Expanding the reach of preventive interventions: development of an Internet-based training for parents of infants.
There are major obstacles to the effective delivery of mental health services to poor families, particularly for those families in rural areas. The rise of Internet use, however, has created potentially new avenues for service delivery, which, when paired with the many recent advances in computer networking and multimedia technology, is fueling a demand for Internet delivery of mental health services. The authors report on the adaptation of a parenting program for delivery via the Internet, enhanced with participant-created videos of parent-infant interactions and weekly staff contact, which enable distal treatment providers to give feedback and make decisions informed by direct behavioral assessment. This Internet-based, parent-education intervention has the potential to promote healthy and protective parent-infant interactions in families who might not otherwise receive needed mental health services.
Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, OR 97403-1983, USA. edf@ori.org
Edward G
EG
Feil
Kathleen M
KM
Baggett
Betsy
B
Davis
Lisa
L
Sheeber
Susan
S
Landry
Judith J
JJ
Carta
Jay
J
Buzhardt
D002649:Child Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003201:Computers; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D020407:Internet; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D019212:Multimedia; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education*; D012424:Rural Population; D012927:Social Control, Informal; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013663:Teaching