Clinical trial NCT00267579: Strongest Families (Formerly Family Help Program): Pediatric Disruptive Behaviour Disorder
Official title: Strongest Families (Formerly Family Help Program):Primary Care Delivery by Telephone for Psychological and Behavioural Problems (Pediatric Disruptive Behaviour Disorder)
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE2
Conditions: Pediatric Disruptive Behaviour Disorder
Lead sponsor: IWK Health Centre
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
First posted: 2005-12-21
Enrollment: 80
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 3
Maximum age (years): 7
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The purpose of the Strongest Families (formerly Family Help Program)is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Strongest Families distance intervention compared to usual or standard care that is typically provided to children with mild to moderate Disruptive Behaviour symptomology. This is a single-centre trial based at the IWK Health Centre. The primary outcome is change in diagnosis.

Detailed description: The purpose of the Strongest Families (formerly Family Help Program): is to deliver, primary care mental health services to children and their families in the comfort and privacy of their own home. Approximately 60 children (3-7 years of age)suffering from mild to moderate (but clinically significant) symptoms of pediatric behavior disorder will be randomized.

The intervention is delivered from a distance, using educational materials (manuals, video-tapes, audio-tapes) and telephone consultation with a trained paraprofessional "coach" who is supervised by a licensed health care professional. The telephone coach delivers consistent care based on written protocols, with on-going evaluation by a professional team.

Fifty percent of the eligible participants will receive Family Help Program telephone-based treatment and 50% will be referred back to their family physician to receive standard care as determined by that physician. Those receiving standard care will be evaluated for outcome results and then compared to the Strongest Families treated participants. It is anticipated that Strongest Families treatment will be proven to be as or more effective than standard care.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* child 3 to 7 years of age
* child had behavioural problems for 6 months or longer
* access to a telephone in the home
* speak and write english
* mild to moderate disruptive behaviour symptomology

Exclusion Criteria:

* severe disruptive behaviour symptomology
* received similar intervention within past 6 months
* Autism or Schizophrenia
* child has intellectual impairment

Primary outcomes:
measure: Diagnosis using KSADS at baseline, 120, 240 and 365 day follow-up.
timeFrame: baseline, 120, 240 and 365 day follow-up
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Alabama Parenting Questionnaire
timeFrame: baseline, 120, 240 and 365 day follow-up
measure: Revised Disruptive Disorder Rating Scale
timeFrame: baseline, 120, 240 and 365 day follow-up
measure: Connors rating scale
timeFrame: baseline, 120, 240 and 365 day follow-up
measure: Disability Measure;
timeFrame: Weekly during treatment; baseline, 120, 240 and 365 day follow-up
measure: Child Health Questionnaire
timeFrame: baseline, 120, 240 and 365 day follow-up
measure: Economic Outcome assessment
timeFrame: baseline, 120, 240 and 365 day follow-up
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Halifax
country: Canada
facility: IWK Health Centre
state: Nova Scotia
Study officials:
affiliation: IWK Health Centre
name: Patrick J. McGrath, PhD.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Lingely-Pottie P, McGrath PJ. A therapeutic alliance can exist without face-to-face contact. J Telemed Telecare. 2006;12(8):396-9. doi: 10.1258/135763306779378690.
citation: Lingley-Pottie P, McGrath PJ. Distance therapeutic alliance: the participant's experience. ANS Adv Nurs Sci. 2007 Oct-Dec;30(4):353-66. doi: 10.1097/01.ANS.0000300184.94595.25.
citation: Lingley-Pottie P, McGrath PJ. A paediatric therapeutic alliance occurs with distance intervention. J Telemed Telecare. 2008;14(5):236-40. doi: 10.1258/jtt.2008.080101.
citation: McGrath PJ, Lingley-Pottie P, Emberly DJ, Thurston C, McLean C. Integrated knowledge translation in mental health: family help as an example. J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2009 Feb;18(1):30-7.
citation: Lingley-Pottie P, McGrath PJ. Telehealth: a child and family-friendly approach to mental health-care reform. J Telemed Telecare. 2008;14(5):225-6. doi: 10.1258/jtt.2008.008001.
citation: McGrath PJ, Lingley-Pottie P, Thurston C, MacLean C, Cunningham C, Waschbusch DA, Watters C, Stewart S, Bagnell A, Santor D, Chaplin W. Telephone-based mental health interventions for child disruptive behavior or anxiety disorders: randomized trials and overall analysis. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2011 Nov;50(11):1162-72. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2011.07.013. Epub 2011 Sep 3.
citation: Lingley-Pottie P, Janz T, McGrath PJ, Cunningham C, MacLean C. Outcome progress letter types: parent and physician preferences for letters from pediatric mental health services. Can Fam Physician. 2011 Dec;57(12):e473-81.