(PS10-57) Examining Clinician and Family Factors Associated with Engagement with Symptom Monitoring Questionnaire for Anxious Youth and their Caregivers

Abstract Text:

Background: Tracking mental health symptoms can support clinical decision making and proactively identify and address barriers to care. We report on results of ongoing symptom monitoring collected in a specialty anxiety community mental health program serving a primarily Medicaid insured population. We examine rates of youth and parent questionnaire completion and client and clinician caseload characteristics associated with completion to identify how to optimize completion rates.

Methods: Eighty-nine caregivers (92% female) of children (Mage = 10.96, 63% Female, 33% White,14% Asian,11% Black, 15% Latine, 8% other, 20% not reported) in active anxiety specialty treatment across 11 clinicians were asked to complete electronic progress monitoring questionnaires about their child’s symptoms and functioning. Clinicians were asked to gather caregiver and youth report data over a one-month period. We examined overall completion rates and whether family demographic and clinical characteristics related to completion. We also examined whether completing questionnaires at intake related to ongoing survey completion and whether clinician caseload size related to completion rates.

Results: Sixty (68%) of eligible caregivers and 75% of youth completed questionnaires. No sociodemographic factors were related to child questionnaire completion. Caregivers who completed questionnaires had older children (Mage = 11.09) than those who did not (Mage= 10.70; p = .02), were more likely to have a child with a previous diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Completed 83%, Incomplete 16%; p =.02), and were more likely to have completed questionnaires at intake (p <.01). No other sociodemographic characteristics related to caregiver measure completion. Completion rates across clinicians ranged from 50%-100%; larger clinician caseload was correlated with lower rate of caregiver-completed questionnaires (parent r = -.84, p < .01) but not youth questionnaires.

Conclusion: Most caregivers and youth completed progress monitoring questionnaires with few sociodemographic differences between completers and non-completers. Notably, caregiver measure completion at intake related to higher caregiver completion rates; clinician higher caseload was related to lower caregiver completion rates. Results highlight the importance of organizational culture in supporting progress monitoring data collection. This might include routine progress monitoring beginning at intake, designated session time for survey completion, and organizational support in collecting survey results from caregivers, particularly for clinicians with higher caseloads.