Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Health and Function Among People with Serious Mental Health Conditions - The goal of the proposed project is to establish a 5-year RRTC on the health and function of people with serious mental health conditions (SMHCs). Our approach involves partnering with people with disabilities, service providers, policy makers, students, and others. The first objective is to establish a program of research that develops and tests an intervention for improving the health and function of people with early psychosis; explores longitudinally the trajectories of children with SMHCs as they enter middle-age; designs and tests an intervention for improving physical health and use of primary care among patients at Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics; and explores the impact of new public policies to promote more effective and safer mental health crisis management via new federal legislation called the 9-8-8 Implementation Act of 2022. The second objective is to serve as a national resource center that delivers training, dissemination, and technical assistance on promoting health and function, called the UIC Practice, Policy, & Science Exchange for Health and Wellness. Anticipated outcomes include improved health and function of children and adults with SMHCs; effective self-management of health and mental health conditions; increased healthcare access and treatment utilization; and normalized recovery of health and function. Expected products include an AI Chatbot for retrieving rehabilitation research and educational materials; asynchronous clinical skills training for primary care providers; comprehensive education for emerging physicians; training in using electronic health portals; knowledge translation activities embedded in 8 national mental health organizations; and a podcast series on peer involvement in participatory action health research.
