A Team-Based Partner-Driven Model for Delivering Outpatient Exposure Treatment for Pediatric Anxiety and...

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Mental Health Services Research
• Implementation Science

Background:

• Pediatric anxiety disorders are prevalent, yet evidence-based treatments (EBTs) are underutilized in community settings.
• Current EBT delivery is often provider-centered and office-based, limiting patient access.
• There is a critical need to address workforce and quality issues in child mental health services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the rationale, design, and methods for a team-based, community-delivered approach to pediatric anxiety treatment.
• To compare this novel approach with traditional office-based cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT).
• To detail strategies for partner engagement, training, supervision, and quality monitoring.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study design involving 333 children and adolescents (ages 5-18) with anxiety disorders or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
• Focus on study design, methods, and procedures, rather than outcome reporting.
• Emphasis on fostering community partner engagement, robust training, supervision, and quality/fidelity monitoring.

Main Results:

• The paper spotlights the study's design and methodology for a team-based, community-delivered intervention.
• Detailed procedures for partner engagement, training, supervision, and quality assurance are presented.
• The study design aims to address access barriers for pediatric mental health care.

Conclusions:

• A team-based, community-delivered model has the potential to significantly increase patient access to pediatric anxiety treatment.
• The described roadmap facilitates integration of community partners and rigorous quality oversight.
• Future directions address disparities in care access for underserved youth, including youth of color and those from low-income communities.