A Study Protocol for the "Practitioner Training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry" Cluster-randomized Pilot Study.

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Primary Care Medicine
• Mental Health Services Research

Background:

• Primary care providers (PCPs) in Canada face challenges meeting the rising demand for paediatric mental health care due to inadequate training.
• Specialist resources are limited in rural/remote regions, increasing the need for frontline care capacity.
• The Practitioner Training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PTCAP) program aims to equip PCPs with essential skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pilot the innovative PTCAP educational intervention.
• To assess the feasibility and efficacy of PTCAP in enhancing paediatric mental health care capacity.
• To provide preliminary evidence for a larger randomized controlled trial.

Main Methods:

• A cluster randomized, controlled pilot study design was employed.
• Sixty-one PCPs were randomized to either the PTCAP intervention or treatment-as-usual.
• Training involved eight hours of guidelines and brief counseling techniques; outcomes assessed via confidence and skills observation.

Main Results:

• The study will assess one-week post-intervention mental health care capacity, focusing on confidence and observed skills.
• Skill retention will be evaluated at one-month follow-up.
• The association between trained skills and child mental health outcomes (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) will be examined.

Conclusions:

• This study represents one of the first randomized controlled trials of its kind in Canada.
• It will offer crucial preliminary data on the feasibility and effectiveness of the PTCAP program.
• Findings are expected to inform future strategies for improving rural paediatric mental health care access.