# Testing a brief eHealth parent-focused prevention intervention with parents referred from primary care clinics

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2024 · $769,983

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
 Child and adolescent behavioral health problems are related to the leading causes of youth morbidity and
mortality and are costly to society. Parent-focused interventions effectively prevent behavioral health problems
such as depression and conduct disorders and can provide an economic benefit to society. Unfortunately,
parenting programs are not widely available, not accessible, nor well-attended. Pediatric primary care is a non-
stigmatizing setting with nearly universal reach and, therefore, an ideal access point to increase access.
However, primary care clinicians (PCCs) often have insufficient training in behavioral health topics and typical
referral practices are often inadequate. There are also logistical barriers to attending in-person parenting
programs, like the need for childcare and a large time-commitment. There is a need to develop effective
referral practices in conjunction with increasing the accessibility of parenting programs. Our long-term goal is
to prevent significant behavioral health problems through widespread access to effective and accessible
parenting programs through primary care referrals. Previously, we successfully developed and pilot tested a
brief training for PCCs that we call Support & Guide (S&G). S&G training provides a communication strategy
for engaging parents in a conversation about parenting and for making referrals. We also successfully pilot
tested a brief, online parenting intervention based on GenerationPMTO, called Empowered Generations
(eGen); eGen is a six-session parent training program provided by therapists via video chat online to parents
with a child between the ages of 3-8 years. S&G training and eGen were both found to be feasible and
acceptable, and both demonstrated promise of effectiveness. Significantly, all clinical aspects of the study have
been conducted in real-world settings and systems and are highly pragmatic. In the proposed R01, we will
build on the knowledge gained through the R34 to conduct fully powered randomized trials. The secondary
objective of this study is to test the effectiveness of brief PCC S&G training. The primary objective of this
project is to test the effectiveness and cost-benefit of eGen. The study design includes two parallel randomized
controlled trials (RCT). In the S&G RCT, we will randomize PCCs (aim 1); in the eGen RCT we will randomize
parents (aim 2). These two trials are linked by the fact that the parents referred by PCCs in aim 1 are the same
parents who are invited to participate in the aim 2 eGen trial. In addition, we will examine the cost benefit of
eGen (aim 3) when implemented with community therapists and with a real-world, primary-care-referred
sample of parents. This research is significant because it simultaneously addresses the need to develop
effective referral practices in conjunction with increasing the accessibility of parenting programs. The
innovative design in this study captures the entire patient flow from initial enga...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10943071
- **Project number:** 1R01MH139457-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** Christopher J Mehus
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $769,983
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-01 → 2029-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10943071

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10943071, Testing a brief eHealth parent-focused prevention intervention with parents referred from primary care clinics (1R01MH139457-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10943071. Licensed CC0.

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