The proposed Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Career Development Award (K23) is a five-year plan to develop the candidate into an independent intervention scientist poised to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of applying new technologies to extend and enhance children's mental health care. Specific training goals for the 5-year period are to: (1) Gain advanced expertise in intervention science; (2) Develop a comprehensive understanding of service use patterns and barriers to care; (3) Examine new technologies that can improve access to mental health care; (4) Acquire an advanced understanding of biostatistics relevant to the analysis of clinical trial data; and (5) Train in the responsible and ethical conduct of research. During the award period, in addition to formal coursework, guided reading, and consultation with recognized experts, the PI will conduct mentored research designed to directly bridge these 5 training goals- specifically, developing and testing via randomized design the feasibility and acceptability of an Internet- delivered format of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (I-PCIT), which uses video-teleconferencing technology to provide remote PCIT directly to families in their homes. The data from this pilot research will be used to develop and support a subsequent application to evaluate the efficacy of I-PCIT in a large-scale randomized controlled trial.
Establishing the feasibility of an Internet-based format for the delivery of evidence-based parent management is a critical step in the evaluation of new technologies and their potential for advancing children's mental health care. Drawing on teleconferencing technology, such a format affords real-time interactions for the provision of care traditionally delivered in person, regardless of a family's geographic proximity to a mental health facility. Moreover, drawing on technological innovation to deliver interventions directly to families in their natural settings may extend the ecological validity of treatments, as treatments are delivered in the very contexts in which child problems occur.
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