Characteristics Associated With the Use of the Mindfulness Meditation App Headspace in a Large Public Health Deployment: Cross-Sectional Survey Study.

Background: Mindfulness-based apps can be an effective and accessible resource for mental health support. However, little is known about their use outside of research settings and what user characteristics relate to app use.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the characteristics of people who decided to use, not use, or stop using Headspace within the context of a large-scale public deployment, which offered the mindfulness meditation app Headspace as a free mental health resource to community members.

Beyond the surface of capacity building: a mixed-methods study of the core functions and forms of dissemination and implementation science consultations.

Background: The number of Dissemination and Implementation Science (DIS) capacity building programs is increasing worldwide. These programs aim to enhance diverse DIS skills through a variety of activities. Our team's systematic review of DIS programs determined that DIS consultations were offered across 67% of programs, yet their specific roles in capacity development were not well defined.

Integrating community perspectives to improve survey completion rates in public health research by refining controversial survey elements.

Background: Many factors can impact survey completion rates, including survey length, sensitivity of the topics addressed, and clarity of wording. This study used cognitive interviews (CIs), a methodological tool that can aid in developing and refining elements for multi-faceted assessments, and previous survey response patterns to refine, streamline, and increase response rates of RADx-UP Common Data Elements (CDEs) for survey/questionnaire use.

Methods: Ten previously enrolled CO-CREATE study participants were interviewed between May-June 2023.

Real-world impact of COVID-19 vaccination, household exposure, and circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants on infection risk and symptom presentation in a U.S./Mexico border community.

Background: San Ysidro, a densely populated primarily Latino community near the U.S./Mexico border, reported the highest rate of COVID-19 infection in San Diego County.

Corrigendum: Engaging underserved communities in COVID-19 health equity implementation research: an analysis of community engagement resource needs and costs.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/frhs.2022.

Multi-Method, Partner-Engaged Process to Document Adaptations for ATTAIN NAV: Family Navigation for Autism and Mental Health.

Autistic youth often experience co-occurring mental health needs, yet they have multi-level barriers to accessing needed care. To address these barriers, the ATTAIN NAV (Access to Tailored Autism Integrated Care through Family Navigation) intervention was co-designed with caregiver and healthcare partners and delivered by lay health navigators to facilitate access to and engagement with mental health services for school-age autistic youth. This manuscript describes the multi-method, partner-engaged, longitudinal adaptation process to (1) identify intervention content and implementation refinements prior to the hybrid trial and (2) track ongoing research, intervention, and implementation adaptations during the trial and their impacts on study outcomes.

Beyond the Surface of Capacity Building: A Mixed-Methods Study of the Core Functions and Forms of Dissemination and Implementation Science Consultations.

Background: The number of Dissemination and Implementation Science (DIS) capacity building programs is increasing worldwide. These programs aim to enhance diverse DIS skills through a variety of activities. Our team's systematic review of DIS programs determined that DIS consultations were offered across 67% of programs, yet their specific roles in capacity development were not well defined.

An iterative approach to evaluating impact of CTSA projects using the translational science benefits model.

Introduction: Demonstrating the relevance and impact of translational research across diverse settings is crucial making the research-to-practice pipeline more efficient. The Translational Science Benefits Model (TSBM) is a framework used to report societal and health impacts of clinical and translational research.

Methods: A four-phase process was used to co-develop 12 TSBM Impact Profiles aimed at evaluating the impact of clinical and translational research and disseminating this information among diverse audiences.

Mixed Methods Findings from a Stepped Wedge Hybrid Implementation Trial of ATTAIN NAV: A Mental Health Family Navigation Intervention for Autistic Youth.

ATTAIN NAV (Access to Tailored Autism Integrated Care through Family Navigation) was delivered by family navigators to promote access to and engagement with mental health services for school-age autistic youth. This study used a mixed method, stepped wedge design to test the effects of family navigation on service and clinical outcomes while gathering information on implementation. Primary care providers from six clinics in California and 56 caregiver-child dyads enrolled in and completed the study.

Understanding adaptations in a community-vetted COVID-19 testing program.

Background: Adaptations are expected when complex public health interventions are implemented in dynamically and rapidly changing real-world settings, as seen for many programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Systematic documentation of adaptations to intervention components and strategies are critical when assessing their impact on implementation. Here, we report processes used for tracking and evaluating adaptations made during the CO-CREATE project, which aimed to address COVID-19 testing disparities in the San Ysidro US/Mexico border community.

Peer Perspectives on Challenges Encountered During a Multi-Site Digital Mental Health Intervention Project.

Peers are individuals with lived experience of mental health challenges trained to provide support to others with similar challenges. Help@Hand was a multi-site project that integrated peers into digital mental health intervention (DMHI) implementation. This study uses the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to frame challenges reported by peers when implementing DMHIs.

Building the Road to End the HIV Epidemic Through Coordinating and Capacity-Building Hubs to Enhance the Science of HIV Implementation REsearch (CHESHIRE): Reflections and Directions.

Background: Because implementation remains the biggest challenge to Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States (EHE), since 2019, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has funded 248 supplements to identify best practices for delivering evidence-based HIV interventions. NIH also funded a coordination center [Implementation Science (IS) Coordination Initiative "ISCI"] and 9 consultation hubs ("Hubs") to provide technical assistance and cross-project information sharing, measure harmonization, and data synthesis. This article describes this unique capacity-building model, lessons learned from the first 5 years, and opportunities created by this infrastructure.

Increasing capacity for ethnically-based community leaders to engage in policy change: assessing the impact of a train-the-trainer approach.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing disparities in healthcare access and outcomes, particularly among underserved communities. As one site participating in the NIH-funded Community Engagement Alliance Against COVID-19, our focus was to address COVID-19 disparities by training immigrant and refugee communities to advocate for their needs by increasing capacity to campaign for policy-level changes.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a train-the-trainer policy advocacy program for ethnically-based community leaders within San Diego County using a mixed-methods evaluation.

Intersectional stigma among Latino MSM and HIV prevention: barriers to HIV prevention and strategies to overcome the barriers.

Latino men, especially Latino men who have sex with men (LMSM), experience disparities in HIV prevention. Lack of attention to key barriers to care, such as stigma, result in inequitable access to HIV prevention and care for LMSM. This paper describes how intersectional stigma and related factors act as barriers to HIV prevention among Latino men and proposes strategies to overcome these barriers.

Loneliness, online learning and student outcomes in college students living with disabilities: results from the National College Health Assessment Spring 2022.

Background: People with disabilities face many health, economic and social disparities. Loneliness is recognized as a significant issue for this group however, its impact on students with disabilities (SWDs) remains a critically underexplored area of research. Importantly, as higher education continues its transition to the digital space, the potential to entrench social isolation and loneliness within this population has not been examined.

Operational and organizational variation in determinants of policy implementation success: the case of policies that earmark taxes for behavioral health services.

Background: Research on determinants of health policy implementation is limited, and conceptualizations of evidence and implementation success are evolving in the field. This study aimed to identify determinants of perceived policy implementation success and assess whether these determinants vary according to: (1) how policy implementation success is operationally defined [i.e.

Evaluation of a pilot implementation of a digital cognitive behavioral therapy platform for isolated older adults in county mental health services.

Background: Technology-enabled services (TESs) have the potential to increase access to mental healthcare. However, little research has focused on how TESs can be integrated into publicly funded service settings. As part of the state-wide Help@Hand project, Marin County conducted a pilot implementation of myStrength, a digital cognitive behavioral therapy platform, to explore its potential to reduce loneliness among isolated older adults.

Cluster randomized trial of a team communication training implementation strategy for depression screening in a pediatric healthcare system: a study protocol.

Background: Pediatric depression is a global concern that has fueled efforts for enhanced detection and treatment engagement. As one example, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommends depression screening for adolescents ages 12-18 years. While many health systems have implemented components of depression screening protocols, there is limited evidence of effective follow-up for pediatric depression.

A Mixed-Methods Exploration of the Implementation of Policies That Earmarked Taxes for Behavioral Health.

Unlabelled: Policy Points Earmarked tax policies for behavioral health are perceived as having positive impacts related to increasing flexible funding, suggesting benefits to expand this financing approach. Implementation challenges related to these earmarked taxes included tax base volatility that impedes long-term service delivery planning and inequities in the distribution of tax revenue. Recommendations for designing or revising earmarked tax policies include developing clear guidelines and support systems to manage the administrative aspects of earmarked tax programs, cocreating reporting and oversight structures with system and service delivery agents, and selecting revenue streams that are relatively stable across years.

Individual and organizational outcomes of engaging peers in the cocreation of digital mental health interventions.

Within mental health services, persons in recovery from their own experiences of mental health challenges (peers) are increasingly being trained to provide peer support. This study describes individual and organizational outcomes related to engaging peers in a multisite demonstration project in California that sought to integrate them as cocreators throughout planning and implementation of digital mental health interventions. We collected data from key informants across 11 sites.

Acceptability and feasibility of policy implementation strategies for taxes earmarked for behavioral health services.

Background: This study's aims are to: (1) Compare the acceptability and feasibility of five types of implementation strategies that could be deployed to increase the reach of evidence-based practices (EBPs) with revenue from policies that earmark taxes for behavioral health services, and (2) Illustrate how definitions of implementation strategies and measures of acceptability and feasibility can be used in policy-focused implementation science research.

Methods: Web-based surveys of public agency and community organization professionals involved with earmarked tax policy implementation were completed in 2022-2023 ( = 211, response rate = 24.9%).

Variability in the Integration of Peers in a Multi-site Digital Mental Health Innovation Project.

Peer support specialists ("peers") who have the lived experience of, and are in recovery from, mental health challenges are increasingly being integrated into mental health care as a reimbursable service across the US. This study describes the ways peers were integrated into Help@Hand, a multi-site innovation project that engaged peers throughout efforts to develop and offer digital mental health interventions across counties/cities ("sites") in California. Using a mixed methods design, we collected quantitative data via quarterly online surveys, and qualitative data via semi-annual semi-structured phone interviews with key informants from Help@Hand sites.

Adaptation of the brainwriting premortem technique to inform the co-creation of COVID-19 testing strategies in underserved communities in South San Diego.

Introduction: Meaningful engagement of partners in co-creating and refining health-related programs can increase the initial uptake, sustained implementation, broad reach, and effectiveness of these programs. This is especially important for underserved communities where resources are limited and need to be prioritized. Brainwriting premortem is a novel qualitative approach to partner engagement that combines the strengths of individual idea generation with the concept of premortem exercise that addresses failure points prior to the implementation of new programs.