Joseph H. Evans, PhD

Joe EvansJoseph H. Evans, PhD
Psychology Department
Munroe-Meyer Institute
985450 Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE 68198-5450

Phone: (402) 559-6408
E-mail: jevans@unmc.edu

Professional Summary:

Dr. Joseph Evans is a Professor at the Munroe-Meyer Institute (MMI) and in the University of Nebraska Medical Center's (UNMC) Department of Pediatrics. He is the Director of the Psychology Department at MMI and the Division Director of Pediatric Psychology in the UNMC College of Medicine. Dr. Evans administers a staff of eleven Psychologists, nine Doctoral Interns, five Post-doctoral Research Associates, four graduate students in Applied Behavior Analysis, and support staff. He is an active clinician and manages the ADHD Clinic conducted at MMI as well as serving as a staff psychologist for the DHHS Children with Special Health Care Needs program.

Dr. Evans is the recipient of over $11,000,000 in grants and contracts from a variety of agencies including the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, Family Youth Service Bureau, Corporation for National and Community Service, Department of Justice, and HRSA Graduate Psychology Education, Allied Health, and Quentin Burdick grant programs. He was the 2008 recipient of the Cummings American Psychological Foundation Psyche Award, presented for his work in developing a model that integrates behavioral health into rural primary care practices.

Education:

PhD, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 1974
MA, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 1972
BA, St. Benedict's College, Atchison, KS, 1969

Courses Taught:

Therapeutic Interventions with Children and Adolescents
Integrated Behavioral Health in Primary Care Practice
Statistics for Pediatric Dentists

Research Interests and Projects:

Current research interests are in the translation of basic research in the area of Behavioral Pediatrics to community applications in primary care practices. While a good deal of research on procedures to address child and adolescent behavior disorders has been published, there have been significantly fewer studies examining “how to” disseminate and implement behavioral programming in community settings, particularly in pediatricians’ offices where parents are most likely to initially take their children with behavior problems. Primary emphasis has been upon the researching components of how to replicate the “integrated behavioral health model” established at MMI that has been successfully disseminated to 15 rural and 6 urban pediatric primary care practice sites across Nebraska. Next area of research interest will be in dissemination of the MMI Integrated care model to other States.

Graduate Psychology Education Program
Innovative Epilepsy Services Expansion - Nebraska
MMI AmeriCorps

Selected Publications: (within the last 5 years)

  • Meadows,T., Valleley,R., Haack,M.K., Evans,J.H. and Thorson, R. (submitted, 2010) Physician “Costs” in Providing Behavioral Health in Primary Care. Pediatrics
  • Valleley, R.J, Clarke, B., Lieske, J., Gortmaker, V., Foster, N., & Evans, J.H. (2008). Improving Adherence to Children's Mental Health Services: Integrating Behavioral Health Specialists into Rural Primary Care Settings. Journal of Rural Mental Health, 32(1), 18-34
  • Valleley, R.J., Kosse, S., Schemm, A., Foster, N., Evans, J., & Polaha, J. (2007). Integrated Care for Children in Rural Communities: An Examination of Patient Attendance to Behavioral Health Services. Families, Systems, & Health, 25, 323-332.
  • Valleley, R.J., Polaha, J., Cooper, S., Evans, J., & Begeny, J. (2007). Behavioral Health Concerns Raised by Parents and Physicians in Rural Primary Care Settings. Rural Mental Health Journal, 31, 21-30.
  • Evans, J.H., Polaha, J., Jones-Hazledine, C., & Foster, N. (2006) Behavioral Health services in rural pediatric primary care. Rural Mental Health. 31(1), 28-35.
  • Cooper, Valleley, Polaha, Begeny, & Evans. (2006). Running Out of Time: Physician Management of Behavioral Health Concerns In Rural Pediatric Primary Care. Pediatrics Electronic Pages, 118, e132 - e138.

Recent Presentations:

  • Evans, J.H. (October, 2009). Integrated Behavioral Health in Primary Care: Getting Mental Health services to Pediatric Patients and their Families. Invited address at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Washington, D.C.
  • Lieske, J.,Valleley, R., & Evans, J.H. (June, 2009). Physician Satisfaction With Integrated Mental Health Service Delivery Models in Pediatric Primary Care. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Rural Mental Health, Albuquerque, NM.
  • Valleley, R., Lieske, J., Allen, K.D. & Evans, J.H. (June, 2009). Psychosocial and developmental screening in rural primary care. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Rural Mental Health, Albuquerque, N.M.
  • Evans, J.H., Sotnik, P., & Wheeler, J. (November, 2008). National Service and the Inclusion of People with Disabilities. Paper presentation at the annual conference of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities, Washington, D.C.
  • Evans, J.H., Meadows, T., Haack, K., and Thorson, R. (August, 2008). Duration and Direct Cost of Behavioral Health Concerns in Pediatric Primary Care. Paper presentation at the annual conference of the American Psychological Association. Boston, MA.
  • Foster, N., Valleley, R., and Evans, J.H. (August, 2008). Acceptability and Accessibility of Behavioral Health Services in Rural Primary Care Practices. Paper presentation at the annual meeting of the National Association for Rural Mental Health. Burlington, VT.
  • Evans, J.H., Polaha, J., Prest. L., & Valleley, R.J., (August, 2007). Models of integrated behavioral health services applicable to rural primary care practice. Presentation at the Annual conference of the National Association for Rural Mental Health, Kansas City, MO.
  • Valleley, R., Clarke, B., Foster, N., Lieske, J., & Evans, J.H. (August, 2007). Integrating Behavioral Health in Primary Care: Implications for Rural Mental Health. Paper presented at the National Association for Rural Mental Health. Kansas City, MO.
  • Evans, J.H. (July, 2007). Integrated Behavioral Health in Primary Care: Getting Mental Health services to Rural Patients and Families. Invited presentation to the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health, Des Moines, Iowa.
  • Evans, J.H. (April, 2007). Integrated Behavioral Health in Pediatric Primary Care: Getting MH Services for Your Patients. Invited address to the Midwest Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics, Kansas City, Missouri.
  • Valleley,R.J. Kosse, S., Schemm, A., Foster, N., Polaha, J.A., & Evans, J.H. (May, 2006). An Additional Benefit to Integrating Behavioral Health Services in Primary Care: Adherence to Initial Appointments, Poster presentation at Association for Behavior Analysis, Atlanta, GA.
  • Evans, J.H., Valleley, R., & Polaha, J. (August, 2006). Integrated behavioral health in rural pediatric primary care practices. Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Association for Rural Mental Health, San Antonio, TX.
  • Evans, J.H., Valleley, R., & Polaha, J. (August, 2006). Integrated Rural Behavioral Health in Primary Care Practice: Studies from the field. Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Association for Rural Mental Health, San Antonio, Texas.
  • Evans, J.H. & Jokela, R. (August, 2005). The Changing Role of the Academic Health Center in access to Mental Health Services in Rural Communities. Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Association for Rural Mental Health, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Professional Affiliations:

  • American Psychological Association
  • Association for Behavior Analysis
  • Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
  • Heartland Association for Behavior Analysis
  • Nebraska Psychological Association