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THE E-PARENTING PROGRAM: COMPUTER-BASED SUPPLEMENTATION OF HEALTHY FAMILIES AMERICA

Presenters: Steven Ondersma

Abstract Category: Research 

Instruction Level: Intermediate

Presentation: Not Provided

Description:      

This presentation will review a computer-based motivational, cognitive, and skills-based intervention designed to supplement HFA.

Abstract:

Early home visitation programs are among the most widely adopted and studied child maltreatment prevention efforts.  However, concerns have been raised with respect to the ability of such programs to: (a) retain families; (b) implement program models with fidelity; (c) effectively address known risk factors for maltreatment; or (d) consistently incorporate available evidence-based approaches with fidelity.  Interactive software—when used as a supplemental intervention delivery platform—has the potential to address many of these challenges.  For example, it can facilitate identification of risks, replicate a range of evidence-based approaches, and improve retention through the use of motivational approaches.  It can also do these things in a perfectly replicable and highly cost-effective manner.  The E-Parenting Program (EPP) is a CDC-funded clinical trial designed to evaluate the efficacy of a computer-delivered supplement to traditional Healthy Families Americ (HFA) services. The software being studied is delivered over the web via Tablet PCs as part of ongoing home visitation; its eight 20-minute sessions include (a) brief motivational interventions focusing on treatment adherence, substance abuse, domestic violence, and mental illness; (b) cognitive retraining (based on Bugental et al., 2002), and (c) parent skills training (based on Lutzker’s Project Safecare).  A total of 420 mother-infant dyads from four HFA sites will be randomly assigned to either traditional or software-supplemented services.  All parents will be followed-up at 6, 12, and 18 months and evaluated for maltreatment and maltreatment risks as measured by self-report, home visitor report, blinded independent observers, and State CPS data.  If validated, the EPP can provide augmentation of home visiting services with unprecedented ease of dissemination, at negligible additional cost, and with tremendous potential for further development.