Parent Training in Pediatric Care: A Self Directed Tablet-Based Approach

One in four young children in the United States faces poverty-associated risks that make her or him more likely to have mental health and behavior problems. These problems, left untreated, can have long-term social, emotional, and behavioral consequences. High-quality parenting in the preschool years can substantially buffer the negative effects of socioeconomic adversity on children's mental health and behavior. However, most parent training programs use face-to-face delivery models resulting in barriers to participation and limited reach to those most in need. Testing the efficacy and implementation of alternative delivery models is needed to (a) increase the reach and sustainability of parent training interventions and (b) address the barriers to parent participation and implementation of such programs, specifically in primary health care settings. The parent training program proposed in this study is a digital adaptation (tablet-based) of the evidence-based based Chicago Parent Program (CPP) called the ezParent Program. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and implementation process of delivering the ezParent in pediatric primary care sites serving low-income, urban families. The specific aims of the study are: (1) Test the direct effects of the 6-module ezParent Program on parenting outcomes (parenting behavior, parenting self-efficacy, and parenting stress) and child outcomes (child problem and prosocial behavior) compared to an enhanced usual care control condition among low-income parents with young children seen in primary care settings; (2) Compare the cost-effectiveness of the ezParent intervention relative to the control condition for the parenting and child outcomes; and (3) Quantify the levels of program implementation of the ezParent Program in primary care using the RE-AIM framework. The efficacy of the ezParent Program will be tested using a randomized clinical trial design with 312 parents of 2- to 5-year-old children from pediatric primary care settings. Data on parenting and child behavior outcomes will be obtained from all participants at baseline, and 3, 6, and 12 months post baseline. A descriptive design guided by the RE-AIM framework and cost-effectiveness analysis will evaluate the implementation of the ezParent Program in the pediatric primary care sites.

Integrating and evaluating the implementation of the ezParent Program is an innovative opportunity to promote parenting with potential for universal access to the preschool (2- to 5-year-olds) population and potential for low cost by building on existing infrastructure. Findings from this study will lay the foundation for full-scale implementation of the ezParent Program in pediatric primary care settings and subsequent implementation and dissemination research.