Adapting a web based parent training to reduce child maltreatment - PROJECT SUMMARY The goal of this career development award is to support Dr. Whitney Barnett in developing an independent research program focused on public health interventions to prevent child maltreatment (CM). Given the significant impact of CM on both short and long-term health, it is critical to intervene to prevent and reduce CM. Parent-focused educational interventions have been shown to be effective at preventing and reducing CM. However, there are limitations to existing parenting programs. Specifically, 1) they often rely on trained professionals for delivery, requiring significant cost to implement; 2) few are rigorously tested for implementation success, though this is critical to achieve training goals; and 3) few directly address CM by providing parents with strategies to reduce their child’s risk of abuse from other adults or with skills to reduce risk of perpetrating abuse (e.g., managing difficult child behavior). This project aims to adapt an online intervention for use with parents to equip them with knowledge of what constitutes CM, strategies to mitigate their child’s risk of maltreatment by other adults, and skills to manage difficult child behavior, to ultimately prevent CM. The current project will: 1) use a mixed methods approach to determine needs and preferences of parents of children enrolled in Head Start (n=30) to inform intervention content and design; 2) adapt existing content and utilize novel approaches from an evidence-based training for early childcare professionals (iLookOut) and pilot (n=15) the adapted intervention to test functionality and user satisfaction; and 3) implement this intervention (n=100) to test the preliminary efficacy and implementation (acceptability and appropriateness) of the intervention. This research plan forms the basis of a 5-year career development plan for Dr. Barnett under the mentorship of Dr. Benjamin Levi (web-based interventions addressing CM), Dr. Kathryn Humphreys (CM, parenting behavior interventions), Dr. Mary Louise Hemmeter (interventions addressing difficult child behavior), Dr. Carolyn Audet (implementation science), and Dr. Van Scoy (mixed methods research). This interdisciplinary team has developed a career development program for Dr. Barnett that includes: 1) advanced training in mixed methods research design and analysis to inform intervention adaptation and refinement; 2) cultivating expertise in modifiable determinants of parenting behavior and evidence-based parenting interventions; 3) acquiring theoretical and methodological skills to design acceptable and effective interventions; 3) user-centered design approaches to engage end-users in intervention development to ensure it meets their needs; 4) applying robust implementation science frameworks (i.e., RE-AIM QuEST) to evaluate interventions to optimize success; and 5) professional development activities e.g., presenting results at scientific meetings, publishing in peer-reviewed journals, and submitting an R01. Completion of this career development plan would allow Dr. Barnett to successfully compete for future funding to develop public health interventions to prevent and reduce CM.
