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Supporting School Mental Health Providers: Evidence from a Short-Term Telementoring Model.

Authors :
Lyons, Michael D.
Taylor, Julia V.
Zeanah, Kathryn L.
Downey, Sarah K.
Zabek, Faith A.
Source :
Child & Youth Care Forum; Feb2023, Vol. 52 Issue 1, p65-84, 20p
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

Background: To support student mental health, school staff must have knowledge of evidence-based practices and the capacity to implement them. One approach used to address this challenge is a group-based telementoring model called Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO). In other applications (e.g., healthcare settings), ECHO has been shown to increase healthcare professionals' self-efficacy and knowledge of evidence-based practices leading to improved patient outcomes. Objectives: This study examined the potential for ECHO to be used as a method for increasing school staff engagement and knowledge of evidence-based school mental health practices. Methods: Using a quasi-experimental design, this study compared outcomes across two professional development experiences aimed at promoting school staff ability to provide evidence-based mental health services. School staff from four school districts participated in a school mental health training initiative. All participants (N = 57) had access to asynchronous, online mental health modules. A sub-sample (n = 33) was also offered monthly ECHO sessions. Results: Tests of group difference in outcomes revealed significant increases in engagement with online learning (d = 0.58) and satisfaction (d = 0.82) for those who participated in ECHO as compared to those who did not. Knowledge about evidence-based practices was not significantly different between groups. Conclusions: Results suggest that group-based telementoring may be a promising approach for improving engagement and satisfaction with training initiatives aimed at promoting evidence-based school mental health practices. However, further study of ProjectECHO using experimental designs is needed to make causal inferences about its effect on provider outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
10531890
Volume :
52
Issue :
1
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Child & Youth Care Forum
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
161486059
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-022-09673-1