Foster, N. (PI) & Andersen, T. C. (Co-I). Customizable training software for professional Alzheimer’s direct care providers. National Institute on Aging. Award number: 1R44AG07603-01. Total funds: $456,315. August 2022 – July 2023.

• In this project, researchers seek to better understand the individual, organizational and regulatory training requirements of professional caregivers and then use the findings to develop and test customizable training software based on their established web-based service with mobile software, MemoryCarePartner©. MemoryCarePartner© was designed to provide individually tailored education and support to Alzheimer’s and dementia family caregiver teams, offering personalized content presented in an incremental self-selected pathway. Modifying caregiving milestones from a family to a professional caregiver perspective, the flexible, task- and team-oriented design features of MemoryCarePartner© will offer a new, engaging invitation to contextually appropriate Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias training for direct care providers. This research will lead to a better understanding of the diversity of needs for professional caregiver training and how intelligent software solutions can achieve the national goals of improving care for the growing number of Americans facing Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Bennett, T. R. (Sub-PI).Utah Trafficking in Persons task force. Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and Asian Association of Utah. Award number: 2018-VT-BX-K065. Total Funds: $28,000. October 2018 – September 2022.

• The Utah Trafficking in Persons task force (UTIP) is funded through the Enhanced Collaborative Model to Combat Human Trafficking program.  The purpose of UTIP is to combat human trafficking in the State of Utah through the development of a multidisciplinary task force to implement victim-centered and coordinated approaches to identifying victims of sex and labor trafficking, addressing the individualized needs of victims through services, and investigating and prosecuting sex and labor trafficking cases (as well as the purchasers of commercial sex) at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels. Awards were made to a lead law enforcement agency and a lead victim service provider within each task force. With this award, the Asian Association of Utah Refugee and Immigrant Center will work in partnership with the Utah Attorney General's Office to enhance the efforts of the Utah Trafficking in Persons task force.  The Social Research Institute (SRI) provided task force evaluation through assessment of adherence to evidence-based frameworks, data collection and reporting, and conducting action research in partnership with task force members. 

Bennett, T. R. (Sub-PI).Utah Trafficking in Persons task force. Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and Utah Attorney General's Office. Award number: 2018-VT-BX-K085. Total Funds: $35,000. October 2018 – September 2022.

• The Utah Trafficking in Persons task force (UTIP) is funded through the Enhanced Collaborative Model to Combat Human Trafficking program.  The purpose of UTIP is to combat human trafficking in the State of Utah through the development of a multidisciplinary task force to implement victim-centered and coordinated approaches to identifying victims of sex and labor trafficking, addressing the individualized needs of victims through services, and investigating and prosecuting sex and labor trafficking cases (as well as the purchasers of commercial sex) at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels. Awards were made to a lead law enforcement agency and a lead victim service provider within each task force. This award was made to the Utah Attorney General’s Office who is working in collaboration with the Asian Association of Utah Refugee and Immigrant Center to implement this project within the State of Utah.  The Social Research Institute (SRI) supported the task force through evaluation services including assessment of adherence to evidence-based frameworks, data collection and reporting, conducting action research in partnership with task force members, and the facilitation of strategic planning. 

Bettmann [Schaefer], J. E. (PI). The effects of nature-immersive experiences on social, mental, and physical health in adults with mental illness or symptoms of mental illness. Nature and Human Health-Utah. Total funds: $10,000. August 2022 – July 2023.

• The objectives of this project are to yield information about what doses of nature immersion are impactful on mental health symptoms, producing recommendations for health and mental health practitioners. The project also aims to illuminate how mental illness symptomology, more widespread than psychiatric diagnoses, responds to nature exposure. The project intends to produce recommendations for health and mental health practitioners nationally regarding which dosages of nature exposure are meaningful in reducing mental health symptoms. Because the meta-analysis included studies of urban nature, not just wilderness exposure, and nature exposure as little as 10 minutes, findings from this study have important implications, particularly for low-income adults with mental health concerns who may have less access to green spaces and wilderness environments. The authors aim to present and publish the data to health care practitioners who might consider prescribing nature exposure in order to address patient mental health concerns.

Bettmann [Schaefer], J. E. (PI). Barriers for veterans outdoors. Sierra Club. Total funds: $10,000. September 2022 – August 2024.

• These grant funds from Sierra Club will support two research projects. The first explores website representation as a potential barrier for veterans accessing outdoor programming. Research indicates that outdoor recreation can serve as adjunct to mental health treatment for veterans, enhancing mental health of veteran populations. However, existing outdoor programs appear to serve largely white, male, and non-marginalized populations even while veterans are a racially-diverse group and include significant numbers of women. In order to consider barriers to outdoor program engagement for diverse populations of veterans, this study examined website landing pages for programs that provide outdoor programming for veterans and/or military populations. The study aims to answer the question: what racial and gender identities appear on the online marketing for veterans-serving outdoor programs? In order to answer the research question, four coders independently coded visual data from imagery found on publicly-available websites and each organization’s associated social media. Three hundred and six organizations that provide outdoor programming for veterans were identified and coded in this study. Image coding show that website landing pages for outdoor programs serving veterans present overwhelming white and male images, rather than images of females or racial/ethnic minorities. The implications of this study for veteran outdoor programs are that such programs need to consider how they market and present themselves in terms of representing diverse identities in their materials. Without modifying their existing materials, veterans from diverse backgrounds and marginalized communities will continue to face substantial barriers in getting outdoors. The second study will explore barriers to getting veterans into outdoor recreation and nature/wilderness spaces. Using several empirically-validated scales to measure leisure choices outdoors and barriers to outdoor recreation, the study will survey the thousands of veterans living in New York State to better understand the barriers to veterans’ outdoor recreation, focusing particularly on the needs and barriers facing older veterans. The study will aim to provide recommendations based on the data collected to veteran-serving organizations which utilize programming to get veterans outdoors.

Canham, S. L.[1] (PI), Aging in the right place: Building capacity for promising practices that support older people experiencing homelessness in Montréal, Calgary, and Vancouver. Sciences and Humanities Research Council/Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Award number: 1004-2019-0006. Total funds: $1,375,000. March 2020 – March 2025.

• Through a community-based participatory research approach, researchers will evaluate promising practices across the shelter/housing continuum to determine which promote aging in the right place, the characteristics of promising practices, and the groups of older persons with experiences of homelessness (OPEH) for which the promising practices work based on intersections of risk (e.g., age, gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, disability, Indigenous status, and immigrant status). The overall goal is to improve the shelter/housing options to meet the unique and complex health and social needs of OPEH across Canada. To achieve this goal, the researchers’ specific objectives are to: 1. evaluate promising practices of shelter and housing for OPEH that promote aging in the right place, ultimately making recommendations for expanding a promising practice locally (scaling up) or enabling a promising practice to be adapted in other communities (scaling out); 2. train a new generation of scholars to develop advanced research skills and lines of inquiry on homelessness, housing, and aging research; and 3. facilitate knowledge mobilization around promising practices for OPEH in Canada and internationally, while increasing public awareness of OPEH and perceptions of aging in the right place through public lectures, media, interviews, publications, and photo exhibits.

Canham, S. L. (Co-PI), Rose, J.N, (Co-PI), Strang, S. (Co-PI), Loomis, J. (Co-PI), & Burn, L. (Co-PI).  CIVIC-PG track b: A community-designed Intersectional Food Access Rights for Marginalized communities (IFARM) Hub. National Science Foundation. Award number: 2228633. Total funds: $49,995. October 2022 – April 2023.

• Using community-based participatory research methods, a community-designed Intersectional Food Access Rights for Marginalized Communities (IFARM) Hub will be co-designed with the research team’s project advisory board, which is composed of individuals who are or have experienced homelessness. Operating from needs and service gaps identified by the advisory board members, together the researchers will design a strategic plan and layout for the farm that bridges gaps in access to health and social services for individuals experiencing homelessness. The IFARM Hub will be a hybrid farm- and civic-engagement resource hub located at Wasatch Community Gardens’ Green Phoenix Farm, which is a comprehensive job training program for women who are currently experiencing homelessness or have in the past. They aim to make the collaborative process and IFARM Hub a model for other communities to co-design food- and service-related interventions with community members experiencing homelessness.

Hong, A. (PI), Canham, S. L. (Co-PI), & Sorweid, M. (Co-PI). Healthy aging and resilient places (HARP) lab: Promoting health and resilience in aging through interdisciplinary collaboration. Center on Aging.  Total funds: $50,000. August 2021 – August 2023.

• The healthy aging and resilient places (HARP) lab was launched in 2021 with funding support from the Center on Aging at the University of Utah. The HARP Lab builds off years of research and collaboration at the University of Utah, surrounding the concept of resilient places, including the 2017 Center on Aging (CoA) retreat, “Resilient Places for an Aging Society: Adaptive Capacity Promotion for Healthy Living.” The researchers also build upon collaborations with a broad network of research centers and partners, including the Center on Aging, the Consortium for Families and Health Research, the Interdisciplinary Exchange for Utah Science, the Global Change & Sustainability Center, the Metropolitan Research Center, the Aging Brain Care program, the Utah Commission on Aging, and the ASSIST. They aim to leverage these existing collaborations and build new partnerships with researchers and practitioners working on pressing issues for an aging population.

Weldrick, R. (PI), Canham, S. L. (Co-I), Mahmood, A. (Co-I). Community conversations to disrupt discrimination towards older persons experiencing homelessness. Simon Fraser University Community Engaged Initiative. Total funds: $7,200 CAD. July 2022 – June 2023.

• This project is a sub-project of the aging in the right place (AIRP) partnership – a community-engaged project hosted at Simon Fraser University, but spanning Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal that evaluates promising practices in housing and support services for older persons with experiences of homelessness (OPEH). In response to the AIRP project’s lived expertise team’s interest in educating the public about the meaning of homelessness in later life, the project aims to engage communities to dismantle discrimination toward OPEH. The specific objectives are to: 1. shift perspectives and disrupt stereotypes about late life homelessness through three community events (in Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal) and a webinar, which will include photo exhibits featuring photographs taken and curated by OPEH, and panel discussions with the lived expertise team that showcase images and narratives about homelessness in later life; and 2. co-develop and disseminate several knowledge mobilization outputs that can be shared and disseminated beyond the conclusion of the project, including story cards that showcase myths about homelessness in later life to disrupt stereotypical images of homelessness and aging, as well as a resource booklet for community members to learn more about homelessness and services aimed at supporting older adults.

Rose, J. (PI), Terry, A. (Co-I), Canham, S. L. (Co-I). Homelessness, health, and nature: A community-based research partnership. Nature and Human Health - Utah pilot project. Total funds: $10,000. June 2022 – May 2023.

• People experiencing both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness are vastly overrepresented among subgroups who suffer from a number of physical and mental health concerns, including shorter life expectancy, higher morbidities, greater usage of acute hospital services, increased cardiovascular disease, increased diabetes, increased depression, increased likelihood of a history of sexual trauma, and so on. At the same time, people experiencing homelessness (PEH) suffer from substantial negative stigma associated with their status as being unhoused, resulting in increased isolation and persecution. On the ecological side, the Jordan River is a long-neglected environmental resource that is in need of increased attention and engagement from a variety of local communities. This project seeks to implement and evaluate the contributions of nature-based educational and recreational experiences to measures of health and wellbeing for PEH. Additionally, this project will help determine what skills and techniques from existing Jordan River advocates and educators can support better engagement with PEH communities.

Castillo, J.(PI) & Frost, C. J.(Co-I). A vision forward in substance abuse education: The training and development of advanced substance use disorder counselors within diverse communities and populations. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Award number: M01HP31280. Total funds: $1,200,000. September 2017 – August 2022.

• In 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded the University of Utah Substance Use Disorder Treatment Training Certificate (SUDTTC) Program a grant to educate and train people to work as professional substance use disorder counselors in medically underserved areas and/or with medically underserved populations in the state of Utah.

Castillo, J. (PI), Cambron, C.(Co-I), Campbell, K. (Co-I), Frost, C. J.(Co-I), & Gren, L. H. (Co-I).Developing family support options through training and apprenticeships for substance use disorder counselors. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Opioid-Impacted Family Support Program. Award number: T26HP39461. Total funds: $2,189,007. September 2020 – August 2024.

• The purpose of this project is to educate and train student-trainees and apprentices as substance use disorder counselors, thereby increasing the quality and quantity of these professionals in the behavioral health and child welfare workforce in the state of Utah.

Garland, E. L. (PI). Targeting chronic pain and co-occurring disorders in the community with Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement. Department of Defense, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program. Award number: W81XWH-16-1-0522. Total funds: $4,854,657. August 2016 – August 2023.

• The co-occurrence of chronic pain, psychological distress, and misuse of prescription opioids undermines the mission of the U.S. Military and inflicts suffering upon veterans and their families. Unfortunately, there are no evidence-based treatments that simultaneously address pain, opioid misuse, and psychological distress. To fill this gap, this study is a trial of a novel integrative medicine approach combining Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) with conventional opioid pain management for service members and veterans. The study utilizes lab-based assessments and mobile technology to understand how MORE works to create therapeutic change, and to predict whether and when service members and veterans are at risk for relapsing back to opioid misuse. To accomplish this objective, lab-based assessments evaluate physiological reactivity to cues associated with past episodes of pain and opioid use, and a smartphone-based assessment evaluates opioid craving, pain, and negative mood in “the real world.” Because changes in heart rate and other physiological factors may indicate the extent to which a person’s brain has been triggered by opioid craving, this application of mind-body assessments to predict opioid misuse risk and treatment outcomes could facilitate early risk detection and penetrate denial.

Garland, E. L. (PI). Targeting hedonic dysregulation to address chronic pain and opioid misuse in primary care. National Institute on Drug Abuse, Behavioral and Integrative Treatment Program. Award number: R01DA042033. Total funds: $2,828,034. September 2016 – July 2022.

• Prescription opioid misuse is a public health threat that is being addressed with heightened urgency at both clinical and policy levels. Extant therapies for opioid misuse and chronic pain may have limited efficacy because they fail to directly target the maladaptive emotion-cognition interactions and hedonic dysregulation inherent in these co-occurring problems. To meet this need, the PI developed a novel behavioral intervention, Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE). MORE is innovative in that it aims to modify associative learning mechanisms hijacked during the allostatic process of opioid misuse by strengthening top-down cognitive control to restructure bottom-up reward learning from valuation of drug reward to natural reward – something that no other behavioral intervention for opioid misuse has been designed to do. The goal of this study is to conduct a full-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) of MORE to reduce aberrant drug-related behaviors and chronic pain among opioid misusing patients in primary care. Participants are randomized to eight weeks of MORE or a conventional support group control administered in community primary care clinics. Patient-reported outcomes are assessed pre- to post-treatment and through a nine-month follow-up. Ultimately, this translational research aims to advance evidence-based integration of behavioral health into primary care.

Garland, E. L. (PI). SMART Embedded Intervention for Military Postsurgical Engagement Readiness (SEMPER). Department of Defense, U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity. Award number: W81XWH-21-1-0328. Total funds: $4,996,715. May 2021 – May 2025.

• Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common chronic overuse musculoskeletal disorders afflicting U.S. military service members and is among the primary conditions leading to medical separation from active-duty service. Given the magnitude and growth in knee OA prevalence, total knee arthroplasty (TKA) surgeries have surged to historic highs in recent years. Today, TKA is one of the most common inpatient surgeries performed in the U.S., but surgical outcomes can be highly variable and suboptimal. Even after a technically sound TKA, up to 25 percent of patients are dissatisfied with their surgical outcome, and many patients continue to experience prolonged pain and opioid use after surgery. In fact, TKA increases an opioid-naïve patient’s risk of developing chronic opioid use five-fold, and chronic opioid use leads to medical separation and undermines mission readiness across the Military Health System (MHS). Clearly, novel non-opioid pain management strategies are needed in the MHS. New scientific findings indicate that prolonged pain disrupts functioning in brain regions responsible for self-control, undermining patients’ ability to engage in effective self-management (i.e., self-regulation) of pain, and resulting in avoidance of physical activity, disengagement from physical therapy, and functional impairment. In the absence of effective self-regulation, patients become increasingly dependent on opioids for pain relief. Interventions are urgently needed to prevent TKA patients’ downward spiral into chronic pain, opioid dependence, and impaired musculoskeletal health. Unfortunately, standard of care during TKA does not address these factors, and current interventions often treat pain, addictive behaviors, and distress in isolation. To fill this gap, this study aims to conduct a pragmatic trial of a novel, adaptive therapeutic approach that integrates brief and intensive mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) into surgical care pathways within the MHS and will be conducted in the standard clinical context at multiple military medical centers around the U.S., where behavioral health specialists will be trained to use evidence-based, manualized MBIs.

Garland, E. L. (PI) & Zeidan, F. (Co-PI). Analgesic and opioid sparing brain mechanisms of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement for chronic low back pain. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Award number: R01AT011772. Total funds: $3,361,551. September 2022 – May 2027.

• The major goal of this R01 is to identify neural mechanisms supporting the reduction of chronic low back pain (cLBP) by Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) and the neural mechanisms supporting MORE’s opioid sparing effects.

Zgierska, A. (Overall PI) & Garland, E. L. (PI, Utah Site). A comparative effectiveness randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation versus cognitive behavioral therapy for opioid-treated chronic low back pain. Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). Award number: OPD-1601-33860. Total funds: $8,430,230. January 2017 – April 2023.

• One in four U.S. adults have chronic low back pain, which is defined as any type of pain in the low back or radiating down to the legs (sciatica) that lasts for three or more months. Doctors often cannot cure chronic low back pain, but they may prescribe an opioid medicine to help patients manage their pain. These medicines can have serious side effects, such as addiction to the medicine, depression, or even death from accidental overdose. This study compares two ways non-opioid treatments help patients reduce chronic low back pain and improve their quality of life: mindfulness meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Mindfulness meditation helps people train their minds to focus attention in a certain way to cope with and reduce negative reactions to pain. CBT, a type of psychological therapy, helps people learn how to change their thoughts and feelings about pain and develop new ways to think and act when they are in pain. The aim of this comparative effectiveness trial is to assess if mindfulness-based intervention is more effective than standard of care CBT for improving pain and function.

Weisberg, R. (PI) & Garland, E. L. (Co-I; PI, Utah Site). Digital therapeutic development of virtual cognitive-affective training for opioid use disorder. National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse. Award number: R44DA053848. Current Funds: $2,779,659. May 2021 – July 2025.

• Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) like buprenorphine are currently the most effective form of intervention for opioid use disorder (OUD); however, novel behavioral adjuncts are needed to remediate dysregulation in brain reward systems, enhance MOUD adherence, and prevent relapse. BehaVR, LLC will meet this need by translating an evidence-based biobehavioral treatment approach into an innovative digital therapeutic for OUD that will increase accessibility to services to improve the patient's chances of long-term treatment success.

Fritz, J. (PI) & Garland, E. L. (Co-PI). SMART stepped care management for low back pain in military health system. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and Department of Defense. Award number: UG3AT009763. Total funds: $6,438,846. September 2017 – August 2023.

• Chronic pain is a ubiquitous problem and growing concern for the Military Health System (MHS). Low back pain (LBP) is the most common condition that leads to chronic pain. Numerous recommendations have been made to improve care for LBP and chronic pain in the MHS, including implementation of a stepped care approach. Stepped care is a treatment process that begins with broadly accessible, less intensive interventions that can benefit many patients. Those who do not respond to initial treatments are stepped up to more intensive treatment. While stepped care is advocated for pain management, and has been beneficial for improving care in other chronic conditions, many questions remain about which treatments to use within each step, and the importance of sequences of care decisions. The SMART Stepped Care Management Project supports an innovative sequential multiple randomization trial specifically designed to address these key questions. Patients in the MHS with chronic LBP are randomly assigned to either receive physical therapy or the holistic move to health intervention. After six weeks, patients’ responsiveness to their first treatment step is determined. Non-responders are re-randomized to receive either Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) or treatment from an integrative pain medicine center. This SMART trial compares the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of step one and step two treatments in a stepped care approach for patients with LBP in the MHS with patient-centered and healthcare cost outcomes, with an emphasis on studying the sequencing effects of different treatment combinations.

Bryan, C. (PI) & Garland, E. L. (Co-PI). Brief cognitive behavioral therapy replication trial. Department of Defense. Award number: W81XWH1820022. Total funds: $4,900,000. July 2018 – June 2023.

• The overall goal for this project is to test the effectiveness of brief cognitive behavioral therapy (BCBT) for the prevention of suicide attempts in a sample of treatment-seeking Marines. The standard null hypothesis involves tests conducted comparing improvement following BCBT (treatment duration of 12 weeks) to person-centered therapy (PCT). The primary outcome comparisons will include direct markers of suicidality (i.e. suicide, suicide attempts). Secondary outcomes will be suicide ideation and indicators of psychiatric distress (e.g., depression, hopelessness). The researchers also aim to assess several hypothesized psychological and neurocognitive mediators of treatment effects (e.g., wish to live, attentional bias, emotion regulation). Participants will be followed for two years post-treatment by independent evaluators blind to treatment condition.

Fritz, J. (PI), Garland, E. L. (Co-PI), & Hanley, A. W. (Co-I).Optimizing treatment sequencing for patients with chronic, nonspecific low back pain. Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), Optimized Multidisciplinary Treatment Programs for Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain. Award number: OTS-LBP-2017C1-6486. Total funds: $9,453,662. September 2018 – March 2025.

• This study will use a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART) design to determine the optimal treatment sequencing of physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and mindfulness-based therapy for chronic pain.

Cooperman, N. (PI), Garland, E. L. (Co-I), & Hanley, A. W. (Co-I). Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement as an adjunct to methadone treatment for opioid use and chronic pain management. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (R21/R33). Award numbers: R21AT010109 and R33AT010109. Total funds: $1,826,018 (for R21 and R33 phases combined). September 2019 – September 2023.

• This project will study the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) as an adjunct to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) and chronic pain.

Cooperman, N. (PI), Garland, E. L.(Co-PI), & Hanley, A. W. (Co-I). Implementation and effectiveness of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement as an adjunct to methadone treatment for opioid use disorder. National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse. Award number: R01DA056537. Total funds: $3,361,632. September 2022 – July 2027.

• This project will conduct a hybrid type 2 implementation-effectiveness study of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) as an adjunct to methadone treatment for opioid use disorder.

Cooperman, N. (PI), Garland, E. L.(Co-I), & Hanley, A. W. (Co-I). Motivational interviewing and Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement for tobacco dependence and other drug use in methadone treatment. National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse. Award number: R01DA057631. Total funds: $2,300,742. September 2022 – September 2025.

• This project will conduct a hybrid type 2 implementation-effectiveness study of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement and motivational interviewing as an adjunct to methadone treatment for tobacco and other drug use.

Goldstein, R. Z. (PI) & Garland, E. L. (Co-I). Neuroimaging response inhibition and salience attribution changes during mindfulness-based treatment of human heroin addiction. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Award number: R01AT010627. Total Funds: $3,775,359. April 2019 – March 2024.

• The goal of this project is to use neuroimaging of reward processing, drug cue reactivity, and inhibitory control before and immediately after eight weeks of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement as compared to standard of care in opioid addiction. Clinical outcomes will be assessed immediately and three months after treatment.

Froeliger, B. (MPI), Saladin, M. (MPI), & Garland, E. L. (PI). Neural mechanisms mediating appetitive regulation and smoking in nicotine addiction. National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse. Award number: R01DA048094. Total Funds: $2,218,299. June 2019 – March 2024.

• The main goal of this project is to test the effects of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement on nicotine addiction pathophysiology.

Hanley, A. W. (PI) & Garland, E. L. (Co-I). Mindful interoceptive mapping: Elucidating a novel mechanism for treating opioid misuse and chronic pain. National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse. Award number: R21DA050792. Total funds: $434,365. April 2021 – March 2024.

• Chronic pain patients deserve pain management strategies that are efficacious and non-addictive. Mindfulness-based interventions show promise but could be more effective if intentionally designed to increase pleasant sensations while decreasing pain. This project will begin identifying the optimal style of mindfulness practice for increasing pleasant bodily sensations in the service of more effectively treating the millions of Americans misusing opioids to manage their chronic pain.

Hanley, A. W. (PI) & Garland, E. L. (Co-I). Subtle energy project. Emerald Gate Charitable Trust. Total funds: $567,572. July 2022 – June 2024.

• The major goal of this project is to demonstrate the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of biofield therapies for knee osteoarthritis patients.

Jaggers, J. (PI), Cambron, C. (Co-I). Indigent Appellate Defense Division. State of Utah, Indigent Defense Commission’s Indigent Appellate Defense Division. Award number: 221702. Total funds: $131,238. March 2022 – May 2023.

• This study, performed in consultation with the Indigent Appellate Defense Division, will be used as a basis for developing numerical caseload/workload standards for indigent appellate defense service providers statewide. The study will produce both recommended caseload standards for appellate defense providers and a set of recommended weights for those cases.

Stegenga, S. (PI), Johnston, S. (Co-PI), Loomis, A. M. (Co-PI), & Baffour, T. D. (Co-PI). Project IPEP: Interdisciplinary Preparation of Early Childhood Professionals for mental health promotion, prevention, and intervention. Office of Special Education Programs, Department of Education. Award number: H325K220039 Total Funds: $325,000. October 2022 – September 2025.

• Project IPEP (Interdisciplinary Preparation of Early Childhood Professionals for mental health promotion, prevention, and intervention) aims to support young children with high intensity social-emotional needs, by preparing 12 highly qualified early childhood special education teachers who specialize in evidence-based instruction and service provision for young children and their families, and 12 social workers who are highly skilled in protecting vulnerable children and supporting families in need of assistance. Further, all Project IPEP scholars will be prepared to implement trauma-informed practices and support positive mental health in infants, toddlers, and young children in collaboration with their caregivers through use of evidence-based strategies in promotion, prevention, and intervention specific to early childhood intervention settings.

Min, M. O. (PI). Gender and developmental trajectories to adolescent substance use and sexual risk behavior. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Award number: R01DA042747. Total funds: $266,985. September 2019 – July 2022.

• Children with prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) are more prone to adolescent substance use and sexual risk behaviors, even compared to other high-risk populations. However, little is known about how behavioral trajectories among those with PCE interact with gender and life adversity, such as exposure to violence or trauma, to produce different substance use and sexual risk behavior outcomes. Understanding of behavioral trajectories that may differ by gender and life adversities will improve prevention and treatment efforts by specifying modifiable targets by gender. This is a secondary data analysis grant to examine gender differences in behavioral trajectories leading to substance use and sexual risk behaviors in adolescents with and without prenatal cocaine/polydrug exposure, capitalizing on the combined datasets from two longitudinal birth cohorts.

Frey, J. J. (PI) & Osteen, P. J. (Co-I). Preventing Suicide in Michigan Men (PRiSMM). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), and University of Maryland. Total funds: $933,829. November 2020 – August 2025.

• Preventing Suicide in Michigan Men (PRiSMM) is a comprehensive multi-component collaboration, led by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. PRiSMM is designed to reduce Michigan’s suicide morbidity and mortality rates by 10% over five years. With a focus on adult men, who represent 67% of the suicide deaths annually in Michigan, PRiSMM is designed to reduce the occurrence of suicidal behaviors among adult men. Dr. Jodi Jacobson Frey is the University of Maryland subcontract principal investigator and she and her team, including Dr. Philip J. Osteen from the University of Utah and Grit Digital, will contribute to this project by building on Dr. Frey’s prior work in Michigan to further expand the reach and impact of Man Therapy in reducing suicide risk with working aged men.

Farmer, E. (PI) & Osteen, P. J. (Co-I). The Center for Adjustment, Resilience & REcovery (CARRE). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Total funds: $599,249. September 2021 – September 2026.

• The Center for Adjustment, Resilience & REcovery (CARRE) will close the gap in knowledge and research, and increase workforce capacity so that refugee, asylum-seeking, and other forcibly displaced children, youth, and families in the U.S. receive trauma focused, culturally responsive, evidence-based treatments and interventions that prevent the long-term impacts of childhood traumatic stress and promote resilience. Despite refugee and asylum-seeking children and youth experiencing significant traumatic events and ongoing adversities that result in a high prevalence of mental health conditions (studies show an overall prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder at 22.71%, depression at 13.81%, and anxiety disorders at 15.77%), they are often unable to access trauma-focused services and evidenced-based treatments due to linguistic, cultural, and environmental barriers, and a lack of provider capacity. CARRE will: 1. increase the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and resource of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) partners, National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCTSI) centers, refugee resettlement agencies (RA), ethnic community based organizations (ECBO), and other service providers so that they can successfully serve refugee/asylum-seeking children and families coping with toxic stress and trauma; 2. increase the number of category III centers, RAs, ECBOs, and other service providers who effectively implement culturally adapted and contextually appropriate evidence-based treatments (EBTs) with refugee/asylum-seeking children and families; and 3. increase the exchange between intervention, population, and systems experts in the fields of trauma and toxic stress and forced migration, refugee resettlement, asylum, and other forms of humanitarian protection. CARRE will provide training, education, and technical assistance, and regularly develop and disseminate resources to NCTSN members on issues related to the unique traumatic factors of forced migration, related service systems, and cultural adaptation frameworks. Conversely, CARRE will partner with NCSTI category II Centers to ensure the RAs and ECBOs, early and common service entry points, have increased knowledge and skills regarding child traumatic stress. CARRE is partnering with category II NCTSI centers to culturally adapt three EBT models and will expand their implementation to NCTSI centers, RAs, ECBOs, and other service providers. It will support the successful uptake and sustainability of these interventions by serving as a continuing resource for training, consultation, and technical assistance. CARRE will also engage key stakeholders including refugee/asylum seeking youth and families to collectively leverage knowledge and to improve access to services and effective care.

Salisbury, E. J. (PI). Creating a marketing and training strategy for the Women's Risk and Needs Assessment (WRNA). National Institute of Corrections (NIC). Award number: 21CS16GLI5. Total funds: $108,641. August 2021 – August 2022.

• The Women’s Risk Needs Assessment (WRNA), an instrument that appropriately accounts for women’s risk and need, has been applied nationally and internationally for assessment and case planning with women who are at various points of involvement with the correctional system, from pretrial to community supervision. This project addresses the need for creating a national marketing, training, and technical assistance strategy for the WRNA.

Salisbury, E. J. (PI). Women's Risk and Needs Assessment (WRNA), continuation: Year 2. National Institute of Corrections (NIC). Award number: 22CS10GLL3. Total funds: $199,421. August 2022 – August 2023.

• This project is a continuation of funding from FY 2022 for work that addresses the need for creating a national marketing, training, and technical assistance strategy for the WRNA. With four central goals for year two, the Utah Criminal Justice Center (UCJC) proposes: 1. continuing coaching and implementation strategies for adoption of the WRNA with the five selected community corrections sites from year one; 2. delivering presentations to national and local conferences on the WRNA’s goals and purposes; 3. developing small scale data collection and research protocols with sites from year one; and 4. creating both a national WRNA learning community with stand-alone booster sessions and a diversity review team (DiveRT) to assess the WRNA’s cultural competency for women of color.

Salisbury, E. J. (PI). Community supervision fee study. National Institute of Corrections (NIC). Award number: 22CS16GLM4. Total funds: $188,902. September 2022 – September 2023.

• This project will conduct a national study detailing how adult community supervision operations are funded. The study will use state-level data showing the proportion of state revenue, local revenue, and supervision fees being used to support agency operations. The mixed methods study will help develop a national profile on how adult community supervision operations are funded, including information regarding the extent to which local and state resources are dedicated to support operations and to what extent supervision fee revenue is dedicated to fund operations. Quantitative data will be collected to understand who is collecting fees, the amount of fees that are imposed and collected, and the level of revenue from supervision fees and other sources being used to support probation operations. Qualitative data will be collected through interviews with probation operations staff to gain perspectives on the adequacy of current funding mechanisms, trends in funding, and how those trends correlate with trends in community supervision populations.

Magel, J. (PI) & Siantz, E. (Co-I). Physical therapy integrated with mindfulness for patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain and long-term opioid treatment.  National Institutes of Health, National Center for Contemporary and Integrative Health. Award number: 1R01AT012229-01. Total funds: $1,625,093. December 2022 – November 2025.

• This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a cluster randomized clinical trial to evaluate the integration of mindfulness principles with evidence-based physical therapy in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain and long-term opioid treatment.

Contracts

Bennett, T. R.(PI). Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness (USARA) program development, implementation, and evaluation. Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness (USARA). Total funds: $327,500. September 2018 – May 2025.

• The Social Research Institute (SRI) has an ongoing contract with Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness (USARA) to provide development, implementation, and evaluation support for the agency’s peer-to-peer substance use services. Researchers are assisting USARA to create a sustainable model for providing peer recovery services statewide. Funding to support this contract comes from a variety of sources including the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Utah Office of Substance Use and Mental Health (OSUMH).  In 2022, SRI partnered with USARA to evaluate the Building Communities of Recovery (BCOR) project in Southeastern and Southwestern Utah, assess outcome achievement in the CRAFT Family Support program, and support the development of reporting dashboards and data visualizations.

Bennett, T. R. (PI). Latino Behavioral Health Services evaluation consultation. Latino Behavioral Health Services (LBHS). Total funds: $52,000. November 2021 – December 2023.

• The Social Research Institute (SRI) has an ongoing contract with Latino Behavioral Health Services (LBHS) to provide data collection and analysis, technical assistance, and research and evaluation services. Funding to support this contract comes from a variety of sources including the Utah Office of Substance Use and Mental Health (OSUMH) and Salt Lake County.  In 2022, SRI partnered with LBHS to conduct a community needs assessment focusing on the Glendale and Poplar Grove Communities in Salt Lake City, evaluate existing data for trends and projections, and develop a data collection system to support reporting and decision-making.

Broadbent, M. (PI) & Bennett, T. R. (Co-PI). Child abuse and neglect prevention needs assessment (CBCAP). Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS). Award number: A03559. Total funds: $226,039. October 2022 – March 2024.

• The Social Research Institute (SRI) will conduct a formal needs assessment related to child abuse and neglect prevention. The primary purpose of this assessment is to evaluate population needs and existing information related to child abuse and prevention in Utah to inform a strategic plan regarding funding decisions and future requests for proposals (RFPs).

Broadbent, M. (PI) & West, K. (Co-I).  Evidence-based practice (EBP) evaluation project. Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Award number: A03056. Total funds: $1,387,290. December 2019 – December 2024.

• In accordance with requirements of the Family First Prevention Services Act, the Children’s Bureau, within the Federal Administration for Children, Youth, and Families, requires evaluation of all programs and services included in a state’s five-year Title IV-E prevention program plan, if the program or service does not have a well-supported rating by the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse. The Social Research Institute (SRI) developed evaluation plans based on review and assessment, and will conduct evaluations for programs and services included in the State of Utah IV-E prevention program plan.

Broadbent, M. (PI) & West, K. (Co-PI).Title IV-E research. Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS). Award number: A03646. Total funds: $2,843,392. July 2022 – June 2027.

• The Social Research Institute (SRI) will provide research services related to foster care, foster care candidates, and adoption in support of Utah’s federal Title IV-E foster care plan.

Tanana, M. J. (PI), Vanderloo, M. (Co-PI), & Broadbent, M.(Co-I). Title IV-E research. Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS). Award number: A02432. Total funds: $1,472,704. July 2017 – June 2022.

• Through this project, the Social Research Institute (SRI) provided research support to the state of Utah’s child welfare system. Researchers engaged in quantitative analyses of system databases to help understand causes and influences over the child welfare system. 

Hopkins, R.(PI) & Broadbent, M. (Co-PI). Medicaid 1115 waiver evaluation. Utah Department of Health. Award number: 182700856. Total funds: $1,385,560. March 2018 – February 2023.

• The Social Research Institute (SRI), in collaboration with the University of Utah’s Department of Economics, is conducting an evaluation of Utah’s 1115 Medicaid waiver demonstration. Specific policy changes and health care services to beneficiary population groups include: aged dental, blind and disabled dental, severely mentally ill, substance abuse disorder, targeted adult, and intensive stabilization for youth.

Loomis, A. M. (PI). Infancy and early childhood (IEC) teleconsultation evaluation. The Children’s Center Utah (TCCU). Total funds: $40,000. January 2022 – August 2023.

• The purpose of this project is to provide trauma-informed and resiliency-oriented infancy and early childhood (IEC) teleconsultation services throughout the state to train and develop IEC providers to effectively address IEC mental health concerns and needs. The evaluation of this project assesses usage and satisfaction with IEC teleconsultation services, including individual/group consultation and training, thus far provided to over 1,000 unique early childhood providers across the state.

Loomis, A. M. (PI) & Byrne, K. (Co-I). Trauma program for young children. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Total funds: $400,000. September 2022 – September 2027.

• The goals of this project are to increase state-wide provision of trauma-informed trainings and technical assistance for early childhood providers to support screening, referral, and treatment of young children who’ve experienced trauma, and increasing the availability of evidence-based early childhood trauma interventions. Evaluation includes assessment of provider trauma-informed attitudes and collaboration as a result of training and technical assistance, and child outcomes following trauma-informed treatment.

McDonald, C.(PI).Title IV-E training: FY18-FY22. Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS). Award number: A02433. Total funds: $13,489,953. July 2017 – June 2022.

• This Social Research Institute (SRI) project involves research and education components that include participants from the BSW Program, the MSW Program, and new and existing child welfare workers in the agency. The goal of the project is to assess whether a comprehensive, evidence-based training package can impact outcomes in daily practice. A child welfare worker's first child abuse or neglect case is often an overwhelming experience. The process of engaging, gathering information, and making a decision requires a complex skill set, which is difficult to perform under the best circumstances. When the situation is highly emotional, competent performance is even harder to achieve. To better equip child welfare workers with the skills they will need for their first case, the University of Utah, in partnership with the Utah Division of Child and Family Services, has developed a simulation experience of a worker’s first case. The training of child welfare workers, like many other types of social work, is acquired mainly through on-the-job experience. This type of training leads to wide ranges in competency and outcomes. This is the first full spectrum training program in the nation and will incorporate cutting-edge evidence-based training modalities including virtual-reality and simulation.

McDonald, C.(PI).Title IV-E training: FY23-FY27. Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS). Award number: A03567. Total funds: $18,379,640. July 2022 – June 2027.

• This contract supports eligible training and administrative expenses incurred in preparing students for employment with DHHS/DCFS or DHHS/the Division of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services (JJYS), offering stipends to eligible students, and supporting the professional development of current DHHS/DCFS employees using innovative curriculum development and delivery methods, and evaluating training outcomes.

Osteen, P. J. (PI). COVID-19 emergency response for suicide prevention. Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office of Substance Use and Mental Health (OSUMH). Award number: A03267. Total funds: $52,250. January 2021 – January 2022.

• The Social Research Institute (SRI) served as the evaluator on OSUMH’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) COVID-19 emergency response suicide prevention (ERSP) grant (1 H79 FG000490-01). Evaluation and reporting activities included development of data collection strategies, implementation of data collection with grant partners, analysis of data, and summarization of data required for grant reporting.

Prince, K. C.(PI). A randomized controlled trial of the Salt Lake County criminal justice Pay for Success (PFS) program: Recovery, Engagement, Assessment, Career Development, and Housing (REACH). Private investment banks and philanthropic organizations. Award number: 0000001404. Total funds: $725,000. January 2017 – December 2023.

• Pay for Success (PFS) is an innovative approach that leverages taxpayer risk by funding social service programs with private capital and ties payment for services to demonstrated outcomes through rigorous evaluation. Salt Lake County partnered with the Utah Criminal Justice Center (UCJC), First Step House (FSH), Sorenson Impact Center, and a variety of community stakeholders to develop a PFS project to address high recidivism rates among offender populations. The Recovery, Engagement, Assessment, Career Development, and Housing (REACH) program was designed by FSH to serve high-risk, high-need adult male probationers with moderate to severe substance abuse disorders. Specific program components include: evidence-based interventions specifically designed to address criminogenic factors that are tied to recidivism; substance use disorder treatment; employment support through job placement, education, and training; support and case management to meet individual needs through benefits enrollment, health resources, and community engagement; and housing support. UCJC was selected as the independent evaluator on this $6.3 million, six-year project, and is currently conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) study to examine the program’s success improving criminal justice and employment outcomes.

Prince, K. C. (PI) & Sarver, C. M. (Co-I). A randomized controlled trial of the Salt Lake County homelessness Pay for Success (PFS) program: Housing Not Jails (HNJ). Private investment banks and philanthropic organizations. Award number: 0000001404. Total funds: $611,712. January 2017 – December 2023.

• Pay for Success (PFS) is an innovative approach that leverages taxpayer risk by funding social service programs with private capital and ties payment for services to demonstrated outcomes through rigorous evaluation. Salt Lake County has partnered with the Utah Criminal Justice Center (UCJC), The Road Home (TRH), Sorenson Impact Center, and a variety of community stakeholders to develop a PFS project to address homelessness within the community. Despite spending $52 million in Salt Lake County annually on the homelessness service system, there are still large numbers of persistently homeless individuals in the County. The persistently homeless are defined as those individuals who have spent between 90 and 364 days over the previous year in emergency shelters, on the streets, or otherwise tracked as being homeless. These individuals spend long periods of time in emergency shelter and are commonly booked into jail for low-level crimes related to homelessness (e.g., public intoxication, trespassing). Analysis of this population demonstrates that the persistently homeless are at clear risk of remaining homeless without support and are a strain on public resources. Despite their poor outcomes, these individuals are highly unlikely to receive the currently available services for the homeless. To directly address this population and its unique issues, the County decided to utilize a rapid rehousing (RRH) approach to serve persistently homeless individuals through the Housing Not Jail (HNJ) program. The HNJ program, developed by The Road Home (TRH), is based on the framework of the Housing First (HF) model, and was designed to move persistently homeless individuals out of the emergency shelter and into a stable housing placement. HNJ augments the RRH and HF models by incorporating a number of evidence-based practices and comprehensive wraparound services, such as intensive case management, behavioral health group services, and referral to employment services. UCJC was selected as the independent evaluator on this $5.7 million, six-year project, and is currently conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) study to examine the program’s success improving housing stability, criminal justice, and behavioral health outcomes.

Prince, K. C. (PI) & Sarver, C. M. (Co-I). Department of Public Safety violent crime in Utah project: Phase I. Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS). Total funds: $83,000. May 2021 – April 2022.

• The purpose of this project was to identify trends in, and potential predictors of, violent crime (specifically rape, assault, and homicide) in several jurisdictions in the state of Utah for the period from 2014 – 2019. The study also examined person-level predictors of the crime rates among the offending population (but not within the general community). Phase I of this project was exploratory and focused partly on identifying significant patterns of change in trends in violent crime. Within the offending population, Phase I also examined whether person-level variables (e.g., sex, race, age, criminal history) are useful predictors of observed trends and included a literature review examining determinants of violent crime.

Salisbury, E. J. (PI). Women’s Risk Needs Assessment (WRNA) training contracts. Total combined funds of current contracts: $353,700. September 2020 - September 2023.

• The Utah Criminal Justice Center (UCJC) has contracted with various entities across the country to train personnel in the administration and scoring of the Women’s Risk Needs Assessment (WRNA), as well as the use of the assessment for case planning purposes.

Sarver, C. M.(PI). Utah Division of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services (DJJYS) consultation project. Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services (DJJYS). Total Funds: $771,754. July 2021 – June 2026.

• The purpose of this project is to: 1. assist DHHS and DJJYS in meeting the requirements of H.B. 239 (as amended in 2017), which requires that programs implemented by DHHS or their contracted providers be evidence-based or rated as effective for reducing recidivism; and 2. examine the inter-rater reliability (IRR) and conditional validity coefficients of the protective and risk assessment (PRA), as administered within DHHS.

Sarver, C. M. (PI) & Mueller, D. (Co-I). Gender-responsive and behavior management reentry. Management & Training Corporation. Total funds: $60,000. October 2019 – June 2024.

• The Utah Criminal Justice Center (UCJC) is conducting a process evaluation that characterizes the implementation of a gender-responsive and behavior management approach to re-entry in one female correctional facility in the state of Florida.

Sarver, C. M. (PI) & Prince, K. C.(Co-I). Evaluation of the SAMHSA FAST program. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Total funds: $300,000. September 2018 – September 2023.

• This project was part of a five-year SAMHSA grant that was awarded to The Road Home (TRH) to develop and evaluate the Family Assistance and Support Team (FAST) program (also known as the Housing Support and Stability Program (HSSP) Families Project). The FAST team will assist 150 homeless families with a substance use disorder or co-occurring disorder to stabilize in permanent housing with rapid re-housing (RRH) packages of financial assistance and multidisciplinary wrap-around supports. These will include: case management, behavioral health treatment for parents and children with an emphasis on access to developmentally appropriate services, and a focus on increasing mainstream benefits and employment. The FAST program incorporates rapid re-housing, trauma-informed care, motivational interviewing, harm reduction, and critical time intervention in a setting-flexible service delivery model. Objectives include: 1. helping families obtain and stabilize in permanent housing; 2. providing a coordinated approach to accessing mainstream benefits for all family members; 3. facilitating access to employment supports; 4. connecting children to developmentally appropriate supports; and 5. connecting all family members to behavioral health supports, as needed. The Utah Criminal Justice Center (UCJC) serves as the evaluator on this multi-agency team, and will conduct a thorough evaluation of the program to determine the impact of the program on the following outcomes: housing placements and retention; benefits/health insurance enrollment and retention; behavioral health treatment admission and completion; employment type, length, and salary; children’s receipt of services, including type and length; and measures of parent and child well-being. During the final year of the project, UCJC will compare outcomes between FAST participants and a propensity score matched sample of homeless families who are not enrolled in the program.

Sarver, C. M. (PI) & Seawright, J. (Co-I). Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) program evaluation. Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office of Substance Use and Mental Health (OSUMH). Award number: A02741. Total Funds: $508,002. January 2019 – December 2022.

• The Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) requires the Utah Department of Health and Human Services/Office of Substance Use and Mental Health (DHS/OSUMH) to create and oversee a certification process for all community-based treatment programs, both public and private, that provide services to persons who are court-mandated to behavioral health treatment. This process will ensure that treatment providers are knowledgeable and skilled with respect to the scientific research for reducing recidivism among substance using persons who have been court-mandated to treatment. The objectives of this project are to: 1. provide consultation to OSUMH staff on justice certification; 2. develop and pilot a certification tool that will be administered to provisionally certified treatment providers to determine readiness for final certification; 3. provide technical assistance to programs through the general evidence-based correctional practice (EBCP) module developed and maintained by the UCJC; and 4. conduct follow-up program evaluations with Utah’s 13 local substance abuse authorities.

Sarver, C. M. (PI) & Seawright, J. (Co-I). Utah – Promoting Integration of Primary and Behavioral Health Care (U-PIPBHC) program. Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office of Substance Use and Mental Health (OSUMH). Award number: A02741. Total Funds: $179,010. April 2019 – December 2023.

• OSUMH received funding to implement the Utah – Promoting Integration of Primary and Behavioral Health Care (U-PIPBHC) program through the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). OSUMH and provider organizations located in Box Elder, Iron, Utah, and Washington Counties are integrating primary and behavioral health care services using the Intermountain Healthcare Mental Health Integration care process model and Primary Care Behavioral Health Model to address the physical and behavioral health needs of low-income, uninsured residents residing in Box Elder, Iron, Utah, and Washington Counties. The goals of this Utah Criminal Justice Center (UCJC) project are to: 1. determine if services are provided as intended; 2. characterize the type and dosage of services received by clients; and 3. analyze change in outcomes of interest as the result of program participation.

Vogel-Ferguson, M. B. (PI). Center for Trauma-Informed Utah and ACEs prevention support project. Utah Department of Health. Award number: 212700442. Total funds: $299,708. September 2020 – August 2025.

• The purpose of this Social Research Institute (SRI) project is to guide stakeholders through the process of establishing a steering committee, necessary subcommittees, and conducting supportive activities to develop a proposal for a center for Trauma-Informed Utah. The center will serve as a resource for the state of Utah to work toward becoming a trauma-informed, resilience-building, ACEs-preventing state. An additional purpose is to provide support and technical assistance to the Utah Department of Health to integrate trauma-informed policies and practices into department structure and programs.

Vogel-Ferguson, M. B. (PI) & Bennett, T. R. (Co-PI). Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) project. Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS). Award number: 20DWS0144. Total funds: $959,414. January 2020 – December 2023.

• The Social Research Institute (SRI) will conduct research and evaluation to provide data regarding the impact of various Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS) programs on outcomes for needy families accessing the programs, as the Department strives to adhere to the four cornerstone principles of operational excellence, exceptional customer service, employee success, and community connection. The programs to be evaluated promote self-sufficiency, healthy relationships, enhanced education, and trauma-informed parenting.

Vogel-Ferguson, M. B. (PI) & Bennett, T. R. (Co-PI). Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Utah Department of Workforce Services. Award number: 20DWS0144. Total funds: $30,000. January 2020 – December 2023.

• The Social Research Institute (SRI) will use findings from the WIOA study to assist in the design and development of an intergenerational welfare use project and evaluate the program as requested. The program could possibly focus on working with adults with dependents who have no high school diploma or GED. Additionally, the team will explore costs and concerns around providing childcare for participation in the WIOA program and provide evaluations of the WIOA program as requested by DWS.

West, K.(PI) & Broadbent, M. (Co-I). Hearing quality project: Evaluation of judicial bench cards. Utah Administrative Office of the Courts. Total Funds: $25,000. August 2021 – September 2022.

• The Utah Administrative Office of the Courts is engaging in a hearing quality project, per the requirements of receiving Court Improvement Program (CIP) grants administered by the Administration for Children Youth and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The hearing quality project is focused on improving family engagement at court hearings and achieving timely and appropriate permanency for all children and families through the use of a judicial bench card. The Social Research Institute (SRI) conducted an initial evaluation of judicial practice at child welfare court hearings pre- and post-implementation of the judicial bench card. This evaluation is considered phase I of a longer-term initiative and examined factors related to fidelity and hearing quality such as engagement of parties present in hearings; breadth and depth of discussion of topics referenced on the judicial bench card in child welfare hearings; judicial inquiry of reasonable efforts; and judicial reasonable efforts findings for both primary and concurrent goals.

West, K.(PI) & Broadbent, M. (Co-I). Hearing quality project: Phase II. Utah Administrative Office of the Courts. Total Funds: $118,000. February 2022 – March 2024.

• The Utah Administrative Office of the Courts (Utah Courts) is conducting a hearing quality project per the requirements of receiving Court Improvement Program (CIP) grants administered by the Administration for Children Youth and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The hearing quality project is focused on improving family engagement at court hearings and achieving timely and appropriate permanency for all children and families through the use of a judicial bench card. This is phase II of the evaluation initiative. The Social Research Institute (SRI) will conduct a statewide evaluation of judicial practice at child welfare court hearings pre-and post-implementation of the judicial bench card. This evaluation is Phase II of the initiative that began with Phase I in August 2021. Phase I was an initial evaluation of the pilot bench card implementation. Phase II will assess the statewide implementation of the bench card. This evaluation will examine factors related to fidelity and hearing quality such as engagement of parties present in hearings, breadth and depth of discussion of bench card topics in hearings; judicial inquiry of essential bench card items; and child and DCFS case outcomes such as permanency and length of stay in foster care.

Other Funded Projects

Cambron, C. (PI). School-based mindfulness training to improve psychological well-being and prevent substance use among adolescents. University of Utah Research Foundation. Total funds: $21,223. April 2022 – March 2024.

• There is a broad consensus that preventing or delaying initiation of substance use can substantially improve both short- and long-term adolescent health. Adolescent substance use continues to be a substantial issue and further research on preventive interventions is needed. School-based mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) present a strong theoretical approach to reducing adolescent substance use, but evidence of their effectiveness is currently limited. MBIs have been shown to be feasible and effective at improving adolescent psychological well-being as measured by lower levels of anxiety, depression, and stress, and improved emotional regulation. Many of the same factors associated with psychological well-being are also linked to adolescent substance use. This study will examine psychological well-being and adolescent substance use among 80 participants in a quasi-experimental, school-based adaptation of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE). MORE is an evidence-based therapeutic program that integrates mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and positive psychology to treat addiction and enhance well-being. This study is the first to test MORE as a preventive intervention among youth. Results of this study will provide important information to advance the fields of both substance use prevention and school-based MBIs. Additionally, results of this study will be of wide interest to school administrators, school counselors, and clinicians working to prevent adolescent substance use.

Greer, V. (PI), Canham, S. L. (Co-PI), Agutter, J. (Co-PI), Garcia, I. (Co-PI), & Hong, A. (Co-PI). From sheltered in place to thriving in place: Dimensions of aging in the “right” place during the pandemic. College of Architecture + Planning's scholarship incentive program. Total funds: $20,000. February 2021 – February 2022.

• While aging in place involves supporting older adults to live as long as possible in their homes and communities, aging in the “right” place recognizes that where an older person lives impacts their ability to age optimally, and must match their unique lifestyles and vulnerabilities. COVID-19 has created a unique set of challenges related to aging and place, including increased home confinement, limited social interaction, and a growing reliance on digital technologies. With the global population aging, it is critical to understand how the pandemic has transformed attitudes and priorities of what constitutes “rightness” of place. Moreover, there is a need to understand potential ways the built environment (e.g., places where people live, work, worship, recreate, etc.) can be adapted to support new dimensions around what constitutes aging in the “right” place. This project utilized photovoice methods to collect data on what aging in the “right” place means to older adults during COVID-19. The goal of this project was to build a preliminary data set that identifies supportive factors to conceptualizing “rightness” of place within the context of the pandemic.

Garland, E. L.(PI), Love, T. (Co-I), Nakamura, Y. (Co-I), & Hanley, A. W. (Co-I). Neural mechanisms and predictors of treatment response in opioid misuse. University of Utah Office of the Vice President for Research 1U4U initiative. Total Funds: $30,000. March 2020 – August 2022.

• There is a significant, immediate need to develop effective treatments to adequately treat chronic pain while reducing the risk of opioid misuse and addiction. A novel behavioral intervention, Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), developed by researchers within the University of Utah, was specially designed to treat the co-occurring problem of opioid misuse and chronic pain. While multiple lines of evidence indicate MORE can significantly lower opioid craving, reduce chronic pain, and prevent opioid misuse, the researchers do not yet understand the neurobiological mechanisms that support and predict treatment success. With this project, the investigators will bring together an interdisciplinary team of researchers to examine the neural predictors of MORE treatment response. By utilizing a comprehensive neuroimaging battery to examine the structural and functional mechanisms of change associated with MORE treatment, this study will broaden understanding of the neurobiological markers that predict treatment success, help identify treatment non-responders early, and enable the researchers to refine treatment and create more effective, personalized interventions to target co-occurring chronic pain and opioid misuse. This funded proposal enables the team to pursue a brand-new area of research.

Hanley, A. W. (PI). Just one MORE: Pilot study of a single-session, 2-hour version of Mindfulness Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) for chronic pain patients. University of Utah Research Foundation. Total funds: $22,885. April 2022 – March 2024.

• Mindfulness is an effective treatment for chronic pain, but traditional mindfulness-based interventions, such as Mindfulness Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) require a time and resource investment (i.e., eight, two-hour sessions) too burdensome for many patients and providers. The solution may be to distill the most potent elements of the traditional MORE intervention into a brief, two-hour, single-session intervention: one MORE. While a brief intervention may initially appear insufficient to treat a chronic condition, evidence from four recent randomized clinical trials suggests single-session, 15-20 minute, MORE-based interventions can have durable impacts on pain-related outcomes. This project will build on this previous work, using an effectiveness- implementation hybrid design (type 1) to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and clinical benefits of one MORE for chronic pain patients. This project’s central hypothesis is that teaching chronic pain patients (N=60) the core principles of MORE in a single, two-hour intervention session will provide them with the pain management foundation to substantively improve their quality of life over time. To test this hypothesis the researchers will pursue the following specific aims: Aim 1 seeks to demonstrate the feasibility and acceptability of one MORE for chronic pain patients; Aim 2 will test the effect of one MORE on pain-related outcomes (e.g., pain catastrophizing, pain intensity, pain interference, physical function) out to a three month follow-up; and, Aim 3 will determine whether changes in acute pain during the one MORE program predict improvement in pain-related outcomes. If the expected outcomes are observed, then they will have taken a critical step in the process of: 1. retiring opioid medications as a first line treatment for chronic pain; and 2. developing behavioral interventions of graduated intensity to better match patient needs.

Keyes, T. S. (PI). Examining culturally relevant restorative practices for improving school-based relationships. University of Utah University Research Committee (URC) Faculty Scholarly Grant Program (FSGP). Total funds: $9,576. March 2019 – September 2022.

• The educational outcomes for American Indian students, when compared to other racial groups, are among the lowest. One approach for addressing the educational disparities is to improve school discipline practices by embracing culturally relevant restorative justice (RJ) practices. Often the success of RJ practices use outcome measures such as attendance, grades, suspension, and expulsion. However, missing from these outcomes are whether positive school-based relationships improve and if a sense of trust and belonging impact student engagement. Interviews were conducted with five high school students from three high schools within San Juan School District. Students were recruited to participate in the study if they had been involved with culturally relevant RJ practices within the last three years. This study used phenomenological analysis to examine how culturally relevant Native restorative justice practices, implemented in the San Juan School District (SJSD), influence school-based relationships. Also missing from the literature is if and how the current trauma-informed literature aligns with restorative justice practices. This study will compare the qualitative themes (created during the analysis) to assess whether the RJ practices align with current trauma-informed practices. The findings will be a starting point to advance understanding about how culturally relevant RJ practices improve educational outcomes for American Indian students. Subsequent studies will follow to create school-based interventions that improve school culture and climate and to develop culturally relevant RJ curriculum for public schools.

Loomis, A. M.(PI). Building a system of trauma-informed early childhood professionals. College of Social Work. Total funds: $25,000. February 2021 – June 2022.

•  A significant gap in addressing the known effects of early trauma on children’s physical, emotional, and cognitive health development continues to be the lack of training, coordination, and collaboration across systems that interact with young children and their families. While one in six Utah children have experienced two or more adverse childhood experiences, there remains a limited understanding of early childhood mental health and trauma-informed care among providers (such as physicians and school leaders), parents, and the general population. Trauma-informed trainings are a common element of trauma-informed systems, as they help establish a common language and understanding of the impact of trauma on children’s health and development. Currently, there have been no systematic efforts to implement or evaluate trauma-informed training across the Utah early childhood system. In the absence of such efforts, developing a comprehensive system of early childhood mental health professionals in Utah will remain difficult. The long-term goal is to enhance screening, referral, and treatment of traumatized young children from birth through five years by developing a comprehensive state-wide system of trauma-informed early childhood providers. Short-term, the goal is to determine the effects of an evidence-based trauma-informed training, the Child-Adult Relationship Enhancement (CARE) training, on trauma-informed attitudes and cross-system collaboration in a diverse group of early childhood professionals from Salt Lake County. This project will also evaluate the additive effects of technical assistance following the CARE training with a cohort of providers to determine the feasibility and utility of implementing this component statewide. This project will provide preliminary evidence to support the use of CARE with a wide range of early childhood professionals and identify concrete, community-driven solutions to support a state-wide, trauma-informed early childhood system.

Min, M. O. (PI). Building a social science longitudinal data bank. University of Utah, University Teaching Grant. Total funds: $4,000. November 2021 – October 2022.

• This project aims to build a longitudinal social science data bank for social work PhD students to improve overall statistical literacy by increasing the “fun” factor to analyze real-life data consistent with their own research interests. The data bank will include: 1. seven-10 longitudinal public data sets varied by research design, topics, and populations that are ready to be downloaded; 2. a description of each data set with relevant URLs; and 3. a list of selected published papers pertinent to each data set. A CANVAS site will be created to house all this information. The established data bank will lessen barriers to use longitudinal data, potentially increasing the opportunities for doctoral students to publish while they are in the program, and be a critical resource for statistical and research classes.

Prince, K. C. (PI). Formal and informal influences on desistance in parolees. University of Utah Research Foundation. Total funds: $13,500. March 2020 – February 2022.

• The aims of this study are threefold: 1) to address gaps in the literature with respect to the relationship between formal criminal justice interventions and informal influences, the subjective identity of persons exiting prison, and recidivism; 2) to identify differences in the pathways to recidivism for males and females exiting prison; and 3) to gather preliminary data to support a proposal to the National Institute of Justice for the solicitation Research into Desistance from Crime.

Siantz, E.(PI). Culturally responsive peer support in the Intermountain West: A case study and multiple stakeholder analysis of one model. University of Utah Research Foundation. Total funds: $8,392. April 2022 – March 2024.

• Disparities in use of mental health services among Latinx persons are well documented. Culturally responsive services delivered by certified peer support specialists can promote access to and engagement with mental health care. Previous research has indicated that culturally responsive peer support (CRPS) can improve consumer engagement, quality of life, and recovery outcomes when implemented in diverse urban areas, yet there is a dearth of research conducted in the Intermountain West that explores the essential elements of and potential impact of CRPS. Guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, this study proposes to explore the roles of culturally responsive peer support specialists and their supervisors, identify intervention targets for future study, and understand organizational factors that affect the implementation of culturally responsive peer support within one Latinx-serving behavioral health services provider in Salt Lake City, UT.

Siantz, E. (Co-I). Physical therapists identifying patients with opioid misuse. University of Utah, Faculty Small Grant Program (FSGP). Total funds: $14,459. August 2022 – July 2023.

• This study aims to develop a curriculum for educating physical therapists on how to engage with their patients on the topic of opioid misuse.

 

[1] Sarah Canham has a dual appointment with the University of Utah College of Social Work and the University of Utah College of Architecture + Planning. Some funding is routed through each College.