NCT03901274

Patient Centered Enhancements in School Behavioral Health

Patient Centered Enhancements in School Behavioral Health: A Randomized Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 2,558 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of South Carolina · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: —
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This study will evaluate whether the evidence-based Wellness framework paired with an evidence-based Partnership compared to Wellness alone will improve middle school students\' social, emotional/behavioral, and academic functioning.

Detailed description

The mental health needs of children and youth are well-documented as an under-addressed and significant public health need in the United States. A number of barriers prevent children, youth, and families from accessing behavioral health services in standard clinic settings, including lack of sufficient transportation, cost, and stigma related to receiving services. School behavioral health (SBH) programs-in which community mental health providers join school teams to better address the social, emotional/behavioral, and academic needs of students-are growing in the United States because of their ability to reach youth who need, but may not otherwise receive, services. However, these efforts are limited by a lack of patient and stakeholder engagement. This has commonly resulted in SBH programs not being implemented, implemented inconsistently, or underutilized. The study will compare an evidence-based Patient-Centered Enhancements (i.e., Partnership) intervention added to an evidence-based framework termed Wellness in a three-year intervention for students in middle schools. Investigators predict the addition of the Partnership intervention will improve school climate and enhance SBH services, resulting in significantly improved social, emotional/behavioral, and academic outcomes in students. The study has three aims: 1. Investigators will evaluate the extent to which Partnership increases the number of students and families receiving school behavioral health services and expressing satisfaction with services received. 2. Investigators will evaluate the impact of Partnership on students' social, emotional/behavioral, and academic outcomes throughout the course of the intervention period (sixth through eighth grade).

Conditions

• Mental Health

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Wellness	The Wellness framework packages together evidence-based practices of family engagement, modular evidence-based practice, quality assurance, and implementation support. Depending on their time of enrollment, participants can be involved in this condition for one to three years. They will be asked to complete assessments during their therapy sessions periodically throughout the trial.
BEHAVIORAL	Partnership	The two patient-centered enhancements are: enhancing mental health literacy and stigma reduction, and improving family-school-mental health partnerships. Depending on their time of enrollment, participants can be involved in this condition for one to three years. They will be asked to complete assessments during their therapy sessions periodically throughout the trial.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-09-10
• Primary completion: 2023-12-31
• Completion: 2023-12-31
• First posted: 2019-04-03
• Last updated: 2025-06-05
• Results posted: 2025-06-05

Locations

3 sites across 1 country: United States