ACCESS Behavioral Health Lab
About the Team
The ACCESS (Adolescent and Child Centered Engagement to Supports and Services) Behavioral Health Lab at Children’s Mercy conducts research on increasing access to behavioral health services for youth. All of our studies are rooted in inclusive practices. We use patient-centered grounded initiatives to address unmet behavioral health service needs to promote access to care for all youth, particularly those with limited access to health services.
Examples of research from our lab include developing and implementing a family/care navigation model to help patients get connected to needed behavioral health services. We have a study called the PATHWAY (Promoting Access To Healthy Well-Being Across Youth) Behavioral Health Program. It uses a community-engaged research approach that includes partnering with the Children’s Mercy Mental Health and Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs) to develop the program and its care navigation support intervention process. The PATHWAY Behavioral Health program research is funded through the Katharine B. Richardson award and the All Children Thrive (ACT) Scholar award.
Other projects in our lab involve researching the development and impact of a pediatric integrated behavioral health program in an inner-city primary care setting. We typically employ a retrospective, comparative design to analyze this program development research which includes tailoring and evaluating culturally responsive pathways to behavioral health service access through integrated primary care. We welcome students to apply to join the ACCESS Behavioral Health Lab as research assistants if they are interested in engaging in research that explores behavioral health service access or inclusive practices.
Leader
Ayanda Chakawa, PhD is a Clinical Psychologist at Children’s Mercy and an Associate Professor at the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine. She completed her doctoral degree in psychology at Auburn University, and her internship and fellowship at Children’s Mercy. Dr. Chakawa has authored numerous publications and presentations pertaining to inclusivity and behavioral health. She leads the program development research for an integrated primary care program located in the Kansas City inner downtown core. In 2020, she was the Children's Mercu first recipient of the "Early Career Award" that recognizes faculty leaders for their commitment in culturally inclusive clinical, research, and advocacy initiatives. In 2022, she was selected as the first All Children Thrive (ACT) Scholar Awardee at Children's Mercy. She currently serves as the Research Lead for the Society of Pediatric Psychology's Integrated Primary Care (IPC) Significant Interest Group (SIG). She has also served as the Chair of the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine's Council on Inclusive Excellence.
- Research Areas
- Labs and Research Teams
- Baby Health and Behavior Lab
- Baby Lab
- Bactrim Lung Failure Team
- Behavioral Pain Innovations Lab
- Center for Children’s Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition
- Community Engaged Research Team
- Developmental and Behavioral Health Research Group
- Fridley Lab
- Laboratory of Immunogenomics
- Milkovich Lab
- Nadler Lab
- Orthopedic Surgery Research Team
- Pediatric Brain Cancer Research Team/Yadav Lab
- Ramsey Lab
- Sullivant Lab
- Varberg Lab
- Younger Lab
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine