The US Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has awarded doctoral student Rachel Oblath a Research Dissertation Program grant in support of her research project “Utilization of Mental Health Services among Urban Youth with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.”

Oblath’s research explores “mental health service provision for children and adolescents with mental health challenges, and particularly those who experience peer victimization.” She’s focuses on students’ access to social and emotional support services during the summer when school is not in session.

For this AHRQ-funded project, Oblath will examine nearly a decade’s worth of health records to determine whether disruptions in the continuity of outpatient mental health treatment are associated with increased emergency room visits for children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders.

AHRQ Research Dissertation Program grants provide support to individuals who are conducting research undertaken as part of an accredited academic program to qualify for a research doctorate degree. Candidates must conduct dissertation projects which focus on health care delivery in the United States.

In addition to her doctoral studies, Oblath is the manager of the Social Adjustment & Bullying Prevention Laboratory, directed by BU Wheelock associate professors Jennifer Greif Green and Melissa Holt. Oblath has presented research at national conferences such as the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, and the Association for Psychological Science. She’s been awarded a Glenn Doctoral Fellowship and a Boston University Women’s Guild Award, and her research has earned awards from the Massachusetts Psychological Association and the American Psychological Foundation.