4 - (SYM 103) Examining School-based Mental Health Providers' Perceptions of the Usability of Trauma-informed Interventions Within a School Context

Background: Intervention usability—the extent to which an intervention can be used by end users (e.g., mental health providers) to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction—is a significant but oft ignored contributor to implementation problems and low availability of evidence-based practices, especially in low resourced settings like schools. Examining providers’ perceptions of the usability of trauma-informed interventions will improve understanding of how these interventions could be redesigned to promote effective implementation.  This study aims to understand differences in school-based mental health providers’ quantitative and qualitative perceptions of the usability of two evidence-informed trauma interventions: RETI (Resource Efficient Trauma Intervention) and TF-CBT. 

Methods: In total, 74 school-based mental health providers were recruited from school districts across the nation; 31 providers were trained in RETI and 43 providers were trained in TF-CBT. To assess perceptions of the usability of these interventions, providers completed the Intervention Usability Scale, which yields a total score from 0 to 100 with higher total scores reflecting greater usability. Participants responded to two additional open-ended questions that asked providers for their feedback on the intervention content and the structures used to organize the delivery of that content. Mixed methods analyses included three multiple linear regression models and qualitative coding using conventional content analysis. 

Results: Results indicate that on average providers reported TF-CBT (IUS total score = 60.2) as less usable than RETI (IUS =68.1, β = -0.27, p < .01). Preliminary results from the conventional content analysis indicated that RETI-trained providers nominated resources as a facilitator of usability whereas TF-CBT-trained providers mentioned that this intervention fit with their preexisting trainings and expertise. 

Conclusion: These results suggest that both TF-CBT and RETI would benefit from redesign to improve its usability for the school mental health settings. More investigation is needed to better understand what types of usability barriers school providers face when implementing TF-CBT and RETI. Understanding these barriers will help increase the likelihood of providers’ use of these trauma-informed interventions to better increase youths’ access to high-quality evidence-based trauma-informed services.