Barbara Jean Burns, Ph.D.

Professor of Medical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Department:
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Division:
Medical Psychology

Email:
bjbgeridukeedu

Mailing Address:
Box 3454, DUMC
Durham, NC 27710

Telephone:
--

Training:
Ph.D., Boston College

Last Updated:
December 22, 2008

Research Interests:
    The Services Effectiveness Research Program (SERP) directed by Dr. Burns has moved forward on both adult and child fronts.  Research on mental health services for adults with severe mental disorders (SMD) has continued to focus on two key interventions, i.e., assertive community treatment (now incorporated into practice guidelines for schizophrenia) and outpatient commitment, a topic receiving national attention in the wake of several homicides by adults with SMD (including critical involvement in this dialogue by SERP colleagues Swartz, Swanson, Borum, and Wagner).  Multi-site studies are examining the benefits of  atypical neuroleptics in public mental health settings and the prevalence of HIV and STDs  -- the latter resulting in a finding of a high rate of Hepatitus C.

The focus on child mental health interventions has included initiation of an NIMH-
supported study of therapeutic foster care (Farmer, P.I.) and multiple efforts to
synthesize what is known about effective treatments for children, i.e., the section on this topic for the forthcoming Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health; a book contract with Oxford Press, Community-Based Interventions for Youth with Severe Emotional Disorders; and a collaborative project with Georgetown University on the further development of a prevalent intervention (wraparound) for youth with severe emotional disorders.  

Dr. Burns authored or co-authored twenty scientific papers or chapters and
presented papers at multiple national and international meetings, including an invitation from the American Psychiatric Association to give the Frontiers of Science lecture at the 151st Annual Meeting in Toronto.

Research advisory appointments added this year include:  Jordan Institute for
Families, UNC-CH; Center for Early Detection, Prevention, and Treatment of HIV
Advisory Board, UCLA; Research Infrastructure Support Program, Georgetown
University; North Carolina-Israel Scientific Research Program; Merit Behavioral
Healthcare Corporation; National Institute of Justice; Department of Health, South Africa; Ministry of Health, Israel; the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Child Services Effectiveness Initiative; Veterans Health Services and Research Administration, Data Monitoring Board for Clozapine; State of North Carolina, Hospital Futures Committee; Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, Outcomes Module for Dementia, and the American Psychiatric Association Task Force on Quality Indicators for Children.

Research topics under development for future investigation include: psychosocial and psychopharmacological treatments for schizophrenia and major depression (children), and predictors of mental health service use patterns for serious young offenders.

Publications:
1999 -- Burns BJ. A Call for a Mental Health Services Research Agenda for Youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance.  Mental Health Services Research, 1:5-20, 1999.

1997 -- Burns BJ, Costello EJ, Erkanli A, Tweed DL, Farmer EMZ, Angold A. Insurance Coverage and Mental Health Service Use by Adolescents with Serious Emotional Disturbance. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 6:89-111, 1997.

1996 -- Burns BJ, Farmer EMZ, Angold A, Costello EJ, Behar L. A Randomized Trial of Case Management for Youths with Serious Emotional Disturbance. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 25:476-486, 1996.

1995 -- Burns BJ and Santos AB. Assertive Community Treatment: An Update of Randomized Trials. Psychiatric Services, 46:669-675, 1995.