Optimizing CBT Implementation Among Community Providers Through Internet-based Consultation and Networking (i-CAN)

Overview

Although anxiety is one of the most common and debilitating mental health conditions affecting children and adolescents, the vast majority of sufferers do not receive effective treatment. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based, frontline treatment for pediatric anxiety, yet many community-based practitioners do not implement CBT with high fidelity, which can detrimentally affect its clinical impact. The goal of this study is to develop and test an online platform to support community providers' effective use of CBT for pediatric anxiety.

Stemming from implementation science and, specifically, the Theory of Planned Behavior, investigators are working alongside community stakeholders to develop a novel, online consultation platform. This platform, termed Internet-based Consultation or Networking (or i-CAN) will utilize a professional navigator (i.e., a provider with CBT expertise), online support and resources, and parallel peer consultation to create a user-friendly and supportive community for providers to get support as they implement CBT. Once finalized, the platform will be tested in the context of a preliminary randomized controlled trial (RCT) with approximately 100 mental healthcare providers who work with anxious children and adolescents. Providers who enroll will be randomly assigned to either the experimental condition (i-CAN) or the control condition (wait-list for i-CAN). The primary outcome of interest is change in intentions to use CBT.

Conditions