TY - JOUR
AU - A. Blais
AU - A. L. Holahan
AU - A. Helleman
AU - K. Pajer
AU - C. Honeywell
AU - R. Salehi
AU - P. Anderson
AU - M. Vasserman
A1 - 
AB - OBJECTIVE: Precision child and youth mental healthcare has great potential to improve treatment success by tailoring interventions to individual needs. An innovative care pathway in a pediatric mental health outpatient clinic was designed to allow for neuropsychology data to be integrated in psychotherapeutic care. This paper describes the feasibility of this new pathway, including implementation outcomes, acceptability, and potential for future integration. METHOD: The target population was outpatients 6-17 years old referred for individual treatment to a tertiary outpatient mental health (OPMH) clinic. The new care pathway was co-developed by neuropsychologists and mental health practitioners. A logic model was created to guide the evaluation, which was informed by the Reach Effectiveness Adoption Implementation Maintenance framework. As part of the logic model, a stepped assessment protocol was implemented, and reports on neuropsychological function were shared with patients, caregivers, and care providers. Evaluation data were collected from phone surveys, questionnaires, a focus group, and administrative records. RESULTS: Forty-two patients scheduled to receive therapy over a 6-month period were offered the opportunity to participate in the new care pathway and 39 (93%) agreed. Self-reported outcome data showed that 83% of patients and 94% of caregivers valued neuropsychology-informed care, with some describing it as transformative. Almost all practitioners (91%) reported that the project added value to their clinical care. There were no adverse effects on participants nor the flow of patients through the system. CONCLUSIONS: Neuropsychology-informed pediatric OPMH care was feasible and well-received. Clinical effectiveness should be studied in an experimental trial.
AD - Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.; Mental Health Neuropsychology Program, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, ON, Canada.; Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.; Vitus Consulting, Toronto, ON, Canada.; Neuropsychology Service, Alberta Children's Hospital, Calgary, AB, Canada.; Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.; Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Calgary, AB, Canada.
AN - 39348851
BT - Arch Clin Neuropsychol
C5 - Healthcare Disparities
CP - 3
DA - Apr 27
DO - 10.1093/arclin/acae087
DP - NLM
IS - 3
JF - Arch Clin Neuropsychol
LA - eng
N2 - OBJECTIVE: Precision child and youth mental healthcare has great potential to improve treatment success by tailoring interventions to individual needs. An innovative care pathway in a pediatric mental health outpatient clinic was designed to allow for neuropsychology data to be integrated in psychotherapeutic care. This paper describes the feasibility of this new pathway, including implementation outcomes, acceptability, and potential for future integration. METHOD: The target population was outpatients 6-17 years old referred for individual treatment to a tertiary outpatient mental health (OPMH) clinic. The new care pathway was co-developed by neuropsychologists and mental health practitioners. A logic model was created to guide the evaluation, which was informed by the Reach Effectiveness Adoption Implementation Maintenance framework. As part of the logic model, a stepped assessment protocol was implemented, and reports on neuropsychological function were shared with patients, caregivers, and care providers. Evaluation data were collected from phone surveys, questionnaires, a focus group, and administrative records. RESULTS: Forty-two patients scheduled to receive therapy over a 6-month period were offered the opportunity to participate in the new care pathway and 39 (93%) agreed. Self-reported outcome data showed that 83% of patients and 94% of caregivers valued neuropsychology-informed care, with some describing it as transformative. Almost all practitioners (91%) reported that the project added value to their clinical care. There were no adverse effects on participants nor the flow of patients through the system. CONCLUSIONS: Neuropsychology-informed pediatric OPMH care was feasible and well-received. Clinical effectiveness should be studied in an experimental trial.
PY - 2025
SN - 0887-6177
SP - 394
EP - 408+
ST - Using Neuropsychological Profiling to Tailor Mental Health Care for Children and Youth: a Quality Improvement Project to Measure Feasibility
T1 - Using Neuropsychological Profiling to Tailor Mental Health Care for Children and Youth: a Quality Improvement Project to Measure Feasibility
T2 - Arch Clin Neuropsychol
TI - Using Neuropsychological Profiling to Tailor Mental Health Care for Children and Youth: a Quality Improvement Project to Measure Feasibility
U1 - Healthcare Disparities
U3 - 10.1093/arclin/acae087
VL - 40
VO - 0887-6177
Y1 - 2025
ER -