Ricardo B. Eiraldi,

Description of Research Expertise

My research and scholarship centers on mental health services disparity, with special emphasis on ADHD. I have proposed a model to study potential causes of mental health services disparities that focuses on three stages that parents typically go through when seeking services for their children: problem recognition, decision to seek help, and service utilization. Low-income ethnically diverse families face unique barriers at each stage. These barriers prevent children in need of services from being recognized as having mental health problems by their parents. Some examples of these barriers are: the inability to determine what is abnormal behavior in their own children; fear and concern about mental health treatment and the stigma associated with it, and obstacles to reaching services, such as the fragmentation and poor quality of services in poor communities. This model is described in two peer-reviewed publications (Power, Eiraldi, Clarke, Mazzuca, & Krain, 2005; Eiraldi, Mazzuca, Clarke, & Power, 2006) and in a book chapter (Eiraldi, & Mazzuca, 2007).

In 2008, I was awarded a 3-year R18 grant by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop and pilot-test a school-based project to address mental health services disparities in under-served schools in Philadelphia. I used community-based participatory research and translational research methodology to conduct a needs assessment and then develop and pilot-test a program called Project ACCESS. Evidence-based interventions for the prevention of externalizing behavior and emotional problems (i.e., anxiety, depression) were implemented in two North Philadelphia schools (N = 1,500). The project is currently in its NCE year. Preliminary outcomes indicate that school personnel in under-resourced schools can be successfully trained to provide evidence-based interventions with a high degree of fidelity and integrity. I have conducted research presentations locally and nationally and am currently writing two manuscripts about this project. Within the past year, I have submitted R01 grant proposals to NICHD, NIMH and IES (Institute of Education Science) to extend this work. A proposal submitted to NICHD was scored at the 5th percentile. After receiving a good score for a first submission, I resubmitted a proposal to IES. The proposal to NIMH was unscored. I am currently working on a resubmission with a due date of October 2012.

Description of Other Expertise