Technology Applications Center for Healthful Lifestyles (TACHL)

About TACHL

Welcome to the TACHL, a distinguished South Carolina Health Sciences Center of Economic Excellence. Established in 2010 within the College of Nursing at MUSC. TACHL is dedicated to advancing population health through the strategic use of technology.

At TACHL, our primary goal is to enhance access and elevate the quality of evidence-based care. To achieve this, we focus on the development, testing, and dissemination of digital innovations that promote health, prevent disease, and effectively manage healthcare. Emphasizing health equity, our initiatives are designed to address and minimize disparities in both health outcomes and healthcare provision.

Collaboration lies at the heart of our success. We boast a rich history of partnerships with technology teams in the Charleston tri-county area, fostering innovation across campus and in the broader Carolinas region. Join us on the forefront of technological advancements that contribute to a healthier and more equitable future for all.

TACHL Projects

BOUNCE BACK NOW

Bounce Back Now is a smartphone app that is designed to improve access to evidence-based mental health care among victims of natural and technological disasters. Only 1 in 4 individuals who develop mental health problems after disasters receive mental health services. The Bounce Back Now app provides coping tools, brief interventions, symptom tracking resources, and connection to helping professionals. Visit Bounce Back Now for more information.

CENTER FOR FIREFIGHTER BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

The Center for Firefighter Behavioral Health (CFFBH) houses a series of web- and smartphone-based tools designed to address the behavioral health needs of firefighters and their families. These resources are freely available to firefighters, their families, and the behavioral health providers who serve them. Visit Center For Firefighter Behavioral Health for more information.

SUPPORTING PROVIDERS AND REACHING KIDS

The Supporting Providers and Reaching Kids (SPARK) initiative aims to make it easier for mental health providers to deliver best practice treatment to children. SPARK is a web-based platform that houses a collection of games and activities that providers use in session to teach children and their caregivers core concepts and skills that are common elements of cognitive behavioral treatments. Visit Supporting Providers and Reaching Kids for more information.

TRAUMA RESILIENCE AND RECOVERY PROGRAM

The Trauma Resilience and Recovery Program (TRRP) is a stepped care intervention for patients who have experienced traumatic injury (e.g., serious motor vehicle crashes, motorcycle crashes, gunshot wounds, stabbings, serious falls). More than 20% of these patients develop posttraumatic stress disorder or depression. Visit Trauma Resilience & Recovery Program for more information.

TRRP PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN GW & MUSC

The Resilience and Recovery Program Study at George Washington Hospital focuses on patients’ emotional and behavioral recovery after they have experienced a traumatic injury. More than 20 percent of injury patients may experience depression or anxiety in the first year after injury Learn More about the partnership.

TACHL News

Magnifying Impact

As a faculty member and much-valued mentor, Ken Ruggiero has leveraged technology to improve mental health care quality and access.

Firefighters in their gear walking and running

Firefighter Behavioral Health

MUSC center provides resources to both firefighters and mental health providers regionally, nationally.

Woman therapist with young girl in office

Technology with Humanity

The mission of the Technology Applications Center for Healthful Lifestyles is simple but powerful: leverage technology to improve population health.

portrait of a woman in a white lab coat in front of acute care inpatient unit entrance

TRRP

Psychologist working on app to help parents of injured children.

Curbing PTSD and Depression

The Trauma Resilience and Recovery Program addresses mental health following severe injury.

statue of a firefighter holding an ax with the date of 6-18-07, the words Chas 9 and Remember

Rescuing the Rescuers

The Center for Firefighter Behavioral Health develops technology to train therapists and help firefighters help each other.

a person holding a cell phone in their hand over a blue background

Mitigating Isolation

Physicians at MUSC incorporate text-based communication platforms in their programs to improve connection with patients

TACHL Success Stories

Dr. Leigh Ridings is a licensed clinical psychologist at MUSC. She worked with TACHL, via the Trauma Resilience and Recovery Program, to provide mental health care to young children after traumatic injury. This resulted in novel ideas to adapt the TRRP model and develop a new, integrated model of care.

Dr. Ridings was awarded a pilot grant from the South Carolina Telehealth Alliance to develop her “CAARE” concept via interviews with caregivers of young children after injury, and also was awarded a TACHL pilot grant to survey 75 pediatric trauma centers. Most recently, she received a K23 career development award from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

View more Success Stories

Dr. Aaron Lesher

Dr. Aaron Lesher is a pediatric burn surgeon at MUSC. Dr. Lesher worked with TACHL as he led the development and pilot testing of a novel telemedicine optimized burn intervention (TOBI) for pediatric burn-injured patients and their caregivers. He was awarded a $200,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina Foundation grant to build the initial app, and then was awarded a K23 career development grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Dr. Ruggiero serves as his primary mentor on the K23 award, which launched in 2020. The award will give Dr. Lesher more time to pursue his innovative model of care that may change the paradigm of how clinicians treat burn patients.

Dr. John McGillicuddy

Dr. John McGillicuddy worked with TACHL & CON mentorship team, and received a SCTR KL2, 3-year development award. With guidance from TACHL leadership, Dr. McGillicuddy created and tested an mHealth medication regimen adherence program with 20 kidney transplant recipients. From that project, he gathered analyzed and incorporated acceptability and usability data into an NIH R01 application, which was scored and funded upon initial submission. Dr. McGillicuddy recently completed recruitment and is in process of follow up and data analysis for a competing renewal submission in Spring of 2020. He will continue his work in partnership with TACHL mentorship team.

Dr. Shannon Phillips

Dr. Shannon Phillips worked with TACHL, CON mentorship team, and an MD partner on a SCTR KL2, 3-year development award. She adapted and refined an existing app to meet the needs of child-parent dyads (children with sickle cell disease)
She gathered, analyzed and incorporated acceptability and usability data into an NIH K23 application, which was recently funded. Dr. Phillips will continue her work in partnership with TACHL mentorship team as she runs her grant.

Dr. Ennis James

Dr. Ennis James worked with TACHL & CON mentorship team in conceptualizing an intervention to address fatigue experienced by patients with sarcoidosis. The TACHL mentorship team guided Dr. James through preparation of an initial R21 submission. The first submission received a 28th percentile score. TACHL mentorship then guided Dr. James through the grant proposal revision process including addressing reviewer comments, collecting additional data, and strengthening his C.V. through presentations and publications in preparation for a resubmission. Dr. James received an 8th percentile upon and received funding in September 2020. Dr. James and TACHL mentorship team will continue their partnership throughout the R21 and in preparation of an R01.

TACHL Leadership

Ken Ruggiero
Ph.D.
ruggierk@musc.edu

Dr. Ruggiero’s work centers on improving access and quality of mental health care to vulnerable and underserved populations, particularly children and adults who have been affected by traumatic events such as disasters, serious injury, child abuse, and occupational incidents. This includes research on self-help apps for disaster victims (bouncebacknow.org) in collaboration with the American Red Cross, technology-enhanced treatments for survivors of traumatic injury (trrphealth.org), and resources for firefighters who experience critical incidents (cffbh.org).

He also leads an initiative (sparktoolkit.org) to improve quality of behavioral health care in partnership with over 30 youth-serving community mental health centers in the Carolinas and Florida. These initiatives have resulted in over 200 scholarly publications and have been supported by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Homeland Security, Veterans Administration, and MUSC Center for Telehealth.