TECHNOLOGY-ASSISTED PARENTING INTERVENTIONS CONFERENCE
“Implementing Evidence-Based Interventions for Child Maltreatment Prevention and Intervention: The Role of Technology in Practitioner Training, Implementation, and Program Delivery” Shannon Self-Brown, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Institute of Public Health Associate Director, National SafeCare Training and Research Center Georgia State University Dr. Self-Brown will discuss the role of technology in enhancing the reach of evidence-based practices relevant to child maltreatment prevention and intervention. She will provide examples of technological applications from several ongoing research projects to illustrate how technology is being used to 1) enhance the quality of evidence based practice training for providers, 2) assist in supporting implementation efforts related to program fidelity and sustainability, and 3) engage and retain clients/consumers in evidence-based programs. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of the current limitations of technology-based applications, as well as future directions for research focusing on innovative next steps in child maltreatment prevention/intervention.
“Examining the Effectiveness of Cell Phones to Enhance a Home-Visiting Parenting Intervention with At-risk Mothers” Kathryn M. Bigelow, Ph.D. Juniper Gardens Children’s Project University of Kansas Although home-visiting programs have demonstrated success at preventing child maltreatment, maintaining parent engagement remains a significant challenge. Attrition is higher among the highest-risk families; those families who have the greatest need are often the least likely to stay involved or to be engaged enough to benefit from the training provided. To meet this challenge, we designed an intervention using cellular phones to supplement a short-term home visiting parenting intervention. Interesting relations between parenting improvements and improved child outcomes were found: Parenting predicted cooperative behavior, parenting stress predicted adaptive behavior, and depression predicted children’s internalization. The most striking result from the study is the large treatment effects that were maintained over time in both conditions. In addition, the cell phone provided three kinds of benefits: attrition was minimized, the effects on parenting were more pronounced, and the effects on children’s cooperative and adaptive behavior were enhanced. Cellular phones have the potential for enhancing the benefits of home-visiting and other developmental interventions.
“Translating an Empirically-Validated Home Visiting Intervention to the Internet: A Case Study of Development and Testing of Infant-net –A Web-based Parenting Intervention for Mothers of Infants At-Risk for Maltreatment” Edward G. Feil, Ph.D. Research Scientist Oregon Research Institute Parents of infants living in poverty are at significantly elevated risk of a host of detrimental outcomes, including the development of child behavior problems, neglect and abuse of children, child learning problems and parental substance abuse. Research has found that early interventions to improve parenting practices were effective to ameliorate these outcomes. Yet there exist major obstacles to the effective delivery of mental health services. The meteoric rise of Internet use has created a new avenue for people to communicate and share ideas. This presentation explores the use of Internet-based interventions (supported with telephone coaching from trained interventionists). First, the presentation will describe the development of an Internet-based program adapted from an empirically validated home visiting intervention aimed at promoting the socio-emotional and cognitive development of infants by improving parenting behavior. Next, results from a randomized control trial with low-income mothers comparing intervention to control will be presented. Lastly, discussion will include focusing on the implications for improving access to evidence-based interventions via the web, existing barriers and challenges to web-based delivery and access, and implications for future research. Key points will include attention to the infusion of social media in the intervention with sensitivity to low-income families.
Friday, May 10, 2013 8:25 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. The Bennett Pierce Living Center, 110 Henderson Building Sponsored by the Child Study Center and the Penn State Network on Child Protection and Well-Being. The Public is cordially invited. Light refreshments provided