Identifying implementation barriers and facilitators in an integrated behavioral health training program to improve workforce development.

Integrated behavioral health (IBH) in pediatric primary care settings can improve access to needed care and outcomes. Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) programs can better prepare the workforce and support improved care access. This case study identified factors that impede and facilitate the implementation of practice-based training in a BHWET program using the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework. Surveys were administered to BHWET trainees and primary care partners to assess stakeholder perspectives on field-based training processes. Qualitative data were extracted from surveys and trainee clinical logs. Providers reported high levels of satisfaction with IBH care training experiences. Data analysis identified several implementation facilitators and barriers. Implementation facilitators were associated with two EPIS outer context factors (leadership and collaboration) and one inner context factor (partner staffing). Identified barriers were associated with two inner context factors (organizational characteristics and data collection). Although the facilitators and barriers identified in this study were program specific, they have relevance for similar programs. Barriers identified at the organizational level reflect those identified in the research literature and provide insights for university programs regarding factors that must be considered when integrating IBH training components in primary care settings.

Federally funded Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) programs can better prepare the workforce and support integrated behavioral health (IBH) care in primary care settings. Using evaluation data gathered from primary care providers and trainees at partner clinics, this case study identified barriers that posed challenges to increasing behavioral health care for patients with identified needs, as well as factors that facilitated care. Barriers identified at the organizational level within partner clinics reflect those identified in the research literature and provide insights for medical professionals on factors they should consider when integrating behavioral health in primary care settings.

Psychologists and Integrated Behavioral Health Simulation Training: A Survey of Medical Educators and Perspectives of Directors of Clinical Training.

It is well established that the integration of behavioral healthcare into the medical home model improves patient outcomes, reduces costs, and increases resident learning. As academic health centers increasingly integrate behavioral healthcare, targeted training for interprofessional collaboration around behavioral healthcare is needed. Simulation educational approaches potentially can provide this training. Health service psychologists are well-poised to support this because of their specialized training in integrated healthcare. The present exploratory study aimed to evaluate existing simulation programs and develop recommendations for integrated behavioral health training and evaluation. Directors of ACGME accredited residency programs that are high utilizers of the medical home model (Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Medicine/Pediatrics, Family Medicine) as well as Psychiatry residencies and medical schools with membership in the Society for Simulation in Healthcare were recruited to complete a 26-item survey to assess program usage of psychologists as part of simulation training for integrated behavioral healthcare services. Of 79 participants who completed initial items describing their training program, only 32 programs completed the entire survey. While many academic health centers offered integrated team and behavioral health simulations, few utilized psychology faculty in design, implementation, and evaluation. Other behavioral health providers (psychiatrists, social workers) were often involved in medical school and pediatric residency simulations. Few institutions use standardized evaluation. Qualitative feedback and faculty-written questionnaires were often used to evaluate efficacy. Survey responses suggest that psychologists play limited roles in integrated behavioral healthcare simulation despite their expertise in interdisciplinary training, integrated behavioral healthcare, and program evaluation.

Clinical supervision within the primary care behavioral health model: What we know and where we need to go.

Community-based primary care settings play an important role in the provision of health care to vulnerable populations, as well as in primary care education. Much attention has been given to medical education in community-based primary care and as the need for workforce development grows for behavioral health in primary care, clinical supervision of prelicensure psychology learners in primary care will also need greater attention. Clinical supervision not only impacts learner professional development but also impacts the patient care learners provide. The purpose of this article is to give attention to clinical supervision within the primary care behavioral health (PCBH) model in the context of community-based primary care. The intersection of supervision approaches in specialty mental health care and medical education will be presented, as well as how these approaches can be combined when working with learners within PCBH. Additionally, challenges to clinical supervision in primary care will be discussed as well as solutions to improve not only workforce development in PCBH but also professional development for clinical supervisors in primary care. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Augmented behavioral medicine competencies in physical therapy students' clinical reasoning with a targeted curriculum: a final-semester cohort-comparison study.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge regarding the impact of curricula with behavioral medicine content and competencies (BMCC) on physical therapy (PT) students' clinical reasoning skills is lacking. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to compare the clinical reasoning skills, focusing on clients' behavioral change, of entry-level PT students with or without BMCC in their curricula. The secondary objective was to compare students' attitudes and beliefs in a biomedical and biopsychosocial practice orientation. METHODS: Swedish final-semester PT students (n = 151) completed the Reasoning 4 Change (R4C) instrument and the Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale for Physiotherapists. A blueprint was used for curricular categorization. The independent t-test was used. RESULTS: Students attending programs with BMCC curricula (n = 61) had superior scores compared with students without BMCC curricula (n = 90) in the following R4C variables, all of which were related to clinical reasoning focused on behavioral change: Knowledge, Cognition, Self-efficacy, Input from the client, Functional behavioral analysis, and Strategies for behavioral change. Students who did not receive BMCC curricula scored higher in the R4C contextual factors and reported a greater biomedical practice orientation than students receiving BMCC curricula. There was no difference in the biopsychosocial practice orientation between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the benefit of structured entry-level PT curricula with BMCC on final-semester students' clinical reasoning skills focused on behavioral change and their level of biomedical practice orientation. Further, our findings elucidated educational opportunities to augment students' self-efficacy and strengthen their behavioral competencies in clinical reasoning. For the generalizability of the results further research in other contexts is needed.

Training During Social Distancing: The Effects of Remote Virtual Psychiatric Readiness Curriculum on Military Behavioral Health Providers.

There is inconsistency in the training of military medical providers on the regulations and procedures outlining US Army-specific psychiatric readiness related competencies. These competencies are necessary to ensure the appropriate categorization of a soldier's psychiatric readiness. There exists a need for a formal, comprehensive training curriculum accessible to all providers that is time- and cost-effective. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is are additional barriers of social distancing, remote virtual healthcare delivery, and geographic dispersion of healthcare personnel. To address these concerns, we developed a curriculum to target these competencies and deliver them virtually. The curriculum was developed and executed based on Kern's six-step approach to curriculum development, and the objective was to train military behavioral health providers on temporary duty limitations, administrative separations, and medical board referrals based on current US Army policies and procedures. The training was implemented virtually and conducted over the course of 3-hour training sessions to two separate groups. Evaluation of training objectives was conducted via a survey of paired before and after questions, analyzing the change in perceived confidence among learners. Among the 58 respondents, training resulted in statistically significant improvement in confidence in recognizing when a US Army soldier needs a temporary profile, writing a temporary e-profile, deciding when it is critical to contact a US Army soldier's commander, executing administrative separation, deciding when a US Army soldier is at medical retention determination point (MRDP), and in referring a US Army soldier to medical board. Results show the feasibility of virtual training to enhance medical readiness-related competencies of healthcare providers at the enterprise-level to help improve medical readiness. Limitations included immediate and subjective aspects of our results. It is unclear whether our training or similar training sessions resulted in changes in behaviors such as increased profiling or medical board referrals.

Physical therapists' experiences of learning and delivering a complex behavioral medicine intervention to adolescents with pain.

The objective was to study physical therapists' (PTs') experiences of learning and delivering a complex intervention, a tailored behavioral medicine treatment (BMT) targeting adolescents with pain in primary care.Method: An explorative study with qualitative approach, using content analysis. Three primary care PTs delivering the treatments in a randomized controlled study were interviewed regarding their views on the BMT.Results: The participating PTs considered learning about and delivering the BMT as challenging but rewarding. The biopsychosocial approach, tailoring of the treatment and dialogues with parents were identified as key aspects of the BMT program. The process of formulating a functional behavioral analysis was perceived as strenuous. The supervision of the PTs throughout the study was regarded as crucial and necessary for learning about and providing tailored BMT.Conclusion: Learning about and delivering BMT targeting adolescents with persistent pain is fruitful but laborious and demanding according to three PTs experienced with treatment of pediatric pain in primary care. Extensive education and long periods of supervision seem to be crucial for success and safe delivery according to protocol.

Health service psychology education and training in the time of COVID-19: Challenges and opportunities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to health service psychology (HSP) education and training but also presents tremendous opportunities for growth that will persist well past the resolution of this public health crisis. The present article addresses three aims in understanding the challenges and opportunities faced by the HSP education and training community. First, it describes challenges to HSP education and training created by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the need to maintain the integrity of training; facilitate trainee progress; continue clinical service delivery; manage the safety and wellbeing of trainees, faculty, staff, and clients/patients; and adhere to national and local emergency orders. Second, the article summarizes guidance from training organization leadership regarding training program and clinical site responses to these challenges. Several principle-based recommendations called upon training programs to prioritize trainees and their training needs, while urging balance and flexibility in meeting the multiple demands of training programs, institutions, and the public. Third, the article discusses key opportunities for improvement in HSP education and training, including more effective use of competency evaluations; distance technologies in therapy, supervision, and admissions; and reconsideration of internship and degree timing and HSP's identity as a health care profession; and the potential for comprehensive review and redesign of HSP education and training. Embracing these opportunities may help ensure that HSP education and training is preparing its graduates to meet the psychological health care needs of the future. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Pediatric medical psychology.

Paediatric medical psychology is a specialised field within clinical health psychology focussed on the behavioural, developmental, and psychological needs of children, adolescents, and families in healthcare contexts. Paediatric medical psychologists address a myriad of problems by employing evidence-based evaluations and interventions in order to support the well-being of paediatric patients and their families. In this paper, we provide an overview of paediatric medical psychology including the education and training required to be a paediatric psychologist followed by common problems addressed by paediatric psychology, the settings paediatric psychologists work in, and the services they provide. Discussion concludes with future application of integrating paediatric psychology throughout the continuum of care to optimise adjustment and health of paediatric patients.

Physician and behavioral health provider diagnostic agreement in a general hospital setting.

OBJECTIVE: Behavioral health providers are often employed in inpatient settings. However, it is unclear if there is mental health diagnosis agreement between referring physicians and behavioral health providers. The purpose of this study is to assess for referring physician and behavioral health provider mental health diagnostic agreement in a general hospital setting. METHOD: An analysis of 60 consecutive inpatient referrals to a behavioral health provider in a general hospital setting was conducted. The initial referral diagnosis from referring internal medicine physicians was compared with the diagnosis made by the behavioral health provider. RESULTS: Kappa statistics indicated good diagnostic agreement for substance abuse (.79), anxiety disorders (.82), adjustment disorders (.88), relational conflict (.88), and "other" (.74). There was less agreement for depressive disorders (.55). CONCLUSIONS: Diagnostic agreement was good overall, suggesting that referrals to inpatient behavioral health providers are often appropriate. Results indicated that depression was underdiagnosed by physicians in the study sample. This is problematic given that depression can be successfully treated through the use of medication and psychotherapy.

Primary Care Behavioral Health Training in Family Medicine Residencies: A Qualitative Study From a Large Health Care System.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Primary care behavioral health (PCBH) is a service delivery model of integrated care linked to a wide variety of positive patient and system outcomes. However, considerable challenges with provider training and attrition exist. While training for nonphysician behavioral scientists is well established, little is known about how to train physicians to work efficiently within integrated teams. METHODS: We conducted a case study analysis of family medicine residencies in the military health system using a series of 30 to 45-minute semistructured interviews. We conducted qualitative template analysis of these cases to chart programs' current educational processes related to PCBH. Thirteen individuals consisting of program directors, behavioral and nonbehavioral faculty, and residents across five programs participated in the study. RESULTS: Current educational processes included a variety of content on PCBH (eg, treatment for depression, clinical referral pathways, patient-centered communication), primarily using a mix of didactic and practice-based placements. Resource allocation was seen as a critical contributor to quality. There was variability in the degree to which integrated behavioral health providers were incorporated as residency faculty, such that programs where these specialists were more incorporated reported more intentional curriculum development and health care systems-level content. CONCLUSIONS: While behavioral health content was well represented in family medicine residency curriculum, the depth and integration of content was inconsistent. More intentional and integrated curriculum accompanied faculty development and integration of behavioral health faculty. Future research should evaluate if faculty development programs and faculty status of behavioral scientists results in different educational or health care outcomes.

Integration of behavioral medicine competencies into physiotherapy curriculum in an exemplary Swedish program: rationale, process, and review.

In 2004, Mälardalen University, Sweden, introduced a new undergraduate entry-level physiotherapy program. Program developers constructed the curriculum with behavioral medicine content that reflected the contemporary definition and values of the physiotherapy profession aligning it with current best practices, evidence, and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF). The new curriculum conceptualized movement and function as modifiable behaviors in that they reflect behavioral contingencies, perceptions, beliefs, and lifestyle factors as well as pathophysiology and environmental factors. The purpose of this article is to describe how one university accordingly structured its new curriculum and its review. We describe the rationale for the curriculum's behavioral medicine content and competencies, its development and implementation, challenges, long-term outcomes, and its related research enterprise. We conclude that physiotherapy practiced by our graduates augments that taught in other programs based on accreditation reviews. With their expanded practice scope, graduates are systematically practicing within the constructs of health and function conceptualized within the ICF. Our intent in sharing our experience is to exemplify one university's initiative to best prepare students with respect to maximizing physiotherapy outcomes as well as establish a dialogue regarding minimum standards of behavioral medicine competencies in physiotherapy education and practice.

Bridging the Behavioral Health Gap in Serious Illness Care: Challenges and Strategies for Workforce Development.

Comorbidity with behavioral health conditions is highly prevalent among those experiencing serious medical illnesses and is associated with poor outcomes. Siloed provision of behavioral and physical healthcare has contributed to a workforce ill-equipped to address the often complex needs of these clinical populations. Trained specialist behavioral health providers are scarce and there are gaps in core behavioral health competencies among serious illness care providers. Core competency frameworks to close behavioral health training gaps in primary care exist, but these have not extended to some of the distinct skills and roles required in serious illness care settings. This paper seeks to address this issue by describing a common framework of training competencies across the full spectrum of clinical responsibility and behavioral health expertise for those working at the interface of behavioral health and serious illness care. The authors used a mixed-method approach to develop a model of behavioral health and serious illness care and to delineate seven core skill domains necessary for practitioners working at this interface. Existing opportunities for scaling-up the workforce as well as priority policy recommendation to address barriers to implementation are discussed.

California's Behavioral Health Services Workforce is Inadequate for Older Adults.

The Workforce Education and Training component of California's Mental Health Services Act, which passed in 2004, has infused funding into the public mental health system. However, funding has not kept pace with an existing behavioral health workforce shortage crisis, the rapid growth of an aging population, and the historical lack of geriatric training in higher education for the helping professions. This policy brief draws on recent study findings, state planning documents, and a review of the literature to describe gaps and deficiencies in the behavioral health workforce that serves older adults in California. The brief offers recommendations to the following specific audiences for improving workforce preparation and distribution: state policymakers and administrators; educational institutions, accrediting bodies, and licensing boards; and county mental health/behavioral health departments and their contracted providers.

Training the Doctors: A Scoping Review of Interprofessional Education in Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH).

Primary care behavioral health (PCBH) is a model of integrated healthcare service delivery that has been well established in the field of psychology and continues to grow. PCBH has been associated with positive patient satisfaction and health outcomes, reduced healthcare expenditures, and improved population health. However, much of the education and training on PCBH has focused on developing behavioral health providers to practice in this medical setting. Less attention has been paid to physician team members to support and practice within an integrated environment. This is problematic as underdeveloped physician team members may contribute to low utilization and attrition of behavioral health consultants. A scoping review was conducted to examine the training of physicians in this domain since 2006. Twenty-one studies were identified, predominantly in Family Medicine training programs. Although PCBH training was generally well received, more program evaluation, formalized curriculum, and faculty development are needed to establish best practices.

Notes on the development of health psychology and behavioral medicine in the United States.

A "standard" historiographical overview of the development of health psychology in the United States, alongside behavioral medicine, first summarizes previous disciplinary and professional histories. A "historicist" approach follows, focussing on a collective biographical summary of accumulated contributions of one cohort (1967-1971) at State University of New York at Stony Brook. Foundational developments of the two areas are highlighted, contextualized within their socio-political context, as are innovative cross-boundary collaboration on "precursor" studies from the 1960s and 1970s, before the official disciplines emerged. Research pathways are traced from social psychology to health psychology and from clinical psychology to behavioral medicine.

Integrated Behavioral Medicine in Cancer Care: Utilizing a Training Program Model to Provide Psychological Services in an Urban Cancer Center.

Psycho-oncology has come of age as its own unique subspecialty under the umbrella of oncology, vastly refining our knowledge regarding the psychosocial impact of cancer and fostering acceptance of the psychological underpinnings of the cancer experience, in turn improving the overall quality of cancer care. The importance of integrating psychological practice into the comprehensive treatment of cancer has become readily apparent, and psychosocial support services are increasing in quantity and breadth. It is the aim of this article to present a cogent argument for the proliferation of Integrated Behavioral Medicine (IBM) programs in both inpatient and outpatient clinical cancer treatment centers via an in-depth discussion of a successful IBM program including analysis of program structure, service delivery model and description of clinical services provided, and a longitudinal review of referral trends.

Enhancing Pediatricians' Behavioral Health Competencies Through Child Psychiatry Consultation and Education.

The objective of this study was to assess feasibility, utilization, perceived value, and targeted behavioral health (BH) treatment self-efficacy associated with a collaborative child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) consultation and BH education program for pediatric primary care practitioners (PCPs). Eighty-one PCPs from 41 member practices of a statewide pediatric practice association affiliated with an academic medical center participated in a program comprising on-demand telephonic CAP consultation supported by an extensive BH learning community. Findings after 2 years of implementation suggest that the program was feasible for large-scale implementation, was highly utilized and valued by PCPs, and was attributed by PCPs with enhancing their BH treatment self-efficacy and the quality of their BH care. After participation in the program, nearly all PCPs believed that mild to moderate presentations of common BH problems can be effectively managed in the primary care setting, and PCP consultation utilization was congruent with that belief.