Access to Tailored Autism Integrated Care Pilot Study

Overview

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represent a rapidly growing, high-priority clinical population highlighted by the NIMH and Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee due, in part, because they have multiple service needs including access to effective mental health treatment given high rates of psychiatric comorbidities. Pediatric primary care is a critical and ongoing point of health care access for children with ASD and thus represents an ideal setting for identification of mental health service needs and appropriate linkage to care. The proposed study will use implementation science theory and methods and a research-community partnership approach to: 1) identify targets to improve mental health screening and linkage to mental health services in primary care for children with ASD, 2) adapt integrated care procedures into "Access To Tailored Autism INtegrated Care," ATTAIN, to facilitate identification of mental health problems and linkage to evidence-based care for youth with ASD, and 3) conduct an open trial feasibility pilot test of ATTAIN in pediatric primary care.

This description is focused solely on the feasibility pilot test of ATTAIN in pediatric primary care. Phase 3. Conduct an open trial feasibility pilot test of ATTAIN (directly informed by adaptations identified earlier in the larger study) in pediatric primary care. Participants Providers: A total of 45 pediatric care providers and staff will be recruited for enrollment from primary care practices in the region. This targeted sample size was chosen based on sample sizes used within completed pilot studies focused on service interventions in pediatric care. Each provider and healthcare staff member will be asked to use or support use of ATTAIN with up to 5 eligible patients over four months. Families: Eligible pediatric patients must be: 1) English and/or Spanish-speaking, 2) between 4-16 years of age and 3) have a documented ASD diagnosis in the electronic health record. After four months of ATTAIN use by their child's primary care provider, caregivers will be contacted by the research team to be invited to complete an online survey about their child's healthcare experiences over the past four months. Procedure Leadership at each primary care organization will be approached about their primary care practices participating in the pilot study. Primary care practices within each organization will be purposively selected for targeted recruitment of providers for ATTAIN implementation based on volume of patients with ASD. Members of the research team will request an invitation to present at regularly scheduled staff meetings to recruit primary care providers. Interested providers will be asked to complete a study interest form and indicate preferred times to attend a group meeting to review study participation details, the Study Information Sheet, and receive training in using the ATTAIN model. For some clinics, leadership may prefer that the recruitment and training be conducted during the same meeting for the purpose of reducing staff burden. At these meetings, the research team will provide a meal and refreshments. Subsequently, trained providers will be asked to use ATTAIN with up to 5 eligible patients during any outpatient appointment (e.g., annual check-ups, drop-in appointments) to maximize early detection of mental health problems and opportunity to link to mental health services. Throughout the 4 months, we may ask providers and supporting staff to elaborate on their experiences using ATTAIN via e-mail or phone-call to understand challenges to implementation, recommendations for improving implementation or adaptations in implementing the ATTAIN model in their clinic. Time to complete these brief reflections will take no more than 5-10 minutes each. Quantitative data of ATTAIN use will be extracted from patient charts and de-identified data will be sent to the research team during the four month study period and at the end of 4 months. After 4 months of ATTAIN delivery, participating providers and caregivers of youth with ASD with whom providers used ATTAIN will be asked to complete a brief online survey regarding their experiences using ATTAIN. Providers and staff will be asked to attend a meeting, where food and light refreshments will be provided, to complete the survey. In addition, providers and staff will be invited to participate in a post-study interview that will be offered to be completed by phone or in-person. Caregivers will receive $20 for survey completion. The ATTAIN model was developed to be embedded within routine primary care settings and workflow so there are minimal risks to primary care providers, caregivers or children associated with participation.