557 - Coping Power in the REACH School Network; A Pilot Feasibility Study

Friday, April 28, 2023

5:15 PM – 7:15 PM ET

Poster Number: 557
Publication Number: 557.108

Saisujani Rasiah, St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Scarborough, ON, Canada; Brendan F. Andrade, Cente for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada; Justine H. Cohen-Silver, University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Toronto, ON, Canada; Anjali Suri, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, ON, Canada; Shajitha Rasiah, University of Toronto, MARKHAM, ON, Canada; Joelene Huber, University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Etobicoke, ON, Canada; Sloane Freeman, St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Presenting Author(s)

Saisujani Rasiah, H.BSc., MSc., (she/her/hers)

Research Coordinator
St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada

Background: School-aged children with disruptive behavior are at increased risk of mental illness and delinquency. However, access to mental healthcare is difficult for children with social inequities. The Research Equity Advocacy in Child Health School Network is a school-based health centre (SBHC) program providing mental healthcare to children with socioeconomic disparities. Through these SBHCs, health care providers and educators collaborated to pilot the delivery of an evidence-based cognitive behavioral intervention called Coping Power (CP) for children with disruptive behavior.

Objective: This pilot study examined the feasibility of delivering CP in SBHCs with health care providers and educators facilitating the curriculum.

Design/Methods:

Children receiving care at the SBHCs were referred to CP by SHBC physicians. All parent/caregiver and child dyads enrolled in CP in 2018-19 and 2021-22 were invited to participate in the study. Demographic information and validated behavior rating scales including the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQ) and Teacher’s Report Form (TRF) scales were collected at baseline. Feasibility metrics included attendance and satisfaction surveys.

Results:

There were a total of five CP cycles that took place in 2018/19 and 2021/22 with 31 caregiver-child dyads included in this study. Approximately 40% of children came from a family with an annual income of < $49,999 and 50% demonstrated significant externalizing and disruptive symptoms at baseline. Regarding attendance, 22/31 children/caregiver dyads (70.9%) missed ≤2 sessions each cycle. Thirteen caregivers completed the CP satisfaction survey and indicated that they were either “somewhat” (n=4) or “very satisfied” (n=9) with the program and thought the quality was “good” (n=8) or “excellent” (n=5). Eighteen children completed the CP satisfaction survey. Of these, 13 (72.2%) shared that the group either “sort of” or “for sure” helped them cope with their anger better and 12 (66.7%) shared that the group helped them either “sort of” or “for sure” get better organized for schoo

Conclusion(s): This pilot study found that CP delivered within SHBs by a group of health care providers and educators was feasible. Improving access to CP for disadvantaged children with disruptive behavior may help prevent more severe mental health outcomes. Understanding the feasibility of delivering the CP program within a SBHC setting for children with disruptive behavior will inform the development of a larger implementation and evaluation across other Canadian SHBCs.