# Project 2

> **NIH NIH P01** · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · 2024 · $355,396

## Abstract

Prospective Practice-Oriented Research Project - Abstract
 Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) disengagement is alarmingly common and compromises the vision of CSC
to support recovery in first episode psychosis Few efforts are focused on developing services to prevent disengagement
that do not require additional training and implementation burden of community-based CSC programs. The Early
Psychosis Intervention Network’s (EPINET) hub-based structure offers an opportunity to circumvent program-level
implementation barriers by developing and implementing systems-level strategies to address disengagement. One
strategy employs a centralized service, staffed by dedicated professionals working across a hub, to (1) receive and
organize referrals, (2) complete ongoing specialized training in engagement science and evidence-based strategies, (3)
provide unbiased support when participants’ and/or families’ relationships with a CSC program are poor, (4) re-engage
participants in CSC or actively connect them with other services if preferred, and (5) continue contact with those who
refuse treatment in case they reconsider. Currently, no hub-based strategy exists to address disengagement. The
primary objective of this project is to use participatory research methods within a learning health system research
framework to develop and evaluate a hub-based Engagement Navigator Service (ENS) to prevent CSC
disengagement. Our central hypothesis is that, once developed, ENS will support more months in treatment and lower
disengagement rates than usual care (UC). Our long-term goal is to co-produce a hub-based navigator service to reduce
disengagement. We will attain our objectives via the following specific aims:
 This Prospective Practice-Oriented Research Project entitled Developing and Evaluating a Hub-Based
Engagement Navigator Service to Reduce CSC Disengagement proposes to develop a hub-based engagement
navigator service (ENS) for participants and families at high risk for disengagement. We will use robust Participatory
Research methods to ensure integration of CSC program staff, participants, and family members in developing all
aspects of and materials for ENS (Aim 1). We will conduct mixed methods feasibility/acceptability testing in three CSC
programs and use this information to guide ENS refinements (Aim 2). This will be followed by a mixed methods hub
wide evaluation using a hybrid type I open cohort stepped wedge design to examine feasibility, acceptability, and
effectiveness to improve disengagement outcomes and target mechanisms (Aim 3).

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11074216
- **Project number:** 1P01MH139228-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE
- **Principal Investigator:** MELANIE E. BENNETT
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $355,396
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-10 → 2029-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11074216

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11074216, Project 2 (1P01MH139228-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11074216. Licensed CC0.

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