Funded Projects

Project videos:

Introduction video

Problem:

There is a well-documented gap between the need for and availability of pediatric behavioral health services, particularly in rural areas. In Maryland, there is a significant maldistribution of child psychiatrists. While select counties have a relatively high density of child psychiatrists, ten counties have only 1-3, and six have none. Maryland Behavioral Health Integration in Pediatric Primary Care (BHIPP) was established in 2012 to support pediatric primary care providers' (PCPs) capacity to address their patients' behavioral health concerns. This statewide initiative is supported by funding from Maryland Department of Health, Behavioral Health Administration, and is executed through a collaboration among the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Salisbury University, Morgan State University, and University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Goals and Objectives:

We seek funding to expand BHIPP's training and service offerings to include: Project ECHO sessions for new populations of providers, an intensive child mental health curriculum for PCPs, a web-based mental health crisis training series for emergency department (ED) providers and PCPs, technical assistance to pediatric primary care practices to strengthen their capacity to provide mental health care on site, telemental health services, and post-discharge care coordination to connect youth to care after an ED visit for a mental health crisis. In addition, we will expand the existing Project Advisory Committee (PAC) to ensure adequate representation from providers who are the target of the expanded services and families with lived experience with mental health conditions.

Methodology:

We will achieve project goals by building upon the existing infrastructure of BHIPP. We will utilize the Project ECHO model for web-based longitudinal training. Existing needs assessment data together with data from additional qualitative interviews conducted at the start of this project will inform content for the intensive child mental health curriculum, BHIPP ECHO sessions, mental health crisis trainings, and technical assistance activities. Previously piloted telemental health services and post-discharge care coordination will be expanded to better meet the needs of providers and families.

Coordination:

UMB will oversee program implementation and provide clinical expertise, and will collaborate with JHU for training and evaluation, and with Mental Health Association of Maryland to include families on the PAC. These partners have worked collaboratively on BHIPP for more than 10 years.

Evaluation:

Building on existing BHIPP infrastructure, program operation and practice transformation (e.g., changes in provider comfort with treating mental health problems) data will be collected from providers in target regions and used to monitor program implementation quality and impacts of BHIPP TTT. We expect that expanding BHIPP will result in increased provider engagement with BHIPP and improved pediatric behavioral health care resulting in better clinical outcomes.