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Can Learning Collaboratives Support Implementation by Rewiring Professional Networks?

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Abstract

This study examined how a learning collaborative focusing on trauma-focused CBT (TF-CBT) impacted advice-seeking patterns between clinicians and three key learning sources: (1) training experts who share technical knowledge about TF-CBT, (2) peers from other participating organizations who share their implementation experiences, and (3) colleagues from their own agency who provide social and professional support. Based on surveys administered to 132 clinicians from 32 agencies, participants’ professional networks changed slightly over time by forming new advice-seeking relationships with training experts. While small, these changes at the clinician-level yielded substantial changes in the structure of the regional advice network.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by a National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Traineeship (T32 MH019117) (AB), Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (F31MH098478) (BP) from the National Institute of Mental Health, and a Doris Duke Fellowship for the Promotion of Child Well-Being (BP). The preparation of this article was supported in part by the Implementation Research Institute (IRI), at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis; through an award from the National Institute of Mental Health (R25 MH080916-01A2) and the Department of Veterans Affairs, Health Services Research & Development Service, Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) (AB and RH). The authors also appreciate the support and collaboration of their community partners, and the participating clinicians.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Social Work, Ohio State University, 1947 College Road, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Alicia C. Bunger & Yiwen Cao

  2. National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA

    Rochelle F. Hanson

  3. College of Public Health, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Nathan J. Doogan

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Byron J. Powell

  5. Children’s Advocacy Services of Greater St. Louis, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Jerry Dunn

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  1. Alicia C. Bunger
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  2. Rochelle F. Hanson
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Correspondence to Alicia C. Bunger.

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Bunger, A.C., Hanson, R.F., Doogan, N.J. et al. Can Learning Collaboratives Support Implementation by Rewiring Professional Networks?. Adm Policy Ment Health 43, 79–92 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-014-0621-x

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