Integrated behavioral health and implementation of the safe environment for every kid approach in pediatric primary care: A mixed methods study

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the presence of integrated behavioral health care (IBH) in a pediatric practice is associated with improved implementation of Safe Environment for Every Kid (SEEK), an evidence-based approach to prevention of child maltreatment. 

METHODS: Pediatric primary care practices across the United States (n = 44) expressed interest in participating in a longitudinal multisite trial. Half of the practices included IBH. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at different points in time with 49 practice leaders, primary care professionals, behavioral health professionals, and nursing and administrative staff. Quantitative data on implementation stage and phase, proportion of activities completed at each stage, and length of time to complete each stage were collected by the Stages of Implementation Completion measure. 

RESULTS: Qualitative data revealed several instances in which IBH facilitated the adoption and implementation of SEEK and where SEEK supported IBH. However, apart from a longer duration devoted to program startup among IBH practices, none of the quantitative differences in rate of program startup, better completion of implementation activities, more tasks completed within each stage, and greater competency were statistically significant. 

CONCLUSION: Integrated behavioral health care in pediatric primary care settings may help to facilitate the implementation of interventions like SEEK designed to address social determinants of health and reduce the risk of child maltreatment. However, the current study did not find evidence, based on quantitative analyses, that IBH significantly affected the uptake of Project SEEK and that more research may be warranted.