The overall goal of this patient-oriented research career development award is for the candidate, Dr. Joyce Javier to become an independent investigator, with a specific focus on developing and evaluating theory-based strategies to improve participation of Filipino immigrants in evidence-based preventive parenting interventions. A detailed career development plan consisting of coursework and mentorship will promote the candidate's development of expertise in 1) the design and evaluation of theory-based strategies to increase parent participation in evidence-based parenting programs, 2) the use of mixed methods in implementation and dissemination research, 3) the design, implementation, and evaluation of prospective community-based interventional trials, and 4) advanced statistical methods for conducting prevention research. Evidence-based parenting programs provided in early childhood have proven to be effective in preventing the onset and escalation of child mental health disorders. However, participation rates in efficacious parenting programs are low, especially among high-risk, hard-to-reach populations, such as Filipino Americans. The overall objective of the proposed research is to design and pilot test a theory-based parent engagement intervention to increase participation among Filipino parents in the Incredible Years, an evidence-based preventive parenting program demonstrated to improve parenting skills and diminish child behavioral symptoms. The central hypothesis, formulated based on the Health Belief Model and Theory of Planned Behavior is that a culturally-tailored parent engagement intervention consisting of educational strategies to improve knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs will lead to increased participation in evidence-based parenting programs. In preparation for submitting a R01 grant application to test this hypothesis, the following specific aims are proposed:
Aim 1 : Investigate the barriers and facilitators that affect participation in an evidence-based parenting program among Filipino parents of young children;
Aim 2 : Design and pilot test a theory-based, parent engagement intervention to increase participation among Filipino parents in an evidence-based preventive parenting program.
In Aim 1, interviews will be conducted with Filipino parents to explore factors that influence participatin in parenting programs.
In Aim 2, community partner feedback and findings from Aim 1 will be used to design and pilot the parent engagement intervention in faith and community-based settings in order to test its efficacy for increasing parent participation. At the end of this awar, Dr. Javier will be well positioned to develop and evaluate innovative solutions to decreasing mental health disparities among Filipinos, an understudied group that is also the second largest immigrant population in the U.S. If the approach and intervention format succeed with Filipinos, comparable strategies can be used to effectively reach other Asian-American minorities, many of whom are reluctant to seek behavioral health services and similarly organized into accessible community-based groups.
The proposed research is relevant to public health because the development of effective interventions to improve parent participation in evidence-based parenting programs will maximize the population impact of these interventions by preventing future mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders among children and adolescents. It is crucial to develop community-based interventions to eradicate health disparities among Filipinos, given that they are the second largest immigrant group in the U.S. and have a disproportionate burden of youth behavioral health problems. With the support from the career development award, the candidate will have the opportunity to refine her skills in community-based research methods and design interventions to eliminate health disparities and foster change in Filipino communities.
