Our Research Projects

Utah communities are changing rapidly. Keeping a finger on the pulse of residents' wellbeing and attitudes about community issues helps to promote sound planning and decision-making to support overall quality of life in Utah's cities and towns. 

The Utah Wellbeing Survey tracks local perspectives on wellbeing around the state from very rural places to larger and rapidly growing cities. Partnerships with Utah cities make it possible to conduct annual online surveys. Over 42,000 surveys from Utahns were collected between 2019 and 2024 from 62 cities and towns across the state.

Mental Health Awareness and Advocacy for Direct Support Professionals (MHAA for DSPs; IRB protocol #14531) is a four-session online mental health literacy training contextualized to the demands and responsibilities of DSPs. This program is intended for DSPs who provide support to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in areas such as community integration, activities of daily living, and increasing independence. DSPs who would benefit from this program spend significant amounts of time with the individuals they support in home and community-based settings.

The program teaches a variety of information and skills, and aims to help DSPs better:
1. Recognize signs of distress in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and better label mental health concerns that may be contributing to distress.
2. Locate local mental health services and providers.
3. Feel more confident discussing mental health with others and documenting and reporting potential mental health concerns to the appropriate leadership personnel.
4. Refer individuals experiencing mental health concerns to appropriate resources.

The current study seeks to understand whether DSPs find this program acceptable and useful and whether it improves their mental health literary.

Ms. Rachel Byers (MPH) is the Principal Investigator of this study.