Integrated behavioral health (IBH) is a complex practice redesign for most primary care settings and requires strong leadership for successful implementation. Despite the availability of comprehensive IBH implementation protocols and IBH leadership training programs, IBH has not been widely adopted into health systems across the U.S., suggesting that IBH interventions have not yet engaged the right leaders. In this session, we share the results of our qualitative research study (n=41 IBH experts from across the U.S.), which examines who needs to lead IBH implementations in order to institute system-wide IBH adoption.

Anushka Purkayastha, BS, Research Assistant, Center for State Health Policy, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Lisa Mikesell, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Communication and Information, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Benjamin F. Crabtree, PhD, Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ
Stephanie Marcello, PhD, Chief Psychologist, Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, Piscataway, NJ
Ralph Gigliotti, PhD, Assistant Vice President for Organizational Leadership in University Academic Affairs, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Nguyen, A. M., Klege, R., Menders, T., Verma, C., Marcello, S., & Crabtree, B. F. (2024). Strategies for Implementing Behavioral Health into Primary Care Settings. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 37(5), 833–846. https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.2023.230417R1
Ruddy, N. B., & McDaniel, S. H. (2024). A Systemic Approach to Behavioral Healthcare Integration: Context Matters. https://www.apa.org/pubs/books/systemic-integrated-care
Docherty, M., Spaeth-Rublee, B., Scharf, D., Ferenchik, E., Humensky, J., Goldman, M., Chung, H., & Pincus, H. A. (2020). How Practices Can Advance the Implementation of Integrated Care in the COVID-19 Era (p. 12) [Issue Brief]. The Commonwealth Fund. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/Pincus_implementing_integrated_care_COVID_era_ib.pdf