Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND:Positive psychology well-being constructs like flourishing are important predictors of health and quality of life. However, few studies have examined the association between flourishing and psychological distress (i.e., depression and anxiety). We investigated the association between flourishing and psychological distress symptoms among higher education students. METHODS:We analyzed cross-sectional survey data from 60,386 students aged 18-34 in the United States (Healthy Minds Study 2022-2023). Flourishing was measured using the Flourishing Scale, while symptoms of depression and anxiety were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scales, respectively. Associations between flourishing and psychological distress were examined using multiple logistic regression models, adjusting for age, gender identity, race/ethnicity, financial stress, and self-reported mental health treatment. RESULTS:Of the 60,386 participants included the mean age was 21.7 (SD = 3.6). Most participants were female (68.3 %) and White (55.6 %). Among individuals with significant symptoms of depression or anxiety, 13.7 % and 17.7 % were classified as flourishing (Flourishing Scale ≥48), respectively. Participants with significant symptoms of depression (OR: 0.23; CI: 0.22-0.25) or anxiety (OR: 0.56; CI: 0.54-0.59) were less likely to be classified as flourishing than those without significant symptoms. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Flourishing is possible within psychological distress. These results suggest the importance of assessing both positive psychological well-being and psychological distress to understand student mental health. While reducing symptoms of psychological distress is crucial, enhancing positive psychological well-being should also be prioritized as part of mental health treatment.

INTRODUCTION/UNASSIGNED:Routine screening for health-related social needs (HRSNs) is inconsistent, creating disparities in who gets identified and supported. Transgender patients, already facing structural stigma, may be especially affected. METHODS/UNASSIGNED:= 1997) completed a Social Needs Questionnaire (SNQ), including 1840 cisgender and 157 transgender patients. We compared screening rates using chi-square tests and assessed adjusted odds for HRSN with logistic regression. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED:= 0.001). Among those screened, they had more than twice the odds of housing instability, poor-quality housing, and healthcare costs. Odds for interpersonal violence were th3ree times higher. Findings were consistent in sensitivity analyses adjusting for age, insurance, and neighborhood. CONCLUSION/UNASSIGNED:Transgender patients were underscreened yet faced greater HRSNs. Standardized screening and expanded supports are critical to support transgender communities.

BACKGROUND:Measurement-based care (MBC), including remote MBC, is increasingly being considered or implemented for mental health treatment and outcomes monitoring in routine clinical care. However, little is known about the health equity implications in real-world practice or the impact on patient-provider relationships in lower-resource systems that offer mental health treatment for diverse patients. OBJECTIVE:This hypothesis-generating study examined the drivers of MBC implementation outcomes, the implications for health equity, and the impact of MBC on therapeutic alliance (TA). The study was conducted 1 year after the implementation of remote MBC at 3 outpatient adult clinics in a diverse, safety-net health system. METHODS:This explanatory sequential mixed methods study used quantitative surveys and qualitative focus groups with mental health care providers. Repeated surveys were first used to understand mental health care provider experiences over a 6-month period, at least 1 year after MBC implementation. Surveys were analyzed to refine focus group prompts. Six mental health providers participated in repeated surveys over 6 months, after which the same 6 providers and 1 additional mental health provider took part in focus groups. RESULTS:Surveys revealed stable acceptability and utility ratings, concerns that MBC was not equally benefiting patients, little endorsement that MBC improved TA, and slightly decreasing feasibility scores. In focus groups, mental health care providers shared concerns about the acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, and equity of processes for collecting MBC data. These providers had less first-hand experience with sharing and acting upon the data but still voiced concerns about the processes for doing so. TA both impacted and was impacted by MBC in positive and negative ways. The potential drivers of the findings are discussed using qualitative data. CONCLUSIONS:More than 1 year after the implementation of remote MBC for mental health, mental health care providers had enduring concerns about its implications for health equity as well as its bidirectional relationship with TA. These findings suggest that further study is needed to identify system-level strategies to mitigate potential negative effects of real-world MBC implementations on health equity, particularly in low-resource settings with diverse populations.

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:Many U.S. states expanded the generosity of Medicaid insurance coverage of tobacco dependence treatment over the last fifteen years, but little is known about how coverage impacts cigarette smoking, especially for individuals with substance use disorder. METHODS:Data are from the 2009 to 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and include Medicaid beneficiaries 18-64 years old with past year substance use disorder who smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime. Outcomes were smoking cessation, nicotine dependence, and number of cigarettes smoked per month. Difference-in-differences models were estimated for smoking behavior by state and year of comprehensive tobacco dependence treatment coverage, estimating multivariable linear probability models, adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, co-occurring mental illness, and area-level provider supply. All data were analyzed in 2023 and 2024. RESULTS:Rates of nicotine dependence among individuals with past-year SUD increased slightly between 2009 and 2018 among individuals living in states with comprehensive tobacco dependence treatment coverage (55.6% to 58.6%) and changed little among individuals living in states with no or partial TDT coverage (60.0% to 59.5%). Quit rates increased for individuals with substance use disorder during this time, with no differences by comprehensive tobacco dependence treatment coverage. In adjusted models, no significant association between comprehensive Medicaid tobacco dependence treatment coverage and smoking behaviors was identified (e.g., cessation: β= -0.02, CI=-0.08, 0.04). One-year lagged outcomes and sensitivity analyses accounting for the differential time of initiation of state policies demonstrated similar results. CONCLUSIONS:Comprehensive tobacco dependence treatment coverage had no differential effect on smoking cessation among ever smokers with or without substance use disorder, and its expansion was not associated with changes in smoking behaviors for Medicaid beneficiaries with substance use disorder. Other multilevel interventions may be needed to impact smoking cessation rates, such as awareness and education campaigns of expanded tobacco dependence treatment coverage benefits, and interventions that reduce social and structural barriers to treatment.

Health care discrimination is a barrier to patient-provider communication and effective self-management for patients with type 2 diabetes, a condition that disproportionately affects people of color. This article provides an analysis of in-depth interviews with patients with type 2 diabetes about their experiences of health care discrimination. Participants reported that their experiences of health care discrimination were rooted in their social identities. They often reported believing that discrimination led to assumptions and biases that negatively affected their health care experience. They also reported varying responses to perceived discrimination, ranging from hesitation to advocacy. This study highlights the need for health care systems to prioritize identifying and reducing specific health care provider behaviors that patients with diabetes perceive as discrimination.

OBJECTIVE:To understand whether and how primary care providers and staff elicit patients' past experiences of healthcare discrimination when providing care. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING/METHODS:Twenty qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with healthcare staff in primary care roles to inform future interventions to integrate data about past experiences of healthcare discrimination into clinical care. STUDY DESIGN/METHODS:Qualitative study. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS/METHODS:Data were collected via semi-structured qualitative interviews between December 2018 and January 2019, with health care staff in primary care roles at a hospital-based clinic within an urban safety-net health system that serves a patient population with significant racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS/RESULTS:Providers did not routinely, or in a structured way, elicit information about past experiences of healthcare discrimination. Some providers believed that information about healthcare discrimination experiences could allow them to be more aware of and responsive to their patients' needs and to establish more trusting relationships. Others did not deem it appropriate or useful to elicit such information and were concerned about challenges in collecting and effectively using such data. CONCLUSIONS:While providers see value in eliciting past experiences of discrimination, directly and systematically discussing such experiences with patients during a primary care encounter is challenging for them. Collecting this information in primary care settings will likely require implementation of multilevel systematic data collection strategies. Findings presented here can help identify clinic-level opportunities to do so.

INTRODUCTION/UNASSIGNED:Behavioral measurement-based care (MBC) can improve patient outcomes and has also been advanced as a critical learning health system (LHS) tool for identifying and mitigating potential disparities in mental health treatment. However, little is known about the uptake of remote behavioral MBC in safety net settings, or possible disparities occurring in remote MBC implementation. METHODS/UNASSIGNED:This study uses electronic health record data to study variation in completion rates at the clinic and patient level of a remote MBC symptom measure tool during the first 6 months of implementation at three adult outpatient psychiatry clinics in a safety net health system. Provider-reported barriers to MBC adoption were also measured using repeated surveys at one of the three sites. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED:Out of 1219 patients who were sent an MBC measure request, uptake of completing at least one measure varied by clinic: General Adult Clinic, 38% (n = 262 of 696); Substance Use Clinic, 28% (n = 73 of 265); and Transitions Clinic, 17% (n = 44 of 258). Compared with White patients, Black and Portuguese or Brazilian patients had lower uptake. Older patients also had lower uptake. Spanish language of care was associated with much lower uptake at the patient level. Significant patient-level disparities in uptake persisted after adjusting for the clinic, mental health diagnoses, and number of measure requests sent. Providers cited time within visits and bandwidth in their workflow as the greatest consistent barriers to discussing MBC results with patients. CONCLUSIONS/UNASSIGNED:There are significant disparities in MBC uptake at the patient and clinic level. From an LHS data infrastructure perspective, safety net health systems may need to address the need for possible ways to adapt MBC to better fit their populations and clinical needs, or identify targeted implementation strategies to close data gaps for the identified disparity populations.

PURPOSE/UNASSIGNED:Little is known about depression treatment for transgender and gender diverse (TGD) older adults or TGD people with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to characterize receipt of minimally recommended depression treatment and outcomes for TGD Medicare beneficiaries. METHODS/UNASSIGNED:=287,583 who qualified due to disability). We estimated disparities in outcomes between TGD and non-TGD beneficiaries (separately by original reason for Medicare eligibility: age 65+ years vs. a disability) using a rank-and-replace method to adjust for health needs. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED:<0.001). CONCLUSION/UNASSIGNED:Despite higher mental health treatment rates, TGD beneficiaries with depression in this study had more adverse mental health outcomes. Minimum recommended treatment definitions derived in general population samples may not capture complex mental health needs of specific marginalized populations.

OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to identify risk factors for relapse (psychiatric emergency department visits or hospitalization) and lack of follow-up with outpatient psychiatric care in the 12 months after ending services in an urban safety net coordinated specialty care (CSC) program for first episode psychosis (FEP). METHODS:The study population (n = 143) were individuals with FEP who had any CSC care between 2014 and 2021. To identify risk factors for relapse and follow up after exit, multivariable logistic regression was performed using data from electronic health records and linked insurance claims data. RESULTS:Individuals with any emergency department visit or hospitalization 12 months prior to ending CSC (aOR = 4.69, 95 % CI 1.78-12.34) and those who were using cannabis at last CSC contact (aOR = 4.06, 95 % CI 1.56-10.56) had a higher risk of relapse after ending CSC services. Cannabis use at last contact was also associated with lower rates of outpatient psychiatric follow-up (aOR = 0.32, 95 % CI 0.12-0.94), while CSC duration in months had a small positive association with post-CSC psychiatric follow-up. There were no differences in relapse or follow-up by race or ethnicity, primary diagnosis, or medication usage. CONCLUSIONS:Prior relapse during CSC predicted relapse in the 12 months after ending CSC services, but not outpatient follow up. Cannabis use predicted both a higher rate of relapse and a lower rate of follow up after ending services. There were no differences by race or ethnicity in our sample, suggesting that once individuals engaged in FEP care there were no evident disparities in the observed outcomes.

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:Individuals with behavioral health conditions smoke at significantly higher rates and have been resistant to existing smoking cessation efforts. A clearer understanding of associations between vaping and daily cigarette consumption in this vulnerable population is warranted. METHODS:We analyzed data from the 2014-2018 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to examine whether vaping was associated with differences in number of cigarettes smoked per day (CPD) among adults who smoke daily and have varying levels of psychological distress. RESULTS:After adjustment for sociodemographic covariates, individuals who vaped every day smoked on average 1.48 fewer cigarettes per day than individuals who never vaped (p<0.01), while individuals who vaped some days and individuals who ever but no longer vaped smoked 0.77 and 1.48 more CPD, respectively, than individuals who never vaped. Differences between those who vaped every day and those who never vaped were even greater among those with moderate psychological distress (-2.21 CPD, p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS:Our findings suggest that use of vaping devices may be associated with lower daily cigarette use among individuals with psychological distress, potentially supporting smoking harm reduction efforts.