# Improving access to mental health services for rural youth: Leveraging multidisciplinary teams to enhance implementation of a screening and referral protocol in rural Child Advocacy Centers

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2024 · $54,000

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 Children in rural areas are at elevated risk for child maltreatment and have high rates of unmet mental
health needs. Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) provide coordinated interagency responses to maltreatment
allegations and are well-positioned to identify children with mental health needs and facilitate access to
evidence-based treatments. This K23 study will examine how multidisciplinary team functioning in CACs is
associated with implementation of a screening and referral protocol and whether improving team functioning
can enhance implementation efforts. Understanding how multidisciplinary teams facilitate or hinder
implementation and developing team-focused strategies can enhance efforts to implement evidence-based
practices in rural CACs and other settings providing team-based care. This study will use a stakeholder-
engaged approach and has three aims: 1) Use mixed methods to examine how multidisciplinary team
interdependence and functioning are associated with implementation of a screening and referral protocol in
CACs; 2) Develop team-focused strategies to facilitate implementation in rural CACs; and 3) Conduct a pilot
randomized controlled effectiveness-implementation Type II hybrid trial in rural CACs. To ensure its successful
execution and build the investigator’s capacity for independent research, the following training aims are
proposed: 1) Develop competence in conducting stakeholder-engaged, community-based research with
vulnerable populations, 2) Develop expertise in the application of team theories to implementation in
multidisciplinary settings providing team-based care, and 3) Acquire skills in methods for implementation
science. Training and research will be overseen by co-mentors Dr. David Kolko (Professor of Psychiatry,
Psychology, Pediatrics, and Clinical and Translational Science, University of Pittsburgh) and Dr. Gregory
Aarons (Professor of Psychiatry, University of California-San Diego). Additional mentorship will be provided by
community partner Dr. Teresa Smith (Project Director, Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center) and
advisory committee members Dr. Laurie Weingart (Professor of Organizational Behavior and Theory, Tepper
School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University), Dr. Eduardo Salas (Professor of Psychology, Rice
University), Dr. Elizabeth Miller (Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh), and Dr. John Fortney
(Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington).

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11034372
- **Project number:** 3K23MH123729-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Elizabeth Ann McGuier
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $54,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-04-01 → 2026-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11034372

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11034372, Improving access to mental health services for rural youth: Leveraging multidisciplinary teams to enhance implementation of a screening and referral protocol in rural Child Advocacy Centers (3K23MH123729-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11034372. Licensed CC0.

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