Clinical Research Directory

Preventing Parental Opioid and/or Methamphetamine Addiction Within DHS-Involved Families: PRE-FAIR

Young parents aged 16 to 30, involved in the DHS system for child welfare or self-sufficiency needs are at risk for opioid use disorder and/or methamphetamine use disorder (OUD; MUD). Those identified as engaging in opioid or methamphetamine misuse are at high risk for escalation. Children of parents with OUD and MUD are at-risk for entering into foster care. Oregon is one state particularly affected by this challenge. The proposed research offers one potential solution by adapting and evaluating a recently developed treatment for parental OUD and MUD, for prevention. This study seeks to collaborate with Oregon Department of Humans Services (DHS) leadership to deliver a new outpatient prevention program to high-risk, young, parents. The Prevention Adaptation of Families Actively Improving Relationships (PRE-FAIR) program will include community-based mental health, parent management, and ancillary needs treatment, and ongoing monitoring and prevention services for opioid and methamphetamine use. This study will randomize 240 parents, aged 16 to 30, to receive PRE-FAIR or standard case management and referral, in two counties in Oregon. Outcomes will include an evaluation of the effectiveness of PRE-FAIR in addressing risk factors associated with substance use disorders in DHS-involved populations, OUD and MUD outcomes, and implementation outcomes including implementation process and milestones, and program delivery outcomes. Intervention and Implementation costs will be assessed, and the benefit of PRE-FAIR will be evaluated in relation to standard services, but also in relation to capacity and population needs. Study hypotheses are: (1) Parents randomized to PRE-FAIR will be less likely to escalate opioid and/or methamphetamine use, and to receive a diagnosis of OUD and/or MUD; (2) Parents randomized to PRE-FAIR will experience significant reductions in mental health, parent skills, and ancillary needs compared to those receiving standard services; (3) Counties will follow the implementation plan developed in collaboration between study team members and state leadership, and that doing so will yield successful implementation of PRE-FAIR; and (4) Implementation and intervention costs for PRE-FAIR will demonstrate a benefit for offering PRE-FAIR compared to standard services, particularly in rural communities where capacity influences service delivery decisions.

A Study of Healthy Microbiome, Healthy Mind

Researchers are doing this study to find out if a high fermented food diet is tolerable, and if it will help improve quality of life after surviving a critical illness, including severe COVID-19, by promoting gut health recovery and decreasing gut inflammation.

Pharmacogenetic Supported Prescribing in Kids

Implementation of pharmacogenetic testing for children and adolescents aged 6-24 who are starting or changing psychiatric medication.

Problem-Solving Therapy for Patients With Chronic Disease and Poor Mental Well-being in General Practice

In Denmark the vast majority of patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and/or type 2 diabetes are managed in general practice. 20% of the patients suffer from poor mental health. Problem-solving therapy (PST) is a psychotherapeutic method that is proven effective in adults with poor mental health. PST can be provided in general practice. The main objective of this study is to test effectiveness of providing PST to this group patients.

Fostering Healthy Futures for Teens: An RCT

This study will implement and evaluate a mentoring program designed to promote positive youth development and reduce adverse outcomes among maltreated adolescents with open child welfare cases. Teenagers who have been maltreated are at heightened risk for involvement in delinquency, substance use, and educational failure as a result of disrupted attachments with caregivers and exposure to violence within their homes and communities. Although youth mentoring is a widely used prevention approach nationally, it has not been rigorously studied for its effects in preventing these adverse outcomes among maltreated youth involved in the child welfare system. This randomized controlled trial will permit us to implement and evaluate the Fostering Healthy Futures for Teens (FHF-T) program, which will use mentoring and skills training within an innovative positive youth development (PYD) framework to promote adaptive functioning and prevent adverse outcomes. Graduate student mentors will deliver 9 months of prevention programming in teenagers' homes and communities. Mentors will focus on helping youth set and reach goals that will improve their functioning in five targeted "REACH" domains: Relationships, Education, Activities, Career, and Health. In reaching those goals, mentors will help youth build social-emotional skills associated with preventing adverse outcomes (e.g., emotion regulation, communication, problem solving). The randomized controlled trial will enroll 234 racially and ethnically diverse 8th and 9th grade youth (117 intervention, 117 control), who will provide data at baseline prior to randomization, immediately post-program and 15 months post program follow-up. The aims of the study include testing the efficacy of FHF-T for high-risk 8th and 9th graders in preventing adverse outcomes and examining whether better functioning in positive youth development domains mediates intervention effects. It is hypothesized that youth randomly assigned to the FHF-T prevention condition, relative to youth assigned to the control condition, will evidence better functioning on indices of positive youth development in the REACH domains leading to better long-term outcomes, including adaptive functioning, high school graduation, career attainment/employment, healthy relationships, and quality of life.

Project 3/7; Increased Physical Activity for Body and Mind

The association between adequate amount of physical activity and good health is well established and for children and young people, and sufficient physical activity is an important factor for normal growth and development. Contrary, physical inactivity is associated with higher symptom pressure of mental disorders. Adolescents with mental disorders report to be less active compare the general population, with potentially increased risk of health and lifestyle diseases. This project aims to provide new knowledge on the degree of physical activity, motivation for physical activity and subjective perception of health in adolescents in need of mental health care. Further, this project aim to provide possible solution on how to increase physical activity in this patient group. Thus, this project has the potential to impact future guidelines for mental health services for adolescents in need of mental health care.

Music Therapy Songwriting and Mental Health in Neonatel Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Parents

The mental health of parents of preterm newborns (PTNB) is negatively affected by prolonged hospitalization of the PTNB in the intensive care unit. This produces changes in the role of the parents and the bond with the newborn, leading to states of depression, anxiety, and stress. Several strategies, including music therapy, have been implemented to mitigate the negative impact on the parents' mental health. The main objectives of the proposed trial are to determine whether Music Therapy (MT) songwriting combined with standard care (SC) during NICU stay is superior to SC alone in reducing the risk of postpartum depression in at-risk parents of preterm children at the end of treatment, and understand the lived experiences of participating parents who received music therapy for their mental health.

Virtual perI-/Menopause Registry of AusTrALia

13 million (50.7%) Australians are born with ovaries, 14% (\~3 million) are currently aged 40-59 yrs, \& all such who live to midlife will experience menopause, defined as \>12 months without a period. Peri-menopause (peri), typically occurs 5 yrs before menopause as hormone levels decrease. As with oestrogen, peri symptoms can affect every bodily system; e.g. depression/anxiety, diminished mental function, irregular periods, hot flushes, sleep problems, vaginal atrophy \& urinary urgency. These symptoms are linked with lower quality of life \& significantly higher work impairment; a third experiencing symptoms so severe as to impede daily life \& increase risk of suicide. Lifetime increased risks of diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis \& dementia are also associated with menopause, yet it remains disconcertingly poorly studied. The investigators propose to create a world-first, cutting-edge, consumer-driven, Virtual peri-/menopause registry of AusTrALia (VITAL). The unique design will enable consumers to determine VITAL's questions, encourage secure revelation of private data e.g. vaginal \& mental health symptoms, \& to direct priorities for research, education, \& health service improvements. VITAL will thus deliver optimal assessments of incidence, prevalence \& impact. The participating consumers, researchers, clinical specialists, policy makers, \& modern virtual data infrastructure enable this unique \& innovative registry design, future translation to improved community health, \& promote awareness \& collaborative synergies. Leveraging the investigators' critical range of expertise \& ongoing feedback opportunities for both participants \& stakeholder partnerships, the investigators will create a ground-breaking platform that: * empowers the consumer voice and priorities, * enables peri-/menopause research to extend beyond existing niche focuses, * evidences the true impact of peri-/menopause across the nation, * evolves healthcare services and outcomes, \& * educates community, clinicians, \& policy-makers. After Australian registry establishment, the investigators will expand VITAL to mirror it in other nations while still protecting individual's data the right way, but so all can learn \& apply the best aspects of care from across the world.