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My research accomplishments, as outlined below, highlight my overall interest in identifying and implementing the most effective means of delivery of behavioral health care in non-traditional settings and using non-traditional means. Given the massive shortage of behavioral health providers in relation to the need, I am passionate about getting creative in designing models and collaborations that increase patient access and provide supports to medical providers who are facing the burden of managing behavioral health conditions outside of their traditional scope of care.
My current research accomplishments to date are in 3 broad areas: 1) integrated behavioral health into medical settings; 2) virtual behavioral health; 3) consultation liaison psychiatry. I am currently the lead investigator on 2 projects on mental health in adult patients with cystic fibrosis. One involves examination of the effect of initiation of cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulators on depression and anxiety symptoms. We are currently in the process of writing our findings and submitting for publication. A second project involves the assessment of the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis. I am a senior collaborator on 2 additional projects related to cystic fibrosis. One examines the prevalence od substance use within an adult cystic fibrosis patient population. The second examines the effects of initiation of cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulators on depression and anxiety symptoms in children. All projects are in collaboration with the adult cystic fibrosis research group, who I have a close clinical association with through my integrated work in that clinic. I was also the lead investigator on a study of the implementation of the collaborative care model for behavioral health treatment in an inflammatory bowel disease clinic. This work grew out of my interest in the utilization of evidence-based practices for behavioral health integration that are effective in primary care within specialty care settings. Our work, which was a collaboration with members of faculty from the Department of Medicine, demonstrated that this model can be implemented and effective in the treatment of anxiety and depression symptoms in a specialty IBD population. Further projects in development in this field include implementation of the collaborative care model for depression in a breast cancer clinic, as well as the effectiveness of a psychiatry consultation model to primary care.
In the area of virtual behavioral health, I am currently the lead investigator on several projects examining aspects of the expansion of virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic. These projects include effects on psychiatric service delivery and training, effectiveness of outpatient virtual care delivery, safety of outpatient virtual behavioral health care, equity of outpatient virtual behavioral care, and effects of virtual care practice on patient electronic health record utilization. This work has led to 2 current publications, with an addition 3 currently in the writing phase. There are 3 more in the data analysis phase. These projects are in conjunction with several other faculty members in the department of psychiatry, as well as the school of pharmacy.
Finally, I have been more peripherally involved in scholarship related to consultation liaison psychiatry. These projects include a pilot study of the implementation of a virtual proactive consultation liaison service, as well as development of algorithms to identify medical and surgical inpatients with unmet psychiatric needs.
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