Bauer, AM, Jakupcak, M, Hawrilenko, M, Bechtel, J, Arao, R, & Fortney, JC (2021). Outcomes of a health informatics technology-supported behavioral activation training for care managers in a collaborative care program. Families, Systems, & Health, 39(1), 89–100. https://doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000523

This study tested a remote technology-based training for 34 care managers in 12 rural federally qualified health centers in 3 states to deliver behavioral activation with patients who had posttraumatic stress disorder or bipolar disorder. The training included self-directed readings, videos, virtual meetings for role-plays and skill assessment, an electronic checklist, and group virtual collaboratives. For every encounter that included behavioral activation, the care manager completed an online checklist to indicate which of the 10 skills were delivered. The trained care managers reported delivering behavioral activation for a total of 4632 sessions with 455 patients. The study evaluated the implementation outcomes of patient reach and care manager skill adoption. Findings showed care managers engaged 88% of patients in behavioral activation and 57% of patients received the minimum course (at least 4 sessions) On average, patients received 5.9 skills per session during treatment. Care managers significantly increased the range of skills the reported using over time. Overall, the training program was feasible for community-based providers and minimized the training time burden to a one-time experience . The technology-based behavioral activation training facilitated care managers to deliver therapy to hundreds of patients in underserved rural settings.