# A Mobile Health Solution to Improve Between-Session Skills Practice in Youth Mental Health Treatment

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA · 2020 · $155,571

## Abstract

The goal of this K23 award is to provide the training and research experience necessary for me to become a
leading researcher in the development of technology-based resources that improve the quality of mental health
(MH) services. I propose to receive advanced training in the following areas: (1) mHealth intervention
development and evaluation; (2) biomedical informatics; (3) implementation science; (4) clinical trial design,
implementation, and evaluation; (5) grant writing and project management; and (6) ethics and the responsible
conduct of research within these domains. My mentorship team includes senior level investigators with active
federally-funded research projects, extensive experience mentoring early-career investigators, and expertise in
the following areas: iterative design, development, and evaluation of technology-based MH interventions
(Ruggiero), biomedical informatics (Lenert), implementation science (Nemeth), clinical trial design and
evaluation (Ramakrishnan), mechanisms underlying evidence-based treatments (Kazantzis), and development
of evidence-based treatments for youth and families (Deblinger). I will apply the skills learned in my training to
a research project where I will develop and conduct a feasibility RCT of PRACTICE, an app I designed using
patient and provider input (NIMH F32) and aimed at increasing provider use of and patient adherence to
homework (HW) during youth MH treatment. HW is assigned by providers in-session and completed by
patients between sessions to enable therapeutic skills and behaviors to generalize to “real-world” settings. HW
is integral to evidence-based treatment, but use and adherence generally are low due to several barriers, many
of which are addressable via mHealth resources. Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is
used as a treatment model for this work to ensure translatability to a wide range of MH treatments. PRACTICE
will be developed and usability testing will be conducted with providers and patients to guide refinements. A
feasibility trial will be conducted with 20 providers and 60 treatment-seeking youth and their caregivers,
recruited from local community-based clinics and randomly assigned to TF-CBT enhanced with PRACTICE vs.
standard TF-CBT. Outcomes (PTSD, depression, disruptive behavior) will be assessed at baseline and 3- and
6-months post-baseline, and targets (HW use and adherence) will be assessed via coded audio recordings of
treatment sessions and weekly check-ins with patients. Post-trial qualitative interviews will assess reactions to
the app and identify barriers and facilitators relating to use. In preparation for the next phase of this research, a
large-scale hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial of PRACTICE (NIMH R01), strategies for implementation
will be assessed via qualitative interviews with community-clinic providers, supervisors, and senior leaders,
and quarterly advisory meetings with the directors of 5 community-based service agenci...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9999051
- **Project number:** 5K23MH118482-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Brian E. Bunnell
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $155,571
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-15 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9999051

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9999051, A Mobile Health Solution to Improve Between-Session Skills Practice in Youth Mental Health Treatment (5K23MH118482-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9999051. Licensed CC0.

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