Technology-Based Solutions to Improve Quality of Care in Child Mental Health Treatment

Medical University Of South Carolina, Charleston SC

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Most evidence-based interventions in traditional mental health care require that patients participate in activities outside of the treatment setting (e.g., at home or in other relevant settings). These homework (HW) assignments increase generalization of skills learned in the treatment setting and play a crucial role in positive outcomes (i.e., decreased symptom severity, increased recovery and treatment retention) and ultimately the quality of child mental health services. Despite being an integral component of treatment, systematic use of and adherence to HW assignments generally is low to moderate, and thus results in poorer clinical outcomes and increased dropout. Solutions that effectively improve HW utilization and adherence may have potential to improve the efficiency of treatment, completion of treatment, and benefit from treatment. The candidate has proposed a wide range of training opportunities to prepare him to lead multi-disciplinary, innovative research that identifies, evaluates, and disseminates technology-based solutions designed to improve quality of care in child mental health treatment. His proposed pilot under this F32 will make use of qualitative interviewing methodology to take initial steps toward addressing provider- and patient-level barriers to HW use/adherence via mobile technology. The treatment model chosen for this project will ensure strong translatability of this work to a wide range of behavioral healh treatments. Data collected during this project will be used to develop and preliminarily evaluate a functional mockup of a mobile application. The functional mockup will not itself be a mobile application but will allow the candidate to create a resource that has the full look and feel of a mobile application to solicit feedback from providers and families without the expense associated with development of a fully programmed web intervention or native application. Data obtained via this pilot work will guide the development of a mobile/web-based application that the candidate intends to develop and test in a subsequent exploratory study (e.g., NIH R21/R34). The proposed investigation and training program will leverage ongoing research and dissemination initiatives allowing for an ideal training environment for the candidate. The proposed F32 award will allow the candidate to continue ongoing programmatic research focusing on the integration of technology into evidence-based practice. It will also support training of the candidate toward his career goals of becoming an independent clinical researcher in this area.