Evidence-based treatment delivery in nontraditional settings: Comparing treatment dropout, barriers, and attitudes in a mobile unit versus an outpatient clinic.

Abstract

Families of young children face numerous barriers to accessing evidence-based mental health treatments. These barriers contribute to low engagement and treatment dropout; thus, researchers have examined initiatives to reduce barriers and increase treatment involvement, such as the use of mobile health units (MHUs). Initial research suggests the delivery of services using MHUs is promising for treatment outcomes, yet little is known about whether MHUs improve access to services for long-term mental health treatments, particularly for families of young children. The current study explored differences for families participating in parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) delivered in an MHU versus an outpatient clinic. We compared treatment dropout, number of sessions attended, as well as reported barriers and treatment attitudes across locations. Findings indicated comparable dropout rates and severity of treatment barriers, but families accessing services at the MHU reported less positive treatment attitudes compared with families at the outpatient clinic. Our results highlight the need to understand the impact of MHUs for delivering mental health services, specifically which barriers are addressed, how this influences treatment completion, and how delivery of services in an MHU can influence family perceptions of therapy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).