Speaker
Description
Author: Nathaniel von der Embse (University of South Florida)
Background: Schools experience significant challenges in implementing preventative mental health services due to limited staff capacity, reactive assessment practices, and a persistent research to practice gap. School administrators are often forced to make critical decisions about which interventions to implement while weighing cost, personnel constraints, and evidence for a practice. However, few tools exist that facilitate the use of research evidence within the local context of a school setting. To address these barriers, the ADVICE (Assessment Decision-making and Validating Intervention Cost Effectiveness) system was developed.
Methods: The ADVICE system employs discrete event simulation (DES) to simulate preventative school mental health services by integrating local data (e.g., teacher and interventionist availability) and research evidence (e.g., intervention effect sizes). Users include school parameters such as number of students, start time of intervention, and screening methods. The system models intervention rollout over time, predicting resource utilization, costs, intervention queues, and estimated student outcomes. Treatment effectiveness is expressed using both traditional effect sizes (e.g., Cohen’s d) and clinically interpretable metrics such as Number Needed to Treat (NNT).
Results: This presentation will demonstrate several real time ADVICE simulations and how different intervention combinations will influence cost, personnel workload, and student outcomes within a given time frame. Simulations revealed how bottlenecks in classroom interventionist availability could delay services and reduce treatment success.
Discussion: The ADVICE system represents a novel simulation tool that enables school leaders to compare intervention decisions before implementation. By integrating research evidence with local resource constraints, the system enhances the contextual relevance of school-based prevention strategies. The ADVICE system holds promise in democratizing evidence-based practice in schools by making research more usable and actionable for decision-makers. Future directions include refinement of simulation parameters, expanded intervention libraries, and integration with real-time school data systems.
| Conflict of interest | None |
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