Examining Caregiver- and Family-Level Psychosocial Influences on Child Oral Health Behavioral Outcomes in Racially and Economically Minoritized Urban Families.

Objectives: Understanding the pathways linking caregiver- and family-level psychosocial factors and child oral health behaviors is critical for addressing oral health disparities. The current study examined the associations between caregiver psychosocial functioning and family chaos and child toothbrushing behaviors in children at high risk for poor oral health outcomes.

Methods: Data were drawn from the baseline wave of the CO-OP Chicago Cohort Study (U01DE030067), a longitudinal study on child/caregiver dyads exploring oral health behaviors and caries development in young children ( = 296 dyads; child mean age = 5.

Improving Adherence in Urban Youth With Asthma: Role of Community Health Workers.

Background: The Asthma Action at Erie Trial is a comparative effectiveness trial comparing a community health worker (CHW) versus certified asthma educator (AE-C) intervention in low-income minority children.

Objectives: Determine whether asthma medication possession, adherence, technique, and triggers differ in children receiving an asthma CHW compared with an AE-C intervention.

Methods: Children with uncontrolled asthma were randomized to receive 10 CHW home visits or 2 AE-C sessions in a clinic over 1 year.

Psychosocial Moderators and Outcomes of a Randomized Effectiveness Trial for Child Asthma.

Objective: Psychosocial factors play a role in child asthma morbidity and disparities, but their impact on asthma intervention effectiveness is less understood. This study examined how child, parent, and family psychosocial factors moderated asthma response to, and changed in response to, 2 community asthma interventions among urban minority youth.

Methods: Asthma Action at Erie was a randomized comparative effectiveness trial examining a community health worker (CHW) home intervention versus certified asthma educator (AE-C) services for children aged 5-16 with uncontrolled asthma (N = 223; mean age = 9.

Parent Nativity and Child Asthma Control in Families of Mexican Heritage: The Effects of Parent Depression and Social Support.

Objective: Research has repeatedly demonstrated that parent foreign nativity has a protective effect on child asthma outcomes among Mexican Americans, but the mechanisms underlying this relationship are not well understood. The current study explored parent depression as a mediator and social support as a moderator of the parent nativity-child asthma control pathway.

Methods: Data come from the baseline sample of a trial (NCT02481986) testing community interventions for 223 children aged 5 to 16 with uncontrolled asthma.

Implementation Lessons From a Randomized Trial Integrating Community Asthma Education for Children.

This study characterized and compared the implementation of clinically integrated community health workers (CHWs) to a certified asthma educator (AE-C) for low-income children with asthma. In the AE-C arm (N = 115), 51.3% completed at least one in-clinic education session.

Family Chaos and Asthma Control.

Objectives: Asthma is a highly prevalent childhood chronic disease, with particularly high rates among poor and minority youth. Psychosocial factors have been linked to asthma severity but remain poorly understood. This study examined (1) relationships between parent and child depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, family functioning, and child asthma control in a sample of urban minority youth with uncontrolled asthma and (2) family functioning as a pathway linking parent depression and asthma outcomes.

"THINK" Before You Order: Multidisciplinary Initiative to Reduce Unnecessary Lab Testing.

Inappropriate daily lab testing can have adverse effects on patients, including anemia, pain, and interruption of sleep. We implemented a student-led, multifaceted intervention featuring clinician education, publicity campaign, gamification, and system changes, including a novel nurse-driven protocol to reduce unnecessary daily lab testing in a teaching hospital. We applied a quasi-experimental interrupted time series design with a segmented regression analysis to estimate changes before and after our 14-month intervention with a comparison to a control surgical unit.

Design and baseline characteristics of a low-income urban cohort of children with asthma: The Asthma Action at Erie Trial.

Objective: To describe the methodology of a randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy of integrated asthma community health workers (CHW) and a certified asthma educator (AE-C) to improve asthma outcomes in low-income minority children in Chicago.

Methods: Child/caregiver dyads were randomized to CHW home visits or education in the clinic from an AE-C. Intervention was delivered in the first year after enrollment.

Symptom Dimensions and Trajectories of Functioning Among Bipolar Youth: A Cluster Analysis.

Background: Accurate assessment of pediatric bipolar disorder (BD) is important for allocating appropriate treatment, but it is complicated by significant heterogeneity in symptom presentation and high rates of comorbidity. Investigating clinical subtypes of the disorder may help to clarify diagnostic boundaries and inform targeted treatment. This study used a full diagnostic instrument to examine symptom patterns among youth with BD.

Mediators in the randomized trial of Child- and Family-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for pediatric bipolar disorder.

Mediation analyses can identify mechanisms of change in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). However, few studies have analyzed mediators of CBT for youth internalizing disorders; only one trial evaluated treatment mechanisms for youth with mixed mood diagnoses. This study evaluated mediators in the randomized trial of Child- and Family-Focused CBT (CFF-CBT) versus Treatment As Usual (TAU) for pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD), adjunctive to pharmacotherapy.

Treatment moderators of child- and family-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for pediatric bipolar disorder.

Objective: Prior work has demonstrated the efficacy of child- and family-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (CFF-CBT) versus enhanced treatment as usual (TAU; unstructured psychotherapy) for pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD). The current study builds on primary findings by examining baseline child, parent, and family characteristics as moderators of symptom response trajectories.

Method: A total of 69 youth aged 7 to 13 years (mean = 9.

Child- and family-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for pediatric bipolar disorder: a randomized clinical trial.

Objective: Previous studies have found that family-based psychosocial treatments are effective adjuncts to pharmacotherapy among adults and adolescents with bipolar disorder (BD). The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of adjunctive child- and family-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (CFF-CBT) to psychotherapy as usual (control) for mood symptom severity and global functioning in children with BD.

Method: Sixty-nine youth, aged 7 to 13 years (mean = 9.

Psychosocial intervention for pediatric bipolar disorder: current and future directions.

Pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) affects approximately 2% of the population and disrupts mood regulation, psychosocial functioning and quality of life among affected youths and families. Given the significant psychosocial impairment and poor long-term prognosis associated with PBD, psychosocial intervention is considered to be an essential component of a multimodal treatment approach. This relatively young field of research has witnessed significant growth in the evidence base for psychosocial treatments targeting youths in the past decade, particularly family-based interventions grounded in a biopsychosocial framework.

Dynamic associations of negative mood and smoking across the development of smoking in adolescence.

Self-medication models of smoking posit that the emotional benefits of smoking reinforce and maintain cigarette use, yet research demonstrates both positive and adverse affective consequences of smoking. The current study examined longitudinal changes in adolescent mood variability and overall negative mood at various stages of smoking behavior to inform understanding of the etiology of adolescent smoking. Participants included 461 adolescents (M age = 15.

Influences of mood variability, negative moods, and depression on adolescent cigarette smoking.

Understanding the emotional risk factors for cigarette smoking in adolescence can greatly inform prevention efforts. The current study examined prospective relationships between 3 affective dimensions--negative mood variability, overall negative mood, and depression---affect-related smoking motives, and future smoking patterns among adolescents. The current study expands on prior research by using real-time methods to assess mood and by focusing on a key developmental transition in smoking behavior: the progression from experimentation or low level, infrequent use to higher use.

A family-based psychosocial treatment model.

Background: Pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) is a chronic and severe disorder that is associated with significant impairments in psychosocial functioning. Psychosocial intervention is an important component of comprehensive treatment for PBD.

Method: Child- and family-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (CFF-CBT), also called RAINBOW therapy, is a manual-based, 12 session psychosocial intervention developed for youth 7-13 with PBD and their families.