NCT04029220

Navigation and Parent Peer Support to Promote Access

Navigation and Parent Peer Support to Promote Access and Retention of Children in Mental Health Services

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 240 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Colorado, Denver · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 1 Year – 99 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Nearly one in five children in the United States has a mental health problem that interferes with daily functioning and requires intervention, and yet less than 50% of children who need mental health care receive any services. Families and especially from low-income and ethnically diverse backgrounds, experience a range of barriers to engaging in services for their children including: lack of recognition of problems and knowledge of available treatments, connecting to services, trust in providers, stigma; low income and ethnically diverse populations are especially affected by these barriers. In this work, the investigators propose to carry out initial testing of a research- and theory-based model of Parent Peer Navigation services to help engage families with children with significant but pre-clinical problems in mental health services in order to prevent future poorer outcomes for children, who otherwise may never receive services, or only receive services when their mental health issues become severely debilitating for themselves and their family.

Detailed description

Parent peer navigation (PPN), provided by other caregivers who have lived experience raising a youth with mental health conditions, holds promise as a service that can aid in improving both youth and caregiver outcomes by overcoming system- and individual-level barriers to care. This proposed study will support initial testing of a research- and theory- based Parent Peer Navigation (PPN) model created by one of the nation's leading advocacy organizations for caregivers of children and youth with mental health challenges, the federally funded Family-Run Executive Directors Leadership Association. This model, called the National Parent Peer Support Practice Model (Practice Model) has an associated training program and aims to effectively engage parents/caregivers in necessary treatment for their children by helping them connect with assessment, treatment and community-based resources and prepare them to independently navigate the child serving system, community-based resources, and ongoing opportunities for support once the PPN provider is no longer involved. The Practice Model incorporates five theory- and research-based components of support: (1) information/educational, (2) instructional/skills development; (3) emotional/ affirming, (4) instrumental; and (5) advocacy. The study will focus on children in early stages of impairment as a result of mental health challenges for which prevention of further disability is possible. It will take advantage of implementation of the Practice Model through two non-profit family-run organizations (FROs) and will occur in three phases, beginning with preparatory work to develop recruitment strategies in collaboration with local schools, formalize implementation outcomes (acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, fidelity) and other measures followed by a Feasibility Study to finalize recruitment, procedures and measurement frames. Finally, in Phase 3, the investigators will conduct a cluster randomized trial to provide a preliminary test of the impact of the Practice Model on key caregiver and child outcomes. Children who are experiencing mental health challenges but have not had exposure to formal mental health services will be identified by collaborating schools and FROs/FSOs and referred for family support. Consenting families will be randomly assigned to a treatment group who will receive PPN services based on the Practice Model from participating FROs, or a comparison group who will be referred to a Family Support Organization which provide other types of resources (e.g., referrals, information). The investigators predict that youth and parents receiving PPN will show significantly greater rates of access, engagement and retention in services as compared to the comparison group. The investigators also predict that at 6 months following PPN onset, children in the treatment group will exhibit improved social/emotional functioning and that parents in the treatment group will exhibit increased empowerment and decreased parenting stress, as compared to those in the comparison group.

Conditions

• Mental Disorder, Child
• Mental Health
• Family Health

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Parent Peer Navigation	Parent Peer Navigation (PPN) is implemented by trained providers with lived experience, who are supported by training and coaching protocols. The role of PPN provider is to engage caregivers in necessary treatment for their children and prepare them to independently navigate the child serving system, community-based resources, and ongoing opportunities for support. PPN providers will support families who are just entering he child-serving systems for 6 months on a weekly basis during which they will: help link families with formal and informal supports; instill confidence and coping skills; assist in the development of goals and crisis plans; and serve as an advocate for resolution of issues. Also, the PPN provider helps the family to learn to navigate systems and advocate for their needs, prepares families for meetings and treatment sessions, helps identify ways for parents to practice self-care; and promotes family choice and shared decision making.

Timeline

• Start date: 2020-02-18
• Primary completion: 2022-12-31
• Completion: 2023-03-31
• First posted: 2019-07-23
• Last updated: 2022-08-17

Locations

4 sites across 1 country: United States