Methods Core

Methods Core Abstract The Methods Core for the STAND ALACRITY Center will serve several functions. It will support all research projects, including the Signature Project and Project 3 focused on optimizing effectiveness, Projects 1 and 2 focused on barriers (i.e., uptake and engagement) and other pilot projects focused on optimizing implementation

and adapting STAND to meet the needs of a diverse student population. The Methods Core will support these projects by providing technical, methodological, and statistical support through an interdisciplinary team of investigators with expertise in clinical science (including college mental health), data science, digital mental

health science, health disparities/cultural competency, and implementation science/public health. These investigators will participate in working groups in each of these areas, with clear goals and areas of focus to support research that serves the Overall Aims of the Center. The Methods Core will also work closely with the

Administrative Core to support the pilot funding program for junior investigators by pairing junior investigators with mentors in relevant areas of expertise and overseeing the scientific contributions of the junior investigators through these pilot projects. The working groups will focus on key methodological issues relevant to optimizing

the implementation of STAND, including multivariate predictive modeling for improving triaging and adaptation to level of care and risk detection, engaging students, health disparities and cultural competency, and integration to increase the likelihood of adoption and sustainability. In partnership with our stakeholders and guided by

scientific experts in diversity issues in mental health, we have already adapted STAND to meet the cultural diversity and social determinant needs of community college students in California, and will continue to make these adaptations with Center expertize and stakeholder input. The Methods Core will also support

interdisciplinary collaborations, generating new research ideas that emerge from the Center activities, and will assist with generating products for dissemination to the research and clinical communities (e.g., data-driven algorithms for triaging and adapting level of care and for risk detection, innovative approaches to student uptake

and engagement and protocols for training clinicians and coaches). Finally, the Methods Core will serve as the centralized hub for data management and infrastructure. All activities of the Methods Core will be guided by the Acceleration Creation to Sustainment implementation framework that enables iterative evaluation and redesign

in accordance with a principle statement, to allow continuous to improvement to STAND over the five years of the grant.