Evaluation of SBIRT for Adolescents in School and Pediatric Health Settings

This study examines the effectiveness of a group intervention (“Teen MPower”) for adolescents with behavioral health problems at improving patient outcomes and increasing specialty behavioral health treatment access, and examining barriers to and facilitators of implementation. Behavioral health problems – depression, anxiety, stress and alcohol and drug use – are highly prevalent among adolescents, nationally and within KPNC. These problems are associated with costly utilization, cause significant distress and morbidity, and if left unaddressed, often require specialty psychiatric or chemical dependency treatment. This group intervention offers a potentially cost-effective alternative to individualized interventions. We use a randomized controlled trial design to implement two study arms, Teen MPower Groups and Individual Brief Intervention sessions. We assess patients at intake, immediately post-intervention, and at 6 months to collect patient outcomes (e.g. substance use, mood and anxiety symptoms, and related problems stressors). We use Health Connect data to compare specialty treatment engagement. We closely observe the implementation process to examine the factors which may facilitate or impede implementation. This study will take place in two settings: KP Oakland Pediatrics and high schools in Minnesota, and the two study components are conducted completely independently, aside from regular collaborative calls between the study teams. The study will compare effectiveness of different aspects of the model by site.

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