Disseminating a Public Mental Health Intervention

Issues: Depression is a common co-morbid disorder among people with epilepsy, but is often under-treated. In part, this is because research on the treatment of depression in epilepsy is a relatively new focus and interventions are rare. Readily available interventions aimed at improving access to depression treatment could improve depression referral and treatment rates, improving quality of life for individuals with epilepsy. Description: Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a home-based treatment for depression in people with epilepsy, Project UPLIFT was developed to provide group delivery of depression treatment by telephone or Web. The intervention was shown to be acceptable and effective. Now in the dissemination phase, the goal is to train at least one person (N=94) with mental health credentials in each state to deliver Project UPLIFT, since mental health licensure is at the state level. Lessons Learned: When an intervention program moves from the assessment stage to the dissemination stage, many new issues arise. Unexpected challenges include forming new partnerships with service delivery organizations, addressing copyright issues, ensuring that the materials are distributed to appropriate program delivery personnel and will be delivered faithfully, developing training for those who will deliver the program, and ensuring that training can be sustained. This poster explores each of these issues using Project UPLIFT as a case study. Recommendations: Dissemination planning must begin at the development stage of any intervention program. The dissemination portion of Project UPLIFT is still ongoing.