Research Scientist
Graduated University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill, 2019 (Health Policy & Management- Decision Science), University of Miami, 2011, and University of Miami, 2009
Specialty areas: decision science; multi-criteria decision analysis; group decision-making; systems science; system dynamics; community engagement; policy; implementation science; substance use prevention, treatment, harm reduction; mental health promotion, treatment
Dr. Gracelyn Cruden is a Research Scientist at Chestnut Health Systems’ Lighthouse Institute–Eugene. Her research leverages systems science, decision science, and implementation science to develop tools, processes, and partnerships to implement evidence-informed programs and policies. She collaborates with state and county-level decision makers and other community members to increase the responsiveness of her work to real-world priorities and needs. Her NIMH career development award engages jurisdictions that are implementing the Family First Prevention Services Act, as well as child welfare and mental health organizations delivering evidence-based programs. This study aims to enhance and pilot test a multi-criteria decision analysis tool to support transparent, collaborative group decision making regarding which interventions to deliver. She is also Principal Investigator for a NIH HEAL Data2Action study that aims to collaboratively identify local and state decision makers’ and community members’ data needs, then address those needs through user-friendly data products co-designed with public health, behavioral health, advocacy, payor, and first responder representatives. The overarching study goal is to increase the use of data-driven decision making to prevent overdoses and to expand substance use prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery services. In addition, she serves as co-investigator on three NIDA-funded studies. For one, she is leading qualitative and quantitative system dynamics modeling to explore cost implications of addressing social risk factors of health for families involved with child welfare who receive the Just Care for Families continuum of services. For another, she will lead cost analyses of clinic and payer-borne costs for implementing the Just Care for Families intervention. For the third, she is leading interviews to improve the user-centeredness of a novel implementation tool.
Selected Publications:
Cruden, G., Crable, E. L., Lengnick-Hall, R., & Purtle, J. (2023). Who's "in the room where it happens"? A taxonomy and five-step methodology for identifying and characterizing policy actors. Implementation science communications, 4(1), 113. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43058-023-00492-6
Cruden, G., Frerichs, L., Powell, B. J., Lanier, P., Brown, C. H., & Lich, K. H. (2020). Developing a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Tool to Support the Adoption of Evidence-Based Child Maltreatment Prevention Programs. Prevention Science : The Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 21(8), 1059–1064. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-020-01174-8
Frank, H. E., Cruden, G., & Crane, M. E. (2024). Private Practice, Private Insurance, and Private Pay Mental Health Services: An Understudied Area in Implementation Science. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 51(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-023-01306-6
Kim, B., Cruden, G., Crable, E. L., Quanbeck, A., Mittman, B. S., Wagner, A. D. (2023) A structured approach to applying systems analysis methods for examining implementation mechanisms. Implementation Science Communications, 4(1), 127. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43058-023-00504-5
Murry, V. M., Bradley, C., Cruden, G., Brown, C. H., Howe, G. W., Sepùlveda, M. J., Beardslee, W., Hannah, N., & Warne, D. (2024). Re-envisioning, Retooling, and Rebuilding Prevention Science Methods to Address Structural and Systemic Racism and Promote Health Equity. Prevention Science : The Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 25(1), 6–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-022-01439-4
Combs, T., Nelson, K. L., Luke, D., McGuire, F. H., Cruden, G., Henson, R. M., Adams, D. R., Hoagwood, K. E., & Purtle, J. (2022). Simulating the role of knowledge brokers in policy making in state agencies: An agent-based model. Health Services Research, 57 (Suppl 1), 122–136. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13916
Cruden, G., Crawford, S., & Saldana, L. (2021). Prevention Adaptation of an Evidence-Based Treatment for Parents Involved With Child Welfare Who Use Substances. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 689432. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.689432
Sheldrick, R. C., Cruden, G., Schaefer, A. J., & Mackie, T. I. (2021). Rapid-cycle systems modeling to support evidence-informed decision-making during system-wide implementation. Implementation Science Communications, 2(1), 116. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43058-021-00218-6
Selected Grants and Contracts:
Principal Investigator: Supporting Data-driven Decision-making to Support Substance Use Service Expansion Policies and to Prevent Overdoses (R61DA059163, 2023–2024)
Principal Investigator: Refining and Pilot Testing a Decision Support Intervention to Facilitate Adoption of Evidence-Based Programs to Improve Parent and Child Mental Health (K01MH128761, 2022–2027)
Co-Investigator: Disrupting Social Risk Factors of Health to Improve Substance Use and Mental Health Outcomes for Parents in Rural Regions (R01DA057556, 2022–2027)
Co-Investigator: Preventing Parental Opioid and/or Methamphetamine Addiction within DHS-Involved Families: FAIR (PI: Saldana. UH3DA050193, 2020–2024)
Appointments and Awards:
NIH HEAL Trailblazer’s Award—Honorable Mention (2024)
WT Grant Foundation Early Career Reviewer (2022–2024)
Implementation Research Institute/IDEAS Alacrity Center Fellow (2020-2022)
Training in Implementation and Dissemination in Research in Cancer (TIDIRC) Fellow (2020)
Child Intervention, Prevention, and Services Fellow (2020)
Dr. Curtis Glenn Southard Award for Community Mental Health (2019)
Related Links:
Gracelyn Cruden Google Scholar
Supporting Data-driven Decision-making to Support Substance Use Service Expansion Policies and to Prevent Overdoses (Data2Action Oregon or D2AOR)
This project’s goal is to increase the availability of user-friendly, relevant data to inform local decisions and policies across Oregon to ultimately connect individuals to a continuum of substance use services, prevent overdoses, and improve substance use policies.
Refining and Pilot Testing a Decision Support Intervention to Facilitate Adoption of Evidence-Based Programs to Improve Parent and Child Mental Health (KORCA)
This project aims to support groups deciding which evidence-based interventions and other innovations to implement in their communities and service systems.
Brown, C. H., Chamberlain, P., Saldana, L., Padgett, C., Wang, W., & Cruden, G. (2014). Evaluation of two implementation strategies in 51 child county public service systems in two states: results of a cluster randomized head-to-head implementation trial. Implementation Science, 9, 134. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-014-0134-8
Crable, E. L. Cruden, G., & Engell, T. (2023, December 12). Advancing policy-focused D&I by maximizing learnings from policy research and systems science [Discussion forum]. Academy Health 16th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health, Washington, DC
Cruden, G. (2023, October 23). Integrating implementation science and multi-criteria decision analysis for policy planning and implementation [Symposium]. Society for Medical Decision Making 45th Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Cruden, G. (2023, October 24–25). Refining and pilot testing a decision support intervention to facilitate adoption of evidence-based programs to improve parent and child mental health: A policy-relevant and implementation science-focused K01 [Webinar]. New York University Policy Implementation Science Training.
Cruden, G. (2025, December 8). Implementation strategies: Approaches for getting evidence into practice [Online presentation]. C-DIAS (Dissemination& Implementation at Stanford) Fellows.
Cruden, G. (2025, December 8). Implementation strategies: Approaches for getting evidence into practice [Online presentation]. C-DIAS (Dissemination & Implementation at Stanford) Fellows.
Cruden, G. (2026, February 2). (NIH) grant applications: Approach section [Invited online presentation (2 of 2)]. C-DIAS (Dissemination & Implementation at Stanford) Fellows.
Cruden, G., & Crable, E. L. (2023, December 11) Engaging policy actors to co-design a policy implementation study after policy implementation: Case study of a state-wide substance use service expansion policy roll-out [Panel presentation]. Academy Health 16th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health, Washington, DC, United States.
Cruden, G., & Karmali, R. (2021). Opioid misuse as a coping behavior for unmet mental health needs among U.S. adults. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 225, 108805. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108805
Cruden, G., & Saldana, L. (2021). Aligning Decision Makers’ and Researchers’ Definitions of “Evidence-Based.” Poster presented at 14th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health. Virtual Event. December 14-16.
Cruden, G., Brown, C. H., Zolotor, A., Lanier, P., Frerichs, L, Powell, B., Hassmiller Lich, K. (2021). Exploring Clusters of Risk and Association with Child Maltreatment in North Carolina Counties. North Carolina Journal of Medicine, 82(4), 229-238. https://doi.org/10.18043/ncm.82.4.229
Cruden, G., Campbell, M., & Saldana, L. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on Service Delivery Frequency and Volume for an Evidence-Based Behavioral Treatment for Child Welfare-Involved Families. Virtual Interactive Poster. 13th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health. Virtual Event. December 15-17.
Cruden, G., Crable, E. L., Lengnick-Hall, R., Purtle, J. (2023). “Who’s in the Room Where it Happens? A novel methodology for identifying policy actors for implementation and dissemination research.” Implementation Science Communications 4(1), 113.
Cruden, G., Crawford, S., Campbell, M., & Saldana, L. (2022). Leveraging a System Dynamics Simulation Model to Facilitate Clinician Learning During Pre-Implementation. Society for Implementation Research Collaboration Conference. Sept. 10, 2022.
Cruden, G., Schaper, H., Crawford, S., Wong, D., & Saldana, L. (2022). Illuminating the Impacts of the Outer Context on Implementation. 15th Annual Conference on the Science of the Dissemination and Implementation in Health. Washington DC, Dec.13, 2022.
Curran, G., Smith, J. D., Landsverk, L., Vermeer, W., Miech, E., Kim, B., Cruden, G., Fernandez, M., & Brown, C. H. (2023). Chapter 14: Design and Analysis in Dissemination and Implementation Research. Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health 3rd edition. Proctor, Colditz, Brownson (Eds.). https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197660690.003.0014
de Saxe Zerden, L., Cruden, G., Lombardi, B., Grove, L. R., Patel, S. V., & Powell, B. J. (2019) “The Implementation of Integrated Behavioral Health Models: Making the Evidence Stick” In Sarah Gehlert and Teri Browne (Eds.), Handbook for Social Workers, 3rd Edition. Wiley Publishing.
Dong, O., Wheeler, S. B., Cruden, G., Lee, C. R., Voora, D., Dusetzina, S. B., Wiltshire, T. (2020). “Cost-Effectiveness of multi-gene pharmacogenetic testing in acute coronary syndrome patients following percutaneous coronary intervention.” Value in Health, 23(1), 61-73.
Dumet Poma, L., Broughton, A. J., Ho, D., & Cruden, G. (2025, October 15). County-level discussions to support data-driven decisions improving substance use services, supports, and policies in Oregon [Conference presentation]. Oregon Public Health Association 81st Annual Conference, Harrisburg, OR.
Gertner, A. K., Franklin, J., Roth, I., Cruden, G. H., Haley, A. D., Finley, E. P., Hamilton, A. B., Palinkas, L. A., & Powell, B. J. (2021). A scoping review of the use of ethnographic approaches in implementation research and recommendations for reporting. Implementation Research and Practice, 2, 2633489521992743. https://doi.org/10.1177/2633489521992743
Gertner, A. K., Rotter, J., & Cruden, G. (2018). Effects of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act on Specialty Outpatient Behavioral Health Spending and Utilization. The Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics, 21(3), 91–103.
Jaramillo, J., McCart, M., Saldana, L., Sheidow, A., Chapman, J., Drazdowski, T., Cruden, G., & Singh, R. (2024, May). Integrating evidence-based practices in juvenile justice systems through cultural exchange [Poster presentation]. Society for Prevention Research, Washington, DC, United States
Saldana, L. & Cruden, G. (2020). The Families Actively Improve Relationships Program: Building Prevention from Treatment for Child Welfare Involve Families. Society for Prevention Research, Annual Meeting. July 21-23 Virtual Meeting.
Saldana, L. Chapman, J., Cruden, G., Schaper, H., Dennis, C., Campbell, M, & Ewen, V. (2020). From SIC to SIC-Coaching: Facilitating Implementation Success. Virtual Interactive Poster. 13th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health. Virtual Event. December 15-17.
Saldana, L. Chapman, J., Cruden, G., Singh, R., & Campbell, M. (2023) Preventing Parental Opioid and/or Methamphetamine Addiction with Families Involved with DHS. 4th Annual NIH HEAL Initiative Investigator Meeting. Feb. 22, 2023.
Saldana, L., Cruden, G., Dir, A., & Glass, J. (2025, September 29). Testing implementation strategies to scale-up a multicomponent continuum of service intervention for families involved in systems with parental opioid and methamphetamine use [Oral presentation]. JCOIN 2.0 Kick-off Meeting, Bethesda, MD, United States.
Saldana, L., Cruden, G., Peterson, J., Singh, R., Bybee, M., Jaramillo, J., & Glass, J. (2026, Feb. 4). Preventing escalation of opioid and methamphetamine use and mental health disorders in parents referred to child welfare [Guest lecture]. Mental Health Services Research, Washington University Brown School of Social Work, St. Louis, MO, United States.
Saldana, L., Dakof, G., Cruden, G., Schaper, H., Young, W., Liddle, M., & Chapman, J. (2025). Facilitating implementation of a substance use intervention for youth: Outcomes from a randomized trial of the SIC-Coaching implementation strategy. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, 173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.josat.2025.209696
Saldana, L., Singh, R., Cruden, G., & Campbell, M. (2023, December 12). A multilevel implementation strategy to support scale-up of an innovative practice for parental opioid and methamphetamine use disorders [Presentation]. Academy Health 16th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health, Washington, DC, United States.
Smith, N. R., Doan, T. T., Yuan, C. T., & Cruden, G. (2025). Integrating decision science and implementation science to inform policy decision making. MDM Policy & Practice, 10(2), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/23814683251386876