SBIR-STTR Award

Online System for Identifying and Addressing Teen Depression in Primary Care
Award last edited on: 5/22/2023

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
NIH : NIMH
Total Award Amount
$1,743,180
Award Phase
2
Solicitation Topic Code
242
Principal Investigator
Barbara Jo Howard

Company Information

Total Child Health Inc

6017 Altamont Place
Baltimore, MD 21210
   (888) 424-2347
   rsturner@childhealthcare.org
   www.chadis.com
Location: Single
Congr. District: 03
County: Baltimore City

Phase I

Contract Number: 1R44MH116751-01A1
Start Date: 7/1/2019    Completed: 6/30/2020
Phase I year
2019
Phase I Amount
$242,854
This proposal presents innovations to addressing teen depression during routine check-up visits through further development of an online clinical process support system called CHADIS. The primary care provider remains in the center of the process with his/her prior relationship with the family and humanity enabled with computer assistance prior to the encounter as well as moment of care reminders and teleprompted specific hints aimed at enhancing a patient focused balanced discussion of individual strengths and barriers to the teens goals known as a motivational interview. This is made feasible through pre-visit data collection providing relevant details to highlight as well as data to support omitting some traditional guidance areas with lower priority for the individual teen. Any conclusions coming from PCP recommendations and shared decision making is reinforced by a computer-based, always available chatbot guided by artificial intelligence that serves as a bridge to other helping professionals, strengths building resources, as well as conversations based on proven mental health therapies based on earlier pilot data for reducing depressive symptoms. These innovations will be tested via a cluster randomized control trial, demonstrating whether use of the system results in higher rates of screening, reductions in depressive symptoms, and accessing of evidence-based treatment for teen depression. Use of the system is reinforced by engagement of primary doctors and child psychiatrists in a related quality improvement program with data from their participation providing needed feedback for recertification of professional status requirements of their respective specialty boards. Success of the system would mean a new primary care workflow-friendly tool which could help adolescents avoid the significant functional impairment and increased risks that accompany teen depression. If this new paradigm for adolescent health supervision proves useful for depression, adaptations for other teen challenges might also be promising.

Public Health Relevance Statement:
Approximately 12.5% of U.S. 12-17 year olds had at least one major depressive episode in the past year 30. Yet, up to 70% of teens with mental health (MH) care needs do not receive necessary care.3 This proposal addresses the significant public health problem of teen depression through use of a comprehensive, process-driven intervention targeting time points before, during, and after routine visits with primary care providers (PCPs) through a new module to an online clinical process support system called CHADIS.

NIH Spending Category:
Behavioral and Social Science; Brain Disorders; Clinical Research; Clinical Trials and Supportive Activities; Depression; Health Services; Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence; Mental Health; Mental Illness; Networking and Information Technology R&D (NITRD); Pediatric; Pediatric Research Initiative

Project Terms:
17 year old; Abnormal coordination; Address; Adolescent; adolescent health; Affect; Agreement; Algorithms; Appointment; Area; Artificial Intelligence; barrier to care; base; behavioral health; care coordination; care providers; Caring; chatbot; checkup examination; Child; child depression; Child Psychiatry; Childhood; Clinical; Computers; Consensus; control trial; Data; Data Collection; Depression and Suicide; Depression screen; depressive symptoms; Development; Evidence based treatment; Family; Feedback; Feeling; Focus Groups; follow-up; functional disability; Goals; Guidelines; Health; Health Professional; Healthcare; implementation strategy; Individual; Information Systems; innovation; Intervention; Intervention Trial; Interview; Knowledge; Measures; Mental Depression; Mental Health; Modality; Moods; motivational enhancement therapy; Office Visits; Online Systems; Parents; Patients; Phase; Primary Health Care; Process; programs; Psychiatrist; Public Health; Qi; Qualitative Research; Questionnaires; Randomized; Recommendation; recruit; Resources; Risk; satisfaction; screening; shared decision making; single episode major depressive disorder; skills; Specialist; Specialty Boards; Structure; success; suicidal risk; Supervision; Support System; Surveys; System; Teenagers; Testing; Texas; Text; Time; tool; Training; Visit; volunteer; Youth

Phase II

Contract Number: 4R44MH116751-02
Start Date: 7/1/2020    Completed: 6/30/2023
Phase II year
2020
(last award dollars: 2022)
Phase II Amount
$1,500,326

This proposal presents innovations to addressing teen depression during routine check-up visits through further development of an online clinical process support system called CHADIS. The primary care provider remains in the center of the process with his/her prior relationship with the family and humanity enabled with computer assistance prior to the encounter as well as moment of care reminders and teleprompted specific hints aimed at enhancing a patient focused balanced discussion of individual strengths and barriers to the teens goals known as a motivational interview. This is made feasible through pre-visit data collection providing relevant details to highlight as well as data to support omitting some traditional guidance areas with lower priority for the individual teen. Any conclusions coming from PCP recommendations and shared decision making is reinforced by a computer-based, always available chatbot guided by artificial intelligence that serves as a bridge to other helping professionals, strengths building resources, as well as conversations based on proven mental health therapies based on earlier pilot data for reducing depressive symptoms. These innovations will be tested via a cluster randomized control trial, demonstrating whether use of the system results in higher rates of screening, reductions in depressive symptoms, and accessing of evidence-based treatment for teen depression. Use of the system is reinforced by engagement of primary doctors and child psychiatrists in a related quality improvement program with data from their participation providing needed feedback for recertification of professional status requirements of their respective specialty boards. Success of the system would mean a new primary care workflow-friendly tool which could help adolescents avoid the significant functional impairment and increased risks that accompany teen depression. If this new paradigm for adolescent health supervision proves useful for depression, adaptations for other teen challenges might also be promising.

Public Health Relevance Statement:
Approximately 12.5% of U.S. 12-17 year olds had at least one major depressive episode in the past year. Yet, up to 70% of teens with mental health (MH) care needs do not receive necessary care. This proposal addresses the significant public health problem of teen depression through use of a comprehensive, process-driven intervention targeting time points before, during, and after routine visits with primary care providers (PCPs) through a new module to an online clinical process support system called CHADIS.

Project Terms:
17 year old; Abnormal coordination; Address; Adolescent; adolescent health; Affect; Agreement; Algorithms; Appointment; Area; Artificial Intelligence; barrier to care; base; behavioral health; care coordination; care providers; Caring; chatbot; checkup examination; Child; child depression; Child Psychiatry; Childhood; Clinical; Computers; Consensus; control trial; Data; Data Collection; Depression and Suicide; Depression screen; depressive symptoms; Development; Evidence based treatment; Family; Feedback; Feeling; Focus Groups; follow-up; functional disability; Goals; Guidelines; Health; Health Professional; Healthcare; implementation strategy; Individual; Information Systems; innovation; Intervention; Intervention Trial; Interview; Knowledge; Measures; Mental Depression; Mental Health; Modality; Moods; motivational enhancement therapy; Office Visits; Online Systems; Parents; Patients; Phase; Primary Health Care; Process; programs; Psychiatrist; Public Health; Qi; Qualitative Research; Questionnaires; Randomized; Recommendation; recruit; Resources; Risk; satisfaction; screening; shared decision making; single episode major depressive disorder; skills; Specialist; Specialty Boards; Structure; success; suicidal risk; Supervision; Support System; Surveys; System; Teenagers; Testing; Texas; Text; Time; tool; Training; Visit; volunteer; Youth