Rehabilitation research and training center (rrtc) on health and function among people with serious mental health conditions - the goal of the proposed project is to establish a 5-year rrtc on the…

The University of Illinois at Chicago received a $924,817 Project Grant awarded September 1, 2025, through the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (CFDA 93.433) to establish a five-year Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) focused on health and function among people with serious mental health conditions (SMHCs). The center will conduct four primary research initiatives: developing and testing interventions for individuals with early psychosis; longitudinally tracking trajectories of children with SMHCs into middle age; designing and testing interventions to improve physical health and primary care utilization at certified community behavioral health clinics; and evaluating the impact of the 9-8-8 Implementation Act of 2022 on mental health crisis management effectiveness and safety.

The RRTC will operate as a national resource center delivering training, dissemination, and technical assistance through the UIC Practice, Policy, & Science Exchange for Health and Wellness. Deliverable products include an artificial intelligence chatbot for retrieving rehabilitation research and educational materials (in collaboration with Temple University sub-awardee Dr. Salzer); asynchronous clinical skills training modules for primary care providers; comprehensive education curricula for emerging physicians; electronic health portal training; knowledge translation activities embedded within eight national mental health organizations; and a podcast series on peer involvement in participatory action health research (with technical support from University of Texas at Austin sub-awardee Dr. Klodnick). Expected outcomes include improved health and functional status, effective self-management capabilities, increased healthcare access and treatment utilization, and normalized recovery trajectories among children and adults with SMHCs.

Rehabilitation research and training center (rrtc) on health and function among people with serious mental health conditions - the goal of the proposed project is to establish a 5-year rrtc on the health and function of people with serious mental health conditions (smhcs). Our approach involves partnering with people with disabilities, service providers, policy makers, students, and others. The first objective is to establish a program of research that develops and tests an intervention for improving the health and function of people with early psychosis; explores longitudinally the trajectories of children with smhcs as they enter middle-age; designs and tests an intervention for improving physical health and use of primary care among patients at certified community behavioral health clinics; and explores the impact of new public policies to promote more effective and safer mental health crisis management via new federal legislation called the 9-8-8 implementation act of 2022. The second objective is to serve as a national resource center that delivers training, dissemination, and technical assistance on promoting health and function, called the UIC practice, policy, & science exchange for health and wellness. Anticipated outcomes include improved health and function of children and adults with smhcs; effective self-management of health and mental health conditions; increased healthcare access and treatment utilization; and normalized recovery of health and function. Expected products include an AI chatbot for retrieving rehabilitation research and educational materials; asynchronous clinical skills training for primary care providers; comprehensive education for emerging physicians; training in using electronic health portals; knowledge translation activities embedded in 8 national mental health organizations; and a podcast series on peer involvement in participatory action health research.