(PS11-D84) Feasibility, Accessibility, and Acceptability of Online Behavioral Parent Training for Parents of Young Children with Developmental Delay

Introduction

Parents of children with developmental delays (DD) tend to manage more child behavior problems while having higher stress levels. Research shows that interventions such as Behavioral Parent Training can help parents gain valuable parenting skills to manage maladaptive behaviors and lower their stress. However, accessibility to these interventions is limited in marginalized communities for many reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic. The switch to online services has surged the need for more knowledge about online telehealth interventions. The current study sought to examine whether virtual delivery of early intervention can be acceptable, feasible, and accessible for parents of children with DD.

Methods

104 participants from southern California were primary caregivers of young children (3-5 years old) with DD. 20 English-speakers were placed in an online pilot cohort started in 2021. In late 2021, an online cohort of 45 monolingual/primary Spanish speakers were recruited along with the English online cohort of 39 parents. Parents were randomly assigned to 6 weeks of Mindfulness-based stress reduction (BPT-M) or psychoeducation (BPT-E) with 10 weeks of Behavioral Parenting Training. The two final cohorts (Spanish n=45 and English n=39) are currently in week 5 of the 16-week intervention. Overall satisfaction was measured using the following survey questions after completing the intervention: "My overall feeling about this program for my child and family is" and "Would you recommend the program to a friend or relative?” along with their engagement and attendance taken by reliable raters.

Results

20 English-speaking participants (BPT-M n=10 and BPT- E n=10) have completed the online intervention. Based on preliminary results from available data, BPT-E and BPT- M had a high percentage (80%) of participants that attended eight or more weekly sessions. However, BPT-M had more parents show up to all sessions (40%) and to eight or more sessions (90%). There was no significant difference in engagement ratings BPT-E and BPT-M, t(18)=0.469, p=.645. 15 participants filled out our Program Satisfaction survey, and there was an overall positive response to both items discussed above. 60% of parents that responded chose positive for their overall feelings about the program, and 71.5% of parents in BPT-E would recommend or strongly recommend the group. In comparison, 50% of parents in BPT-M would recommend or strongly recommend the group.

Conclusion

Based on preliminary results, there is an overall positive outlook on both BPT- E and BPT-M, encouraging acceptability among parents. Considering both groups had 80% of parents attend eight or more sessions, online sessions seem like an accessible and feasible way for parents to attend and engage in the intervention. Engagement and attendance are underway for the remainder of the 84 participants currently in week 5 of the intervention. During week 16 in June 2022, parents will evaluate their overall satisfaction allowing us to further analyze feasibility, acceptability, and accessibility while investigating if language makes a difference in the engagement, attendance, and satisfaction of our online early interventions for underserved parents of children with DD.