Abstract
Schools continue to be an important context for preventive interventions targeting a range of behavioral and mental health
problems. Yet competing demands on teachers and shifting priorities in response to federal legislation have posed some unique
challenges to prevention researchers working in school settings. This paper summarizes an approach to prevention partnerships
developed over a decade and centered on the three-tiered Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) model. A state-wide
initiative was formed and led through a partnership between the Maryland State Department of Education, Sheppard Pratt Health
System, and Johns Hopkins University, which focused on implementing evidence-based practices and conducting prevention research
in Maryland public schools. Drawing on a community-based participatory research framework for developing research partnerships,
we highlight the importance of forming and sustaining authentic relationships to support school-based prevention research
and implementation of evidence-based programs. We also discuss how these relationships have been used to disseminate PBIS
and rigorously test its effectiveness. We describe some lessons learned from the partnership and identify potential areas
for future research on the prevention partnership model. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for both researchers
and community partners engaged in translational research in school settings.
problems. Yet competing demands on teachers and shifting priorities in response to federal legislation have posed some unique
challenges to prevention researchers working in school settings. This paper summarizes an approach to prevention partnerships
developed over a decade and centered on the three-tiered Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) model. A state-wide
initiative was formed and led through a partnership between the Maryland State Department of Education, Sheppard Pratt Health
System, and Johns Hopkins University, which focused on implementing evidence-based practices and conducting prevention research
in Maryland public schools. Drawing on a community-based participatory research framework for developing research partnerships,
we highlight the importance of forming and sustaining authentic relationships to support school-based prevention research
and implementation of evidence-based programs. We also discuss how these relationships have been used to disseminate PBIS
and rigorously test its effectiveness. We describe some lessons learned from the partnership and identify potential areas
for future research on the prevention partnership model. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for both researchers
and community partners engaged in translational research in school settings.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Paper
- Pages 1-13
- DOI 10.1007/s10488-011-0384-6
- Authors
- Catherine P. Bradshaw, Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Elise T. Pas, Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Jerry Bloom, Sheppard Pratt Health System, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Susan Barrett, Sheppard Pratt Health System, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Patricia Hershfeldt, Sheppard Pratt Health System, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Andrea Alexander, Maryland State Department of Education, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Milton McKenna, Maryland State Department of Education, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Ann E. Chafin, Maryland State Department of Education, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Philip J. Leaf, Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Journal Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research
- Online ISSN 1573-3289
- Print ISSN 0894-587X