Hybrid delivery of behavioral health screening and prevention intervention for pediatric heart transplant recipients and families: A randomized pilot study

Abstract

Background: A significant number of pediatric heart transplant recipients and their families experience post-traumatic stress symptoms following transplantation, which can impact recipient behavioral and medical health outcomes. Preventive behavioral health interventions may improve outcomes, especially if interventions can be delivered at a distance to decrease barriers to mental health care. This pilot study examined the acceptability and accessibility of an evidence-informed resilience training program delivered using a video telehealth platform. A secondary aim was to assess the preliminary efficacy of the intervention on recipient behavioral health outcomes, perceived barriers to recipient medication adherence, parent behavioral health outcomes, and family functioning. Methods: Seventeen heart transplant recipients (8–18 years old) and their families were recruited and randomly assigned to a treatment as usual (n = 8) or an intervention group (n = 9). Baseline assessment data collected included demographic information and validated behavioral health measures. Follow-up assessments included the validated measures and acceptability and satisfaction ratings. Results: The study demonstrated that the program has high acceptability by recipients and parents, and a positive impact on recipients and parents, including significant reductions in youth behavioral difficulties as well as parent depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Conclusions: Results of this study are promising and call for further evaluation of hybrid delivery models for behavioral health screening and prevention interventions for pediatric heart transplant recipients and their families.