From In-Person to Hybrid: Implementation outcomes of a parent training program during community-based dissemination (Preprint)

Abstract

Parent training (PT) interventions support and strengthen parenting practices and parent-child relationships and improve child behavior. Between 2017 and February 2020, a community-based parenting program conducted 38 in-person groups Chicago Parent Program (CPP) groups. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we modified the delivery of the in-person CPP to hybrid delivery using the self-administered, web-based parent training version of the CPP (ezParent) paired with periodic virtual group sessions.

To describe the delivery transition and implementation outcomes of the hybrid delivery of the CPP (ezParent+virtual group) during community-based dissemination.

This single-group, mixed methods retrospective evaluation examines the implementation outcomes using the RE-AIM framework. We report on data from hybrid ezParent delivery between September 2020 and August 2022. Parents completed pre- and post-surveys that included motivation to participate and perceived changes in parent-child behavior. Digital analytics captured ezParent completion. Facilitators completed fidelity assessments and participated in post-intervention interviews.

Twenty-four hybrid ezParent groups (n = 240 parents) were delivered by 13 CPP-trained facilitators. Parents reported high levels of satisfaction with the program and improvements in their feelings of parenting self-efficacy and their child’s behavior following their participation in hybrid ezParent. On average, parents completed 4.58 (SD=2.43) of the 6 ezParent modules. The average virtual group attendance across the 4 sessions was 71.2%. Facilitators found the hybrid delivery easy to implement and reported high parent engagement and understanding of CPP strategies.

Using the hybrid ezParent intervention is a feasible and effective way to engage parents. Lessons learned included the importance of academic and community-based organization partnerships for delivering and evaluating robust programs. Implementation facilitators and barriers and future research recommendations are discussed.

N/A