Project Summary
Anecdotally, we know from the more than 100 family-run organizations in the United States that train parents to provide emotional support and provide assistance in navigating systems help to produce positive youth and family outcomes. However, rigorous research to measure the effectiveness of parent peer support on clinical, functional, and service outcomes for children/youth with mental health challenges and related family outcomes is lacking.
Facilitated by Family Run Executive Director Leadership Association (FREDLA), an association of family-run organizations, a family-driven and multidisciplinary project advisory group was developed during the Pipeline to Proposal Tier I project. Along with family leaders across the country, Drs. Eric Bruns (Washington State Children’s Mental Health Evidence Based Practice Institute, University of Washington School of Medicine) and Kimberly Hoagwood (The Center for Implementation and Dissemination of Evidence-based Practices in States or IDEAS Center, New York University) have been involved in the project from the outset.
With stakeholder input, a list of comparative effectiveness research (CER) ideas was generated that will be further explored in Tier II in the development of CER questions and a Tier III proposal (CER study design). In Tier II, FREDLA will lead the expansion of this family–research partnership to deepen existing collaborations and establish new partnerships to further CER efforts. The partnership will further engage stakeholders in prioritizing a final CER question and associated study components, which will inform our Tier III proposal. The partnership will connect with national, state, and local organizations as potential collaborators for study design and implementation to further its CER efforts.