How Engaged are Stakeholders in Evidence-Based Treatment Implementation Projects? Results From a Scoping Review of Children’s Mental Health Treatment Projects

Engaging stakeholders in child mental health evidence-based treatment (EBT) implementation projects may increase the likelihood of successful implementation; However, little is known about the extent of stakeholder engagement to inform the implementation of EBTs. We conducted a scoping review to characterize stakeholder engagement in child mental health EBT implementation projects. We performed data extraction and synthesis to describe key study and stakeholder characteristics, stakeholder engagement methods and rationales, reported impacts of stakeholder engagement, and quality of reporting on stakeholder engagement. We identified a total of 103 unique child mental health EBT implementation projects. The largest number of projects were in the United States and conducted in community mental health settings. Most projects engaged EBT providers during the active implementation phase and with limited depth, often gathering information from stakeholders about barriers and facilitators without sharing decision-making power. Across projects, impacts of stakeholder engagement spanned all implementation outcomes. Given that stakeholder engagement is often shallow and follows initial implementation efforts, additional effort should be made to increase engagement to preempt challenges to EBT implementation and ensure implementation success. Such efforts may ensure the just distribution of power in EBT implementation efforts and could be essential in addressing mental health disparities.