Clinical Research Directory

A Psychoeducational Intervention to Prevent the Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in Primary Care Workers

The goal of this quasi-experimental pragmatic study is to design, implement and evaluate a psychoeducational group intervention aimed at preventing the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological wellbeing and mental health of primary care healthcare workers. The experience will be carried out in real clinical practice conditions and our purpose is to evaluate it not only in terms of clinical effectiveness but, especially, the terms of feasibility, usefulness, and possibility of this intervention being integrated into the usual practice in primary care centers. There will be two types of participation and a mixed quantitative-qualitative methodology. On one hand, the healthcare workers that will receive the intervention and participate in the study by responding to various before and after online surveys with standardized scales. On the other hand, the community psychologists in charge of implementing the intervention, having received guidelines and training, will help gather the participants' data and will provide their perceptions, assessments, and opinions on the program through other questionnaires. After the intervention, a selection of both healthcare workers and psychologists will participate in qualitative in-depth, or group interviews to explore the nuances of their perceptions of the program. The results will allow the investigators to know the usefulness and effectiveness of the intervention and, above all, to model and improve its design and implementation strategy, and promote its generalization beyond the framework of this project.

Improving Maternal Mental Health & SUD Screening and Treatment

The purpose of the study is to compare a text message-based mental health and substance use screening and referral to a treatment program, called Listening to Women and Pregnant and Postpartum People (LTWP), to standard of care in-person mental health and substance use screening to look at rates of treatment attendance and retention in treatment. Participation would involve completing online questionnaires. You may be eligible to participate if you are age 18-45 years, are pregnant and entering prenatal care in one of MUSC's OB clinics, and attended a prenatal appointment at an MUSC clinic.

Drum Circle Synchrony Study 2c.a.

Mental health vulnerability due to stress is increased in People of African Descent (PADs) in America due to disproportionate effects of racism, poverty, education, and criminal justice sentencing. Various meditation and mindfulness approaches have provided evidence of measured reductions in multiple negative dimensions of stress. However, the majority of these studies do not have an adequate representation of PADs or other marginalized groups and are not designed to be culturally relevant or community based. Music has been shown to alleviate multiple symptoms of stress and has been shown to be a preferred and effective support for meditation and mindfulness. However, its role in stress management in PADs engaged in meditation or mindfulness is seldom studied. This study aims to evaluate the effects of a virtual, community-based music mindfulness program on stress management in PAD community members with anxiety and depression during COVID19. 2c.a. Drum Circle Synchrony Study: This study will investigate the role that synchrony plays in subjective feelings of connection.

Evaluating Social Perception Dynamics

Mental health vulnerability due to stress is increased in People of African Descent (PADs) in America due to disproportionate effects of racism, poverty, education, and criminal justice sentencing. Various meditation and mindfulness approaches have provided evidence of measured reductions in multiple negative dimensions of stress. However, the majority of these studies do not have an adequate representation of PADs or other marginalized groups and are not designed to be culturally relevant or community based. Music has been shown to alleviate multiple symptoms of stress and has been shown to be a preferred and effective support for meditation and mindfulness. However, its role in stress management in PADs engaged in meditation or mindfulness is seldom studied. This study aims to evaluate the effects of a virtual, community-based music mindfulness program on stress management in PAD community members with anxiety and depression during COVID19. Component 2d. Social Perception Tasks: Participants may be asked to take part in social perception tasks in which they will be asked to indicate their social perception and connection felt with various partners.

Evaluating the Community Drum Circle

Mental health vulnerability due to stress is increased America due to disproportionate effects of social factors such as racism, poverty, education, and criminal justice sentencing. Various meditation and mindfulness approaches have provided evidence of measured reductions in multiple negative dimensions of stress. However, the majority of these studies do not have an adequate representation of Persons of African Descent(PAD) or other marginalized groups and are not designed to be culturally relevant or community based. Music has been shown to alleviate multiple symptoms of stress and has been shown to be a preferred and effective support for meditation and mindfulness. However, its role in stress management in PADs engaged in meditation or mindfulness is seldom studied. This study aims to evaluate the effects of a community-based music mindfulness program on stress management in PAD community members with anxiety and depression during COVID19. Component 2c. Drum Circle Study: Investigators will study the impact of participation in drum circles on anxiety and feelings of connectedness.

Family Spirit Strengths

This project addresses the disproportionate morbidity and mortality associated with mental and behavioral health problems in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Access to culturally competent and effective behavioral health services is limited in many of these communities. The investigators aim to address this gap by testing the effectiveness of a trans-diagnostic secondary prevention program, Family Spirit Strengths (FSS) that can be embedded within home visiting services. The FSS program is a skills-based program that incorporates elements of evidence-based practice, the Common Elements Treatment Approach (CETA), and materials informed and developed based on an Indigenous advisory group. The FSS program aims to help participants build self-efficacy and coping skills, as well as build stronger connections to others, the participants' community, and cultural resources. The investigators will use a randomized controlled trial, whereby half of the participants will receive FSS and the other half will receive an evidence-based nutrition education program. The investigators' study is grounded in participatory processes and led by a team of Indigenous and allied researchers.

Evaluating the Impact of Social Music

Mental health vulnerability due to stress is increased in People of African Descent (PADs) in America due to disproportionate effects of racism, poverty, education, and criminal justice sentencing. Various meditation and mindfulness approaches have provided evidence of measured reductions in multiple negative dimensions of stress. However, the majority of these studies do not have an adequate representation of PADs or other marginalized groups and are not designed to be culturally relevant or community based. Music has been shown to alleviate multiple symptoms of stress and has been shown to be a preferred and effective support for meditation and mindfulness. However, its role in stress management in PADs engaged in meditation or mindfulness is seldom studied. This study aims to evaluate the effects of a virtual, community-based music mindfulness program on stress management in PAD community members with anxiety and depression during COVID19. 2b. Social Music Study: Investigators will assess the neural mechanisms of feelings of subjective connectedness during communal music listening and creating between dyads of subjects who are both familiar and unfamiliar with each other.

Music Mindfulness Study 2a.

Mental health vulnerability due to stress is increased in People of African Descent (PADs) in America due to disproportionate effects of racism, poverty, education, and criminal justice sentencing. Various meditation and mindfulness approaches have provided evidence of measured reductions in multiple negative dimensions of stress. However, the majority of these studies do not have an adequate representation of PADs or other marginalized groups and are not designed to be culturally relevant or community based. Music has been shown to alleviate multiple symptoms of stress and has been shown to be a preferred and effective support for meditation and mindfulness. However, its role in stress management in PADs engaged in meditation or mindfulness is seldom studied. This study aims to evaluate the effects of a virtual, community-based music mindfulness program on stress management in PAD community members with anxiety and depression during COVID19. Music Mindfulness Study: Investigators will compare the effects of music-backed guided mindfulness mediation and guided mediation alone in alleviating anxiety and depression.

Proximal Risk for Suicide in Adolescents

The central hypothesis is that biometric data can continuously monitor and allow for early identification/intervention of escalating suicidal symptoms. The rationale is that improved outpatient monitoring through wearable technology can create a more objective platform to provide the ability to identify a worsening condition and utilize patient-specific just-in-time therapeutics developed with mental health providers for suicidal adolescents.

Weyera Mental Health Pilot Intervention

This study aims to pilot a group-level intervention focused on mental health and resilience among Ethiopian and Eritrean youth. The study follows previous work that showed high rates of mental health outcomes (depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)) among Ethiopian and Eritrean youth in Atlanta. The goal is to determine the acceptability, feasibility, and safety of this culturally relevant group-level intervention before a larger trial to improve resilience processes that support mental wellness in a community-based setting.

Striving Towards EmPowerment and Medication Adherence R01

This is a study for Black women living with HIV to test a counseling program for Black women living with HIV. This participant may be a good fit if the participant is a Black woman, living with HIV, has a history of trauma, and is currently taking Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) medicines

Caring for Providers to Improve Patient Experience (CPIPE) Trial

The activities described in this proposal are aimed at addressing health care provider stress and unconscious bias to improve quality of maternal health care, particularly related to the person-centered dimensions of care-i.e. care that is respectful and responsive to women's needs, preferences, and values. The investigators focus on health provider stress and unconscious bias because they are key drivers of poor-quality care that are often not addressed in interventions designed to improve quality of maternal health care. The investigators plan to (1) test the effectiveness of an intervention that targets provider stress and bias to improve PCMC; (2) assess the cost-effectiveness of CPIPE; (3) examine the mechanisms of impact of CPIPE on PCMC; and (3) assess impact of the CPIPE intervention on distal outcomes including maternal health seeking behavior and maternal and neonatal health.

Determining the Effectiveness of Working Out Dads to Reduce Mental Health Difficulties in Fathers of Young Children

This is an individually randomised trial, where Working Out Dads (WOD) will be delivered as a group intervention. Participants will be randomised to one of two groups: either WOD or usual care.The trial aims to test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of WOD, a 6-week week group-based peer support intervention, in reducing fathers' mental health difficulties in early parenthood.

Team-Focused Implementation in Child Advocacy Centers

Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) are well-positioned to identify children at risk for mental health problems and to facilitate access to evidence-based treatments. Implementation of standardized mental health screening and referral protocols may improve recognition of mental health needs and facilitate treatment engagement. Implementation strategies that improve teamwork may enhance implementation outcomes in team-based settings like CACs. In this study, CACs will implement the Care Process Model for Pediatric Traumatic Stress (CPM-PTS) and be randomized to either team-focused implementation or standard implementation. The study aims are to evaluate the feasibility of team-focused implementation and the effect of the CPM-PTS on caregiver understanding of mental health needs and intentions to initiate treatment.

Community-Based Music Mindfulness Intervention on Children

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn how community-based music mindfulness interventions impact anxiety, depression, and overall emotional well-being in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and/or anxiety. The main questions it aims to answer are: * How do participants' psychological states change from the start to the end of the intervention? * What physiological changes, including heart rate variability and sleep patterns, are observed after the intervention? * Is this study feasible and acceptable to the community? Participants will: * Attend in-person sessions, bi-weekly for 8 weeks * Regularly complete psychometric assessments * Wear fitness trackers daily, including overnight, throughout the study period * Track self-guided intervention online * Participate in semi-structured interviews pre-/post-study

A Trial of Two Universal Programs for Parents of Teenagers

Group-based and internet-delivered parenting programs may help parents improve their communication and relationships with their children. However, relatively little is known about how well such programs work for parents of adolescents, because most previous studies have focused on younger children or on families selected because of elevated risk. This study evaluated two universal preventive parenting programs for parents of adolescents: the group-based ABC-Teen program and the internet-delivered ParentWeb program. Both programs were developed in Sweden and aim to promote adolescent well-being by strengthening parenting practices and parent-adolescent relationships and reducing negative communication. Families were randomized to ABC-Teen, ParentWeb, or a waitlist control condition. The sole primary outcome was parent-reported adolescent mental health problems, measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire Total Difficulties score. Secondary outcomes included parental mental health and stress, parenting behaviors and parental self-efficacy, parent-adolescent and family relationships, adolescent school adjustment and substance use, and outcomes reported by participants in an optional adolescent survey. Parent and adolescent assessments were conducted at baseline, 4 months, and 12 months. After completion of the 4-month assessment, families assigned to the waitlist were offered their choice of ABC-Teen or ParentWeb. Consequently, comparisons with the waitlist were restricted to the period from baseline to 4 months, whereas longer-term analyses compared ABC-Teen with ParentWeb.

A Comparison of Two Ultra-brief Interventions in Primary Care for Patients With Anxiety, Depression, and Stress.

This pilot randomized controlled trial evaluated the feasibility of a Swedish translation of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy protocol targeting repetitive negative thinking (RNT-ACT) compared with therapist-supported internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) in Swedish primary care. Feasibility was assessed in terms of recruitment, intervention completion, and patient satisfaction. Symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, rumination, psychological flexibility, valued living, and cognitive fusion were assessed as secondary outcomes.

Unified Protocol: Community Connections

The purpose of this study is to administer the Unified Protocols for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children (UP-C) and Adolescents (UP-A) to youth and participants' parents and to examine the efficacy and outcomes of the treatment using standardized measures, questionnaires, interviews. The UP-C and the UP-A are cognitive-behavioral therapies to treat emotional disorders.

NEXUS - Next Generation Health Through 2D & 3D Fetal UltraSound; Building Connections to Support Maternal-fetal Health

This exploratory study brings together an interprofessional team, novel tools, and innovative, community-driven care delivery approaches to improve health equity among mother-infant dyads impacted by substance use disorder and high risk for poor health outcomes. This study will test a community-informed and community-based intervention using a fetal ultrasound protocol, motivational interviewing techniques, strength-based education, and healthcare coordination strategies to reduce health disparities faced by women and their children.

Single-Session Psychotherapy for Young Kids Through Patient Engagement Techniques

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare outcomes between participants in the single-session psychotherapy for young kids (SPYKids) conditions and participants in the services as usual (SAU) condition. The main questions it aims to answer are: * What is the feasibility and acceptability of SPYKids compared to services as usual? * What are the changes in child mental health between the SPYKids group compared with the SAU group? Participants will * Fill out questionnaires at baseline, immediately post-program, approximately one month after the baseline assessment, and three months after the baseline assessment * Meet with a parent coach in a virtual 90-minute session to discuss coping strategies relevant to their identified concerns Researchers will compare participants in the SPYKids group with participants in the Services as Usual group to see if there are changes in child well-being, parent well-being, and parent self-efficacy.

IBDminds - Mapping the Influence of aNxiety and DepreSsion on IBD

People with Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can get challenging symptoms. Things like diarrhoea, tummy pain and being tired all the time are common. People often get IBD in their teens or twenties. They often find working, studying and relationships hard. IBD can't be cured, so it lasts for life. When IBD is hard to treat, we use advanced treatments, but these don't always work. When they do work the effect can wear off. This happens in 2 of 5 people within a year in research studies. There are some things that we know make them wear off. There are lots more reasons that we don't understand yet. We think anxiety, depression and stress make these treatments more likely to wear off. Previous research has suggested that people with IBD do worse if they have anxiety, depression or stress. The investigators want people with IBD to complete questionnaires to see if they are affected by anxiety, depression or stress when they are taking advanced therapies. The investigators will follow those people to see if the effect of their treatment wears off. People living with IBD will contribute to the running and fine tuning of this research. Many of those that have engaged with us so far have said that their disease was worse when their mental health was worse. They were generally supportive of this study to see how anxiety, depression and stress effects IBD in people using advanced therapies. The investigators have talked to a national charity about our work. They will help share the findings so that patients, care givers and other stakeholders will be able to read about them. The results will be published so that doctors and researchers can use them.

Walk-in Therapy in Low Barrier Primary Care

The goals of the current research are to adapt an effective walk-in psychotherapy clinic intervention for the context of low-barrier primary care; and conduct a pilot implementation study in a low-barrier primary care clinic based in a community organization that is a drop-in center for people experiencing homelessness in North Seattle.

Single Session Narrative Therapy Study

This pilot research study will provide timely access to behavioral health services through the provision of a single-session narrative therapy intervention. The goal of this 6-month study is to test the acceptability, feasibility, and fit of the intervention in an integrated primary care clinic serving people living with HIV.

Building a Renewed ImaGe After Head & Neck Cancer Treatment (BRIGHT) Multi-Site RCT

In this multi-center randomized clinical trial, head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors with clinically significant body image distress (BID) (N=180) will be randomized to BRIGHT (a brief video tele-cognitive behavioral therapy intervention) or Attention Control (AC, a manualized tele-supportive care intervention that controls for professional attention, dose, delivery method, and common factors). HNC survivors will complete IMAGE-HN (a validated patient-reported outcome measure \[PROM\] of HNC-related body image distress \[BID\]; primary endpoint), measures of psychological and social well-being and quality of life (QOL), and measures of theory-derived mechanisms of change underlying BRIGHT (mediators).