Kathryn Coxe

Project Title: Implementation of Traumatic Brain Injury Screening in Behavioral Healthcare Organizations

Institution: The Ohio State University, College of Social Work, Columbus, OH, USA

Time frame for the PhD: This is a two-year study funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health.

About the research: This study utilizes an explanatory sequential mixed methods design to prospectively investigate determinants to the implementation of an established TBI screening method in behavioral healthcare settings. We seek to understand providers’ attitudes and beliefs about adopting the Ohio State University TBI Identification Method (OSU TBI-ID) into routine service delivery, as well as the acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness of implementing the OSU TBI-ID into the behavioral health service context.

In Phase I, a U.S. national sample of behavioral health providers will complete a training demonstrating how to use the OSU TBI-ID to screen for lifetime history of TBI, followed immediately by a survey of measures assessing attitudes toward TBI screening, perceived control over screening, perceived norms about screening, and intentions to screen for TBI using the OSU TBI-ID. After one-month, providers will complete a second survey consisting of the measures on the acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness of the intervention, as well as the number and timing of TBI screens conducted over the past month. Data will be analyzed using structural equation modeling, and results will inform development of a semi-structured interview.

In Phase II, we will qualitatively assess contextual determinants to TBI screening through individual interviews with providers. Qualitative data will be analyzed using sensitizing concepts from the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research and integrated with the quantitative results.