Implementation Supports for Improving Identification and Delivery of School-based Mental Health Supports for Middle Schools Students

NCT06047041 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 5320
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 21,350
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 3

Brief Summary

This study will assess how different types of training and support influence the way that school staff understand, and respond to, the mental and behavioral health needs of middle school students. Researchers will work with middle schools using a developed screening system (called the Early Identification System; EIS) and compare how staff and student outcomes change when schools receive two different types of training and support: 1) standard onboarding/training versus 2) participating in professional learning communities and coaching.

Conditions

Mental Health Issue

Keywords

Schools; Adolescent Health

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (6)

• Change in youth mental health measured by the Early identification System

  De-identified, student-level behavioral data collected via the Early Identification System. The measure is a psychometrically validated mental and behavioral health screening system measuring domains including attention problems, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems.

  2 time points (over 9 months)

• Change in staff knowledge of evidence-based school mental health practices as measured by the Perceptions of Response To Intervention Skills Survey

  Staff perceptions of the skills they possess related to evidence-based screening, monitoring, and intervention will be measured using a modified version of the Perceptions of Response To Intervention Skills Survey - Revised (PRSS; α \> .90 for all factors). Response options range from not skilled (1) to very highly scaled (5).

  2 time points (over 9 months)

• Change in staff behaviors of evidence-based school mental health practices as measured by the Perceptions of Practices Survey

  Perceptions of Practices Survey (PPS; Castillo et al., 2016) measures the extent to which schools implement evidence-based screening, intervention, and progress monitoring practices to support student mental health (α = .96 for the behavior factor; Marshall, 2016). Staff will indicate on a 5-point scale how frequently the practice occurred in their school.

  2 time points (over 9 months)

• Change in staff burnout as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory

  Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI; Maslach \& Jackson, 1981). Measures staff experiences of emotional exasperation and fatigue. Staff will complete the emotional exhaustion factor from the MBI - Educators Survey (MBI-ES, α \> .80; Wheeler et a., 2011). Response options range from never (0) to daily (6).

  2 time points (over 9 months)

• Change in schoolwide school mental health implementation outcomes as measured by the School-wide Evaluation Tool

  The School-Wide Evaluation Tool (SET; Sugai et al., 2001) measure the implementation of evidence-based programs within a tiered system. The SET measures school-wide activities related to the implementation of school mental health systems, targeted interventions, and individualized interventions. A trained assessor will track implementation of evidence-based programs in both conditions.

  2 time points (over 9 months)

• Change in schoolwide school mental health implementation outcomes as measured by the Individual School-wide Evaluation Tool

  The Individual Student Systems Evaluation Tool (ISSET; Debnam, Pas, \& Bradshaw, 2012) measures the implementation of evidence-based programs within a tiered system. The ISSET measures foundations, targeted interventions, and individualized interventions. A trained assessor will track implementation in both conditions.

  2 time points (over 9 months)

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Number of students with disciplinary referrals

  2 time points (over 12 months)

• Student grades

  2 time points (over 12 months)

Study Arms (2)

EIS Only

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

EIS Only (active comparator) condition schools involve technical assistance to support the implementation EIS.

Behavioral: EIS Only

EIS + ECHO

EXPERIMENTAL

EIS + ECHO (experimental) condition involves all of the activities included in the "EIS Only" condition and will include enhanced implementation supports. Enhanced implementation supports involve 1) monthly collaborative learning ECHO sessions for school student support team staff to support implementation of EIS and evidence-based mental and behavioral health practices and 2) individual school teams will also receive follow-up supports to promote the implementation strategies presented during ECHO sessions.

Behavioral: EIS + ECHO

Interventions

EIS Only BEHAVIORAL

The EIS Only Condition includes middle schools who have elected to implement the EIS. The EIS: * Is an online tool to that enables schools to identify students in need of additional mental or behavioral health support and provides recommendations for evidence-based practices. * Asks teachers and students to report on 7 areas of student social-emotional functioning * Facilitates schools' understanding of social-emotional student needs and recommended evidence-based practices at a variety of levels (e.g., school-, grade-, and individual-level). EIS Only Condition supports include: * Technical assistance professional development sessions to support the implementation of EIS and schoolwide practices related to identifying and supporting student mental health needs. * Individualized technical assistance for schools to support EIS implementation.

EIS Only

EIS + ECHO BEHAVIORAL

EIS + ECHO supports include supports from the EIS Only condition plus: * Monthly ECHO sessions for student support teams (SSTs; e.g., interdisciplinary groups of staff tasked to support student mental health). The ECHO experience involves: * Didactic training to support EIS implementation and effective identification and support of student mental and behavioral health needs. * Case-based learning and collaborative problem-solving related to EIS implementation and effective identification and support of student mental and behavioral health needs. * Collaboration with colleagues in schools that are also implementing the EIS. * Opportunities to consult with university faculty and content experts in school mental health. * Individualized SST coaching supports to facilitate the implementation of mental and behavioral health practices and strategies discussed during ECHO sessions.

EIS + ECHO

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 10 Years - 99 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Public middle schools (must include grades 6-8) planning to implement the EIS
• Located in rural areas, towns, \& suburbs / cities (NCES locales)

You may not qualify if:

• Previous use of EIS (i.e., use of all screening data and intervention hub)
• \<70% response rate on pre-intervention implementation of EIS

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Virginia: lead
• University of South Carolina: collaborator
• University of Missouri-Columbia: collaborator

Study Sites (3)

University of Missouri

Columbia, Missouri, 65211, United States

RECRUITING

University of South Carolina

Columbia, South Carolina, 29208, United States

RECRUITING

University of Virginia

Charlottesville, Virginia, 22904, United States

RECRUITING

Study Officials

• Michael D Lyons, Ph.D.

  University of Virginia

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Michael D Lyons, Ph.D.

CONTACT

434-924-0790; mdl8s@virginia.edu

Faith A Zabek, Ph.D.

CONTACT

434-243-4726; tak9uz@virginia.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Assessors of schoolwide implementation outcomes (i.e., the School-Wide Evaluation Tool \[SET\] and the Individual Student Systems Evaluation Tool \[ISSET\]) will be masked.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Model Details: School-level randomization to treatment arm.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 1, 2023
• First Posted: September 21, 2023
• Study Start: August 31, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2026
• Last Updated: June 19, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (3)