About The Program
OnTrackChile adapts OnTrackNY, a coordinated specialty care program for first episode psychosis, for implementation in Santiago, Chile. This project is led by Dr. Ruben Alvarado and his team at the University of O’Higgins, Chile, in collaboration with Columbia University Global Mental Health Programs faculty.
The goal of OnTrackChile is to create an adapted version of the OnTrackNY program that aligns with Chilean mental health services and Chilean culture. The process includes four phases: preparation, adaptation, implementation, and evaluation. Like most First Episode Psychosis programs, OnTrackNY is clinically effective, but unlike most others, it also has a well-established training and technical assistance infrastructure, and a proven track record of being scaled up in large urban areas. To achieve its main goal, the project will use the Dynamic Adaptation Process to first inform the adaptation and implementation of OnTrackChile in the Chilean context. Then, a Hybrid Trial design and a cluster-randomized control trial will be used to test implementation of the program, as well as its effectiveness and cost, respectively.