# Adapting a web-based parent training to reduce child maltreatment

> **NIH NIH K01** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $35,791

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 The goal of this career development award is to support Dr. Whitney Barnett in developing an independent
research program focused on public health interventions to prevent child maltreatment (CM). Given the
significant impact of CM on both short and long-term health, it is critical to intervene to prevent and reduce CM.
 Parent-focused educational interventions have been shown to be effective at preventing and reducing CM.
However, there are limitations to existing parenting programs. Specifically, 1) they often rely on trained
professionals for delivery, requiring significant cost to implement; 2) few are rigorously tested for implementation
success, though this is critical to achieve training goals; and 3) few directly address CM by providing parents
with strategies to reduce their child’s risk of abuse from other adults or with skills to reduce risk of perpetrating
abuse (e.g., managing difficult child behavior). This project aims to adapt an online intervention for use with
parents to equip them with knowledge of what constitutes CM, strategies to mitigate their child’s risk of
maltreatment by other adults, and skills to manage difficult child behavior, to ultimately prevent CM. The current
project will: 1) use a mixed methods approach to determine needs and preferences of parents of children enrolled
in Head Start (n=30) to inform intervention content and design; 2) adapt existing content and utilize novel
approaches from an evidence-based training for early childcare professionals (iLookOut) and pilot (n=15) the
adapted intervention to test functionality and user satisfaction; and 3) implement this intervention (n=100) to test
the preliminary efficacy and implementation (acceptability and appropriateness) of the intervention.
 This research plan forms the basis of a 5-year career development plan for Dr. Barnett under the mentorship
of Dr. Benjamin Levi (web-based interventions addressing CM), Dr. Kathryn Humphreys (CM, parenting behavior
interventions), Dr. Mary Louise Hemmeter (interventions addressing difficult child behavior), Dr. Carolyn Audet
(implementation science), and Dr. Van Scoy (mixed methods research). This interdisciplinary team has
developed a career development program for Dr. Barnett that includes: 1) advanced training in mixed methods
research design and analysis to inform intervention adaptation and refinement; 2) cultivating expertise in
modifiable determinants of parenting behavior and evidence-based parenting interventions; 3) acquiring
theoretical and methodological skills to design acceptable and effective interventions; 3) user-centered design
approaches to engage end-users in intervention development to ensure it meets their needs; 4) applying robust
implementation science frameworks (i.e., RE-AIM QuEST) to evaluate interventions to optimize success; and 5)
professional development activities e.g., presenting results at scientific meetings, publishing in peer-reviewed
journals, and submitting an R...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10885519
- **Project number:** 1K01HD112541-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Whitney Christine Barnett
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $35,791
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-04-05 → 2024-08-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10885519

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10885519, Adapting a web-based parent training to reduce child maltreatment (1K01HD112541-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10885519. Licensed CC0.

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