Psychosocial interventions for use in pediatric primary care: An examination of providers' perspectives.
BACKGROUND
The integration of psychosocial interventions in primary care settings is 1 mechanism to increase access to mental health care to youth in need. Although the delivery of psychosocial interventions by primary care providers (PCPs) reflects 1 example of this integration, research indicates that various barriers to implementation by PCPs exist. With the goal of informing a framework to guide the selection of treatments amenable to PCP practice, the authors sought to examine which criteria might influence a PCP's intention to use a given psychosocial intervention.


METHODS
Using survey methodology, 49 PCPs ranked characteristics of interventions for feasibility and applicability to their patient populations and setting.


RESULTS
Survey respondents found the following characteristics most important: time to employ, applicability to multiple disorders, ease of use, and ease of learning. Providers who endorsed more negative beliefs and attitudes toward addressing psychosocial concerns in youth were more likely to see certain criteria, such as ease of use and ease of learning, as more important.


CONCLUSIONS
The authors illustrate the potential application of these findings to the selection of psychosocial interventions for use in primary care and discuss future research directions. (PsycINFO Database Record
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Maryland.
Prerna G
PG
Arora
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Maryland.
Sharon Hoover
SH
Stephan
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Maryland.
Kimberly D
KD
Becker
Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.
Lawrence
L
Wissow
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000523:psychology; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000379:methods*; D010465:Perception; D058007:Physicians, Primary Care / Q000523:psychology*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000639:trends*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires