as an adjunct to usual care within AIDS service organizations (ASOs) as part of its MIBI Experiment.

Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment: overview of and student satisfaction with an undergraduate addiction training program for nurses.

Preparing nursing students to apply an evidence-based screening and brief intervention approach with patients has the potential to reduce patients' risky alcohol and drug use. Responding to Mollica, Hyman, and Mann's article published in 2011, the current article describes implementation results of an Addiction Training for Nurses program of Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) embedded within an undergraduate nursing curriculum. Results reveal that students in other schools of nursing would benefit from similar, significant training on substance use disorders and SBIRT.

Confirming the factor structure of the alcohol and alcohol problems questionnaire (AAPPQ) in a sample of baccalaureate nursing students.

The Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Perception Questionnaire (AAPPQ) is a multi-dimensional measure of clinicians' attitudes toward working with patients with alcohol problems. In the past 35 years, five- and six-subscale versions and a short version of the AAPPQ have been published. While the reliability of the AAPPQ subscales has remained acceptable, the factor structure has not been verified using confirmatory techniques.

Effects of Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) education and training on nursing students' attitudes toward working with patients who use alcohol and drugs.

Background: Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) can reduce alcohol use and negative health outcomes in patients with risky substance use. However, negative attitudes that some health care professionals have toward patients who use substances are a barrier to implementing SBIRT.

Methods: The University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, in partnership with the Institute for Research, Education, and Training in Addictions (IRETA), developed a curriculum to train baccalaureate student nurses to deliver SBIRT.

Assessing the co-occurring capability of mental health treatment programs: the Dual Diagnosis Capability in Mental Health Treatment (DDCMHT) Index.

The Dual Diagnosis Capability in Mental Health Treatment (DDCMHT) Index was developed to assess the capability of mental health programs to provide substance abuse and co-occurring treatment services. The DDCMHT is an objective scale rated following a site visit that includes semi-structured interviews with staff at all levels, review of program documents and client charts, and ethnographic observation of the milieu and setting. Using data from 67 mental health programs across six states, this study found that the DDCMHT had excellent total score reliability, variable subscale reliability, high inter-rater reliability (n = 18), and moderate construct validity (n = 22).

Dual diagnosis capability in mental health and addiction treatment services: an assessment of programs across multiple state systems.

Despite increased awareness of the benefits of integrated services for persons with co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders, estimates of the availability of integrated services vary widely. The present study utilized standardized measures of program capacity to address co-occurring disorders, the dual diagnosis capability in addiction treatment and dual diagnosis capability in mental health treatment indexes, and sampled 256 programs across the United States. Approximately 18 % of addiction treatment and 9 % of mental health programs met criteria for dual diagnosis capable services.

Increasing program capability to provide treatment for co-occurring substance use and mental disorders: organizational characteristics.

The Dual Diagnosis Capability in Addiction Treatment and the Dual Diagnosis Capability in Mental Health Treatment indexes were used to document change in the capability of 14 substance abuse and mental health agencies to provide services to clients with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders (COD). COD capability significantly increased over 2 years, with the largest improvements seen in client assessment and staff training for COD. The role of agency structural characteristics and organizational readiness for change was also investigated.

An implementation story: moving the GAIN from pilot project to statewide use.

Similar to implementing an evidence-based practice (EPB), implementing an evidence-based assessment (EBA) is a long, complex process that can take several years to complete. Between 2002 and 2007, the state of Missouri first piloted the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs-Initial (GAIN-I; Dennis et al. 2006) assessment at one state-contracted adolescent substance abuse treatment program and then implemented the GAIN statewide.

Victimization among African-American adolescents in substance abuse treatment.

Victimization is regarded as a significant public health issue, especially among adolescents in urban areas. Although victimization is linked to substance use, the research on victimization among adolescents in treatment is underdeveloped. Given the high rate of victimization among African-American adolescents, further research on the prevalence and correlates of victimization for this population is needed.

Trajectories of dynamic predictors of disorder: their meanings and implications.

Developmental psychopathologists are increasingly focused on characterizing heterogeneity of trajectories of psychological disorders across the life course (e.g., developmentally limited vs.