Symposia
Dissemination & Implementation Science
Margaret E. Crane, Ph.D.
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Margaret E. Crane, Ph.D.
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Gabriella T. Ponzini, MA
Clinical Psychology Intern
Department of Psychology, West Virginia University
Morgantown, West Virginia
Danielle R. Adams, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Washington, St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
Julia S. Ney, MA
Graduate Student
Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dominique S. McKnight, B.A.
Graduate Student
Temple University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Giavonna M. Zappone
Research Assistant
Temple University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Marc S. Atkins, PhD
Professor
University of Illinois, Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Sara Becker, PhD (she/her/hers)
Alice Hamilton Professor of Psychiatry
Northwestern University Feinberg School Of Medicine
Chicago, Illinois
Jonathan Purtle, DrPH, MSc
Associate Professor
New York University
New York, New York
John Lestino, MA LPC
School Psychologist
Magowan Elementary School
Beverly, New Jersey
Philip C. Kendall, PhD
Distinguished University Professor, Laura H. Carnell Professor
Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Background: Despite implementation efforts, most anxious youth do not receive evidence-based treatment. Dissemination initiatives can increase consumer knowledge of evidence-based treatments. Opinion leaders (OLs) have been used in public health campaigns, but this strategy has not been examined for the dissemination of mental health treatments. This study examined the dissemination strategy of involving an OL in an educational outreach presentation on youth anxiety.
Method: Participants (n = 18) were caregivers who attended a presentation on youth anxiety. Participants were cluster-randomized by school to either the OL condition or the researcher only condition. In both conditions, attendees received a community outreach presentation that reviews signs of youth anxiety, strategies caregivers can use to help their youth with anxiety, and how to find a therapist who does CBT for youth anxiety. In the researcher-only condition, the presentation was presented by two researchers. In the opinion leader condition, a caregiver OL from each local school was involved in tailoring the presentation content to their community, co-facilitating the presentation, and endorsing strategies in the presentation. The qualitative interviews assessed participants perspectives on the (a) content of the presentation and (b) their perceptions on what made each presenter (the researchers and the OLs) a helpful/unhelpful source of information. Qualitative data have been collected and are being analyzed using both a deductive approach (based on the theory of planned behavior) and an inductive approach.
Results: Preliminary review of qualitative responses suggests that caregivers found it useful to learn about symptoms of youth anxiety, strategies for them to reduce accommodation their child’s anxiety, and what to look for when seeking an effective therapist. Additionally, they found the researcher to be a credible source of information, and they reported that hearing a caregivers’ experiences with youth anxiety destigmatized having a child with anxiety.
Discussion: The outreach presentation appeared to be an acceptable dissemination and prevention strategy for sharing information about evidence-based practices for youth anxiety. Results suggest that although OLs may not be a necessary strategy to improve credibility of information, it is useful to incorporate narratives from individuals with lived experience to reduce stigma.
