Key Messages

• The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented strain on families already negatively impacted by toxic stressors (depression, addiction, intimate partner violence, and poverty), known to undermine children’s mental, emotional and behavioural (MEB) health and development. Traditional clinic and home visit models are inadequate for the challenge, placing more children at risk for MEB problems over their lifetimes.
• This project represents an exciting interdisciplinary collaboration (nursing and software engineering) and community partnership responsive to current and emerging trends in both mental health intervention and user-engaged web-interface design, thereby addressing the urgent mental health needs of vulnerable Canadian families and children in the context of COVID-19 social distancing.

Lay Summary

COVID-19 has placed unprecedented strains on parents impacted by toxic stress (depression, addiction, intimate partner violence, and poverty) reluctant to seek mental health services due to fears of infection. The pandemic halted delivery of two CIHR-funded randomized controlled trials parenting programs (VID-KIDS and ATTACH™) designed to improve children’s mental, emotional and behavioural health and development. In response, an interdisciplinary team from nursing and software engineering have developed virtual platforms for online delivery of both parent training programs. User engaged focus group and design sessions have been conducted with families and program facilitators in the design of the virtual platforms, ready for launch and pilot testing.

Author(s)

• Nominated Principal Applicant: Dr. Linda Duffett-Leger

Population

Children, Youth and Families, Vulnerable or At-Risk Populations

Language

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