# Developing an engagement intervention for Black and Latinx caregivers to improve children’s receipt of mental health services after sexual abuse

> **NIH NIH K23** · BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · 2022 · $167,700

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
This application for a K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award aims to support
the career development of Dr. Hiu-fai Fong, a child abuse pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital and
Harvard Medical School, in becoming an independent investigator whose work improves mental health care
and outcomes for families affected by child abuse. Dr. Fong proposes to develop and pilot test a novel
engagement intervention for Black and Latinx caregivers of sexually abused children to address the significant
burden of unmet mental health need for these children. Engagement interventions, in which child-serving
professionals (e.g., social workers) work with caregivers to increase children’s receipt of MH services,
represent a promising approach to address unmet mental health need but have not been well studied with
Black and Latinx caregivers of sexually abused children. This K23 project seeks to develop a novel
engagement intervention for this new population of caregivers that integrates components from two evidence-
based interventions (McKay’s engagement intervention and the DECIDE intervention). The research will use
principles of community based participatory research and a systematic process of cultural adaptation to
develop the engagement intervention over three Aims. Aim 1 will use in-depth interviews with Black and Latinx
caregivers of sexually abused children to identify sociocultural perceptions about child sexual abuse and
mental health care seeking. Aim 2 will use focus groups to elicit feedback from social workers that serve Black
and Latinx caregivers of sexually abused children and input from a community advisory board to culturally and
contextually adapt intervention components. Aim 3 will pilot test the new engagement intervention for feasibility
and acceptability with Black and Latinx caregivers of sexually abused children. This research will lead to the
development of a new engagement intervention ready for large-scale testing as a strategy to reduce racial and
ethnic disparities in mental health care after sexual abuse. Dr. Fong has assembled a highly experienced
mentorship team, including Dr. Margarita Alegria (intervention development for multicultural populations), Dr.
Megan Bair-Merritt (trauma-focused research), and Dr. Michael Lindsey (treatment engagement for minority
families) to guide her through a rigorous training plan to gain expertise in: 1) intervention development for
culturally diverse populations; 2) sociocultural and ethical issues in trauma-focused research with minority
groups; and 3) clinical trial methodology for behavioral interventions. Dr. Fong will leverage the unique
resources available at Boston Children’s Hospital (a leading pediatric healthcare and research institution, and a
specialty referral center for child sexual abuse) and the broader Harvard community (Harvard Medical School,
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard Catalyst) to carry out her research an...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10371392
- **Project number:** 1K23MD016171-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Hiu-fai Fong
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $167,700
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-06-10 → 2027-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10371392

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10371392, Developing an engagement intervention for Black and Latinx caregivers to improve children’s receipt of mental health services after sexual abuse (1K23MD016171-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10371392. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*