Increasing pediatric primary care providers’ confidence and use of in-office interventions for anxiety: an application of the project ECHO model
The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice
ISSN: 1755-6228
Article publication date: 28 August 2024
Issue publication date: 4 September 2024
Abstract
Purpose
The prevalence of pediatric anxiety disorders is on the rise but youth have challenges in accessing specialty evidence-based mental health care. As a result, families turn to their pediatric primary care provider (PCP) for assessment and management of anxiety. To increase PCPs’ abilities to manage anxiety, the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (“Project ECHO”) was used. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of Project ECHO on participating PCPs’ knowledge, self-efficacy and interventions surrounding the assessment and management of anxiety.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected pre- and post-course across five cohorts. Participants completed a clinical knowledge test, ratings of self-efficacy and self-reported frequencies of in-office interventions. Satisfaction was also measured.
Findings
Attendance remained strong, and participants rated high satisfaction. From pre- to post-course, participants demonstrated increased knowledge on almost all objective questions. Participants reported increased self-efficacy across all domains. Finally, participants endorsed increased use of several in-office interventions.
Practical implications
This study highlights the importance of Project ECHO as a continuing education model to enhance PCPs’ abilities and confidence in the assessment and management of anxiety. Future continuing education endeavors should consider Project ECHO as a means of increasing PCPs’ capacity to manage mental health conditions.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that applied the Project ECHO model to pediatric anxiety as a mechanism of increasing knowledge, self-efficacy and in-office interventions with PCPs.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Gretchen Dorman, Christy Keegan, Ciscily Sawyer, Andrea Thatcher and Sara West for their contributions to the Hub Team The Maxon Foundation, U.S. Bank, N.A. Trustee. The authors would like to thank the Maxon Foundation for their funding to support operations of our institution’s ECHO courses.
The authors have no known conflicts of interest to disclose.
Funding: The Maxon Foundation, U.S. Bank, N.A. Trustee Institutional Review Board (IRB): Granted Exempt Status.
Citation
Whitehead, M.R., Ryan, P., Young, M.A., Austin, J.E., Kramer, K., Harris, E. and McClure, J.M. (2024), "Increasing pediatric primary care providers’ confidence and use of in-office interventions for anxiety: an application of the project ECHO model", The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice, Vol. 19 No. 4, pp. 239-253. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMHTEP-01-2024-0008
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited