TY - JOUR
T1 - Enhancing the Capacity of School Nurses to Reduce Excessive Anxiety in Children
T2 - Development of the CALM Intervention
AU - Drake, Kelly L.
AU - Stewart, Catherine E.
AU - Muggeo, Michela A.
AU - Ginsburg, Golda S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
PY - 2015/8/1
Y1 - 2015/8/1
N2 - Problem: Excessive anxiety is among the most common psychiatric problems facing youth. Because anxious youth tend to have somatic complaints, many seek help from the school nurse. Thus, school nurses are in an ideal position to provide early intervention. This study addresses this problem and describes the plans to develop and test a new intervention (Child Anxiety Learning Modules; CALM), delivered by school nurses, to reduce child anxiety and improve academic functioning. Methods: An iterative development process including consultation with an expert panel, two open trials, and a pilot randomized controlled study comparing CALM to usual care is proposed. Feedback will be solicited from all participants during each phase and data on outcome measures will be provided by children, parents, teachers, and independent evaluators. Findings: Data will be collected on intervention satisfaction and feasibility. Primary outcomes that include child anxiety symptoms, classroom behavior, and school performance (e.g., attendance, grades, standardized test scores) will be collected at pre- and post-interventions and at a 3-month follow-up evaluation. Conclusions: Pediatric anxiety is a common problem that school nurses frequently encounter. Consequently, they are well positioned to play a key role in enhancing access to behavioral health interventions to reduce anxiety and may therefore make a significant positive public health impact.
AB - Problem: Excessive anxiety is among the most common psychiatric problems facing youth. Because anxious youth tend to have somatic complaints, many seek help from the school nurse. Thus, school nurses are in an ideal position to provide early intervention. This study addresses this problem and describes the plans to develop and test a new intervention (Child Anxiety Learning Modules; CALM), delivered by school nurses, to reduce child anxiety and improve academic functioning. Methods: An iterative development process including consultation with an expert panel, two open trials, and a pilot randomized controlled study comparing CALM to usual care is proposed. Feedback will be solicited from all participants during each phase and data on outcome measures will be provided by children, parents, teachers, and independent evaluators. Findings: Data will be collected on intervention satisfaction and feasibility. Primary outcomes that include child anxiety symptoms, classroom behavior, and school performance (e.g., attendance, grades, standardized test scores) will be collected at pre- and post-interventions and at a 3-month follow-up evaluation. Conclusions: Pediatric anxiety is a common problem that school nurses frequently encounter. Consequently, they are well positioned to play a key role in enhancing access to behavioral health interventions to reduce anxiety and may therefore make a significant positive public health impact.
KW - Child anxiety
KW - Cognitive-behavioral intervention
KW - Intervention development
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U2 - 10.1111/jcap.12115
DO - 10.1111/jcap.12115
M3 - Article
C2 - 26171792
AN - SCOPUS:84940029564
SN - 1073-6077
VL - 28
SP - 121
EP - 130
JO - Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing
JF - Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing
IS - 3
ER -