Virtual Implicit Bias Reduction and Neutralization Training (VIBRANT)

Summary

Healthcare providers' implicit bias has been identified as a contributor to longstanding health inequities via negative impacts on the patient-clinician relationship and biased delivery of high-quality evidence-based practices (EBP). The implementation of any EBP runs the risk of worsening existing health disparities due to inequitable access, delivery, or benefit of the intervention. Clinician bias can be a critical and unaddressed determinant of implementation for any EBP. Although some implicit bias interventions for healthcare providers are emerging, studies have rarely included mental health professionals. In a previously NIMH funded project, our research team iteratively developed a brief (\~45 minutes), interactive online Virtual Implicit Bias Reduction and Neutralization Training (VIBRANT) for school mental health clinicians with promising preliminary findings. The current study will test the effectiveness of VIBRANT-an implementation strategy for promoting equitable adoption, penetration, fidelity, and sustainment of EBPs. One highly learnable, efficient, and scalable EBP that is particularly well-suited for the education sector is Measurement-Base Care (MBC)-the systematic collection of patient-reported progress data to inform clinical decision-making. The proposed study aims to (1) evaluate VIBRANT's feasibility to promote equitable adoption, penetration, fidelity, and sustainment of MBC, with a validated, brief, interactive online training for MBC; (2) examine VIBRANT's impact on proximal mechanisms of change including clinicians' implicit bias as well as distal youth mental health outcomes (i.e., symptoms and functioning) with Black and Latinx youth, and (3) assess feasibility of research procedures for a future large-scale efficacy trial.

Conditions

• Implicit Bias

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Brief Online Training (BOLT) for measurement-based care (MBC)

Brief Online Training (BOLT) for measurement-based care (MBC) is a series of 4 interactive, self-paced, online training modules that takes approximately 75 - 120 minutes to complete. Clinicians are trained on the core functions, procedures, and best practice approaches for delivering MBC in the school mental health setting. MBC is the systematic collection of patient-reported data to support collaborative clinical decision-making from intake to termination.

BEHAVIORAL

Virtual Implicit Bias Reduction and Neutralization Training (VIBRANT)

The Virtual Implicit Bias Reduction and Neutralization Training (VIBRANT) is a brief (45-minute), self-paced, interactive online training module designed to help school-based mental health clinicians understand and manage their implicit bias in clinical interactions.

BEHAVIORAL

Live Post-Training Consultation

Two 1-hour long small group consultation sessions with an expert consultant designed as additional opportunities to support knowledge elaboration and skills generalization.

BEHAVIORAL

Asynchronous Discussion Board

An expert facilitated online Discussion Board for additional opportunities of knowledge clarification, practice reinforcement, and community building to support implementation sustainment.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

  collaborator NIH

• University of Washington

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Freda Liu, PhD · University of Washington

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

11 Years

Max Age

99 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-09-01

Primary Completion

2025-06-30

Completion

2025-08-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations