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ezParent Implementation Bundle

ezParent Implementation Bundle

Positive parenting practices help support optimal child social and emotional development. Parent training is considered a gold standard for supporting and strengthening parenting practices and for treating and preventing child behavior problems. A new research grant awarded to Klein Buendel will develop and test a comprehensive implementation package (the ezParent Bundle) to support the hybrid delivery of the ezParent Program.

Klein Buendel Research Investigator, Ms. Julia Berteletti, and the Klein Buendel Creative Team are collaborating with Dr. Susan Breitenstein from Ohio State University (Principal Investigator) on the project. ezParent is the web-based delivery mechanism of the Chicago Parent Program. ezParent integrates empirically supported parenting strategies and includes video vignettes, interactive activities, and in-home practice. The new bundle will include asynchronous web-based facilitator training and the ezParent dashboard, which allows facilitators to track parent program use and offer support.

Young children’s behavioral health is declining with current estimates of up to one-third of preschool children exhibiting behavior problems (such as tantrums, defiance, and aggression). Behavior problems have been more pronounced in minoritized and low-income populations and because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Positive and supportive parenting can buffer the negative effects of early adverse experiences and childhood trauma.

The primary method of delivering parent training involves face-to-face, in-person sessions. Although effective, there are multiple limitations with in-person parent training delivery affecting access and reach (such as time; schedule conflicts; access to childcare, transportation, trained facilitators; and stigma). These barriers result in many referred parents not receiving parent training. Parent completion access issues are more pronounced in underserved communities. An overall goal of this research is to expand parent training access in community organizations dedicated to serving low-income families [such as Head Start and Early Head Start (HS/EHS)].

Many web-based parent training programs are self-administered, yet there is evidence suggesting web-based programs are more effective when paired with human support, known as hybrid delivery. Trained facilitators can foster parent completion of web-based programs and tailoring of strategies. However, parent training programs lack a proven method for systematically integrating facilitator training in an accessible manner. In addition, for hybrid models to be effective, facilitators require methods to monitor and track parent use of the program. Real-time access to training can increase program sustainability and user tracking allows support to be tailored based on parent program use and individual needs.

The ezParent bundle will be evaluated in a cluster randomized trial in 16 HS/EHS sites with personnel facilitators and 516 parents of children aged 2-5 years old. The investigators hypothesize that relative to the control group, parents in the ezParent bundle group will report greater improvements in parenting skills and self-efficacy, parent-child relationship, and reductions in child behavior problems.

This STTR Fast Track grant was awarded to Klein Buendel by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD116627; Dr. Susan Breitenstein, Principal Investigator from Ohio State University). Research collaborators include Ms. Julia Berteletti from Klein Buendel, and Dr. Amie Bettencourt and Dr. Deborah Gross from Johns Hopkins University. The ezParent technology will be designed and programmed by the Creative Team at Klein Buendel.

THE B-SMART APP: FINDINGS FROM AN IGNITION INTERLOCK STUDY

THE B-SMART APP: FINDINGS FROM AN IGNITION INTERLOCK STUDY

Driving while intoxicated (DWI) is a preventable source of morbidity and mortality in the United States. The Ignition Interlock Device (IID) requires a driver to blow into a breathalyzer installed in a vehicle to establish sobriety and reduces drunk driving while installed. IIDs have become widespread. Most U.S. states require DWI offenders to install IIDs in their cars. However, once IIDs are removed, DWI recidivism levels return to those similar to offenders who had no IID installed.

Klein Buendel Senior Scientist, Dr. W. Gill Woodall, presented DWI intervention study results at the 47th Annual Research Society on Alcoholism Scientific Meeting on June 22-26 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The purpose of this study was to develop and test an app (“B-SMART”) for DWI offenders and their Concerned Family Members (CFMs) to extend non-intoxicated driving beyond the IID installation period.

The B-SMART app has four modules: 1) Life with the Interlock – orientation to IIDs, 2) processes to support changes in drinking, 3) effective communication skills, and 4) family activities that don’t involve alcohol. Participants (pairs of DWI Offenders and CFMs N=76) were randomly assigned to receive the B-SMART web app (n=30) or access to an IID New Mexico Department of Transportation information page [Usual and Customary (UC) condition, n=46]. Data on failed IID tests and IID lockout events were obtained from Ignition Interlock providers and were the primary outcome variables.

IID data were collected at the end of the project period on 58% (n=71) of 123 participants, with one IID provider not providing IID data due to corporate policy restrictions. Two summary outcome variables were created: 1) the frequency of any failed test during IID installation period, and 2) IID lockout events, which occur when a driver repeatedly fails the breathalyzer test in a set time period. The mean number of failed IID tests was not significantly different for UC participants (n=45) than versus B-SMART participants (n=26). For lockout events, UC participants had significantly more lockout events than B-SMART participants.

Results indicate the B-SMART app reduced IID Lockout events, which is an important outcome as lower IID events predict reduced DWI recidivism. 

This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA022850; Dr. W. Gill Woodall, Principal Investigator). Collaborators on this conference presentation included Dr. Barbara McCrady and Dr. Vern Westerberg from the University of New Mexico; and Ms. Julia Berteletti, Ms. Marita Brooks, and Ms. Lila Martinez from Klein Buendel. The B-SMART app was developed by the Creative Team at Klein Buendel.

KB and HPC International Launch Pinpoint

KB and HPC International Launch Pinpoint

Klein Buendel has partnered with HPC International, a leading purchased services provider for healthcare, corporations and academic institutions, to create Pinpoint™, the first-of-its-kind sickle cell pain management app, which provides a safe, interactive, and convenient way for patients to learn about, track, assess, and communicate with their doctors about their sickle cell pain.

The Pinpoint sickle cell pain management app provides a safe, interactive, and convenient way for patients to learn about, track, assess, and communicate with their doctors about  sickle cell pain.

Developed with teens in mind, people of all ages benefit from the Pinpoint app to identify different types of pain associated with sickle cell disease. Using gaming technology, Pinpoint offers an innovative pain assessment tool and a pain diary to log physical and emotional pain symptoms. With the touch of a finger, patients are able to describe and assess the intensity, duration, quality, nature, and location of the pain and report it to their caregivers and physician in real-time. Pinpoint is a web app and works on any smartphone or smart mobile device. Patients can play games, watch videos, learn preventive health tips, and visit the Patient Stories section with real stories and inspirational messages told by other sickle cell patients. 

Sickle cell disease is an inherited disorder of the red blood cells that disproportionately affects people of color. Chronic pain is the most common complication and profoundly disrupts people’s quality of life. Clinicians are often unsuccessful at addressing chronic pain in sickle cell disease, underscoring the need for the Pinpoint app. 

“The pain caused by sickle cell disease is incredibly difficult to manage and ‘pinpoint,’ especially for young patients,” said Hilton Hudson, MD, FACS, CEO of HPC International. “When meeting with top researchers at Children’s Hospital in Washington D.C., we all agreed that clinicians needed a better way to treat the different types of pain sickle cell patients may experience, which led HPC to develop a tool to do just that.” 

“Teaming up with HPC International and supported by grants from the NIH, Klein Buendel was privileged to create a supportive pain management tool for patients with sickle cell disease,” said Mary Buller, MA, President of Klein Buendel. “HPC and Klein Buendel combined content experts and web developers into a winning combination for patients and doctors.” 

The educational content in the Pinpoint app comes from the renowned and best-selling Hope & Destiny book series, written by three clinical expert leaders in hematology: James Eckman, MD, Lewis L Hsu, MD, PhD and Allan Platt, PA-C, MMSc. Hope & Destiny is Hilton Publishing’s premier educational book series on sickle cell disease and is tailored for different reader age groups, including adults and parents as well as adolescent patients. 

The Pinpoint app development project was facilitated through two Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants, awarded in 2016 and 2018 by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). HPC collaborated with Klein Buendel, medical experts, teens, and parents of children with sickle cell disease to study how an interactive app with a customized pain assessment tool could provide an improved way for adolescents with sickle cell disease to learn about and better manage their disorder. The study’s Expert Advisory Board was formed by clinicians from institutions and nonprofit organizations including HOPE for SCD, UIC, Emory Healthcare, Children’s National, Marquette University College of Nursing, and the International Association of Sickle Cell Nurses and Professional Associates.

Pinpoint has been clinically evaluated to help aid in the management of pain caused by sickle cell disease. Market research, focus groups, surveys, interviews, and two comprehensive research studies were conducted virtually and in-person with teens, parents and clinical specialists representing communities across the country from 2016 through 2022.  Research reported in this press release was supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities under grant numbers R43MD010746 and R44MD010746 awarded to Klein Buendel (Dr. Valerie Myers, initial Principal Investigator; Ms. Julia Berteletti, final Principal Investigator). Pinpoint was designed and programmed by Mr. Adam Ashby of the Klein Buendel Creative Team.

Already, Pinpoint has been featured in:

Sickle Cell Disease News, a healthcare industry website, which provides the sickle cell disease community with the most recent news and information on sickle cell disease.

MedCity News, a leading digital healthcare outlet.

LegalReader.com in their Health & Medicine section on August 23rd.

Healthcare IT Today, a leading digital health tech outlet, in a roundup of healthcare industry news (under the ‘Partnerships’ section) on August 17th.

Pinpoint is available to individuals and medical providers. An individual annual subscription fee is $9.99. To learn more about the Pinpoint app, check out the video tutorial or visit HPC International.