Tom Mackie

Thomas Mackie

Professor of Health Policy and Management

Focus on mental health access, policy, and programs

Trained as a medical sociologist and health services researcher, Dr. Mackie’s research aims to bring new evidence to address our nation’s mental healthcare crisis. His research is motivated by the rapid expansion of system-level innovations that seek to address the well-documented gaps in access to quality pediatric and perinatal mental healthcare and improve population health. As a mixed methods and interdisciplinary researcher, his work has examined an array of system-level innovations, including universal screening programs, healthcare provider supports (e.g., psychiatry access programs), and monitoring programs (e.g., prior authorization and drug utilization reviews). His work also leverages the decision and system sciences to improve the use of research evidence in the development, implementation, and sustainment of these system-level innovations. Dr. Mackie has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles and received over 9 million dollars in external funding from a diverse array of sponsors, including the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, W.T. Grant Foundation, National Institute of Mental Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Education

  • Joint-PhD in Social Policy and Sociology, Heller School of Social Policy and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Brandeis University
  • MPH and Masters International Program with United States Peace Corps, Boston University School of Public Health
  • BA with Honors, Wesleyan University

Key Publications

  • Mackie, T.I., Cole, S., Crystal, S., Olfson, M. & Akincigil, A. (2020). Antipsychotic use before and after implementation of a specialized Medicaid Managed Care Organization intervention for youth in foster care. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 59(1), 166-176. PMID: 31071384
  • Mackie, T.I., Schaefer, A.J., Palatucci, J.S., Leslie, L.K., Crystal, S., Gusmano, M., & Karpman, H. E. (2022). The role of formal policy to promote informed consent of psychotropic medications for youth in child welfare custody: A national examination. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 49(6), 986-1003. PMCID: PMC9616785
  • Mackie, T.I., Schaefer, A.C., Ramella, L., Carter, A.S., Eisenhower, A., Jimenez, M.E., Fettig, A., & Sheldrick, R.C. (2021). Understanding how parents make meaning of their child’s behaviors during screening for autism spectrum disorders: A longitudinal qualitative investigation. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51, 906-921.
  • Mackie, T.I., Schaefer, A.C.,* Hyde, J., Leslie, L.K., Bosk, E., Fishman, B.,* & Sheldrick, R.C. (2021). The decision sampling framework: A methodological approach to investigate evidence use in policy and programmatic innovation. Implementation Science. 16(24), 1-17. PMCID: PMC7953669
  • Mackie, T.I., Kovacs, K., Simmel, C., Neese-Todd, S., Crystal, S., & Akincigil, A. (2020). A best-worst scaling experiment to identify patient-centered claims-based outcomes for evaluation of pediatric antipsychotic monitoring programs. Health Services Research. 56(3), 418-431. PMCID: PMC8143685
  • Mackie, T.I., Sheldrick, R.C., de Ferranti, S.D., Saunders, T., Rojas, E.G., & Leslie, L.K. (2017). Stakeholders’ perspectives on stakeholder-engaged research (SER): Strategies to operationalize Patient Centered Outcomes Research Principles for SER. Medical Care, 55(1), 19-30. PMID: 27547942