Improving Mental Health Support in Middle Schools
This study is looking at how different training and support programs help middle school staff identify and respond to students' mental and behavioral health needs. Researchers are working with schools that use an online tool called the Early Identification System (EIS), which helps identify students needing support and suggests evidence-based practices. The study compares two types of support: EIS Only (standard training) versus EIS + ECHO (standard training plus monthly group sessions for school support teams). The goal is to see how these different supports change staff knowledge and behaviors, and ultimately improve youth mental health. This study is open to public middle schools (grades 6-8) in rural, town, and suburban/city areas that plan to use the EIS.
- Study design
- This is an interventional study with a planned enrollment of 21,350 participants, using a school-level randomized controlled trial design.
- What's involved
- Not specified in the trial record.
- Compensation
- Not stated in the trial record.
- Follow-up
- Youth mental health and staff knowledge/behaviors will be measured at two time points over nine months.
AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.
Implementation Supports for Improving Identification and Delivery of School-based Mental Health Supports for Middle Schools Students
At a glance
Conditions
Where it's being run
3 sites across 3 statesStudy leadership
- Michael D Lyons, Ph.D. · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · University of Virginia
Who to contact
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Do you actually qualify for this trial?
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Inclusion
Exclusion
What this trial measures
- Change in youth mental health measured by the Early identification System2 time points (over 9 months)
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.
- Change in staff knowledge of evidence-based school mental health practices as measured by the Perceptions of Response To Intervention Skills Survey2 time points (over 9 months)
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).
- Change in staff behaviors of evidence-based school mental health practices as measured by the Perceptions of Practices Survey2 time points (over 9 months)
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.
- Change in staff burnout as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory2 time points (over 9 months)
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).
- Change in schoolwide school mental health implementation outcomes as measured by the School-wide Evaluation Tool2 time points (over 9 months)
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.
- Change in schoolwide school mental health implementation outcomes as measured by the Individual School-wide Evaluation Tool2 time points (over 9 months)
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.