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February 2004 - Issue 8

Family Help Update

Family Help Program: Bringing Health Home

Now Servicing Halifax Regional Municipality

We are very pleased to announce the expansion of The Family Help Research Program to include the Capital Health District.

Come join us at 11am on March 3rd, 2004 in the IWK Health Centre's Parker Reception Room, where Family Help will formally announce our expansion to include the Halifax Regional Municipality.

The Family Help Team


Front (L-R) Patricia Pottie, Dr. Patrick McGrath, Heather Robertson;
Middle(L-R) Clarie Reinhardt, Sasha Porter, Reva Bond, Linnet Finley, Angela Mailman, Elizabeth Coffin;
Back(L-R) Andrew Clarke, Sonya Melnyk, Savvas Boukistianos, Teresa Janz, Christine Sherren, Shamus Peveril.

How Family Help Works

Family Help Program is a distance treatment research service developed to provide up-to-date, evidence-based primary care for families whose children has mild to moderate problems not currently being treated in mental health services.

* Treatment is delivered via educational (self-help) handbooks and videos.
* Once-a-week telephone contact with a trained coach who reinforces information outlined in the materials

Advantages

  • Direct physician access.
  • 1-page fax referral.
  • Process time: 2-3 days.
  • Early intervention focus.
  • Bridges gap between physician and specialist
  • Families receive
    • Help from a distance
    • Privacy by learning at home
    • Convenient call times
    • Consistent, evidence-based care
  • Free treatment
    • No need for travel
    • No time off work
    • Materials free
    • Toll-free access

Randomized trials are underway!

The randomization phase for the Enuresis, Behavioral problems (ADHD/DBD) and Anxiety modules of the Family Help Program is underway! This means that Family Help will compare different treatment groups by randomly selecting families so that they have equal chance of receiving one treatment or another i.e. standard treatment or Family Help treatment. For all children referred for these modules, this means that:
  • 50% of the participants will be randomly selected to be referred back to their family physician for standard treatment
  • The remaining 50% of referred participants will commence Family Help treatment
  • Family Help will perform assessments with the standard care group at regular intervals
  • If at any point the problem has become too severe, the family doctor will be notified
  • At the end of the 12 month period, if it is determined that children who received standard care could benefit from Family Help, treatment will be offered

    Note to physicians: You will receive written notification when the Pain Module randomized trial commences.

    • Recurrent Headache and Abdominal Pain

    The Family Help program offers treatment for recurrent headache and abdominal pain to children between the ages of 9 and16 years. Headaches may be tension type or migraine. It has been found that children who suffer from pain are at a higher risk for anxiety and depression.

    The staff at Family Help, in consultation with professionals in the area of pediatric pain, have designed a treatment program that uses stress management for the treatment of recurrent pain. This treatment approach includes relaxation techniques and cognitive therapy.

    Families enrolled in this program receive a treatment package, which includes a manual for the parent and child, a video and a pain diary.

    Coaching sessions are done with the child and parent to reinforce the material they have read. Education on the use of over the counter medicine to treat headaches is stressed, while dietary counseling to increase fiber is discussed for recurrent abdominal pain.

    Participants in the pain program find the information very useful not only in the treatment of recurrent pain but also in the prevention of pain by identifying life stressors. We look forward to enrolling more participants into the pain program.

    Physicians: Help us to Help your Patients

    If you are a physician within Health Districts 4, 5, 6 or Capital Health, and you would like to receive the Family Help referral binder to be able to refer patients to Family Help, please contact Trish Pottie, Program Manager at 1-866-470-7111. We would be happy to provide you with all the information and materials that you will need.

    To date, we have recruited approximately 140 family physicians and pediatricians from Nova Scotia District Health Authorities 4, 5, and 6 to collaborate with our program, and there are already physicians from the Capital Health District who have expressed interest as well.

    Fax Your Referrals to 1-866-470-7222

    New Projects: Postpartum Depression

    MOM - Managing Our Mood: Help for women with postpartum depression

    A new and exciting distance treatment program is currently being developed for women with postpartum depression. This program has been named "MOM"- Managing Our Mood: Help for women with postpartum depression. It is our hope that this much needed program will soon be entering the pilot phase.

    Postpartum depression has a significant prevalence among women. It has been found to occur in approximately 10-15% of women in the general population and is often not diagnosed or treated. This has had a substantial impact on women, children, families and society.

    MOM will follow the same general model as the other Family Help modules. It will include manuals, videos and coaching sessions with a trained coach to support participants and reinforce the material.

    The treatment in the MOM program is based on a model of cognitive behavioral therapy, which combines education, changing thinking patterns and changing behaviour to overcome depression.

    To ensure the success of the MOM program we have formed a strong partnership with Public Health Services in Health Districts 4, 5 & 6. Collectively, the Health Districts have formed an advisory committee and will play an active and integral role in devising the treatment and recruiting women to be screened for treatment. Once the pilot has been launched we will be recruiting participants in Health Districts 4, 5 & 6. This project is being funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

    For more questions about the MOM program please contact us toll-free: 1-866-470-7111 option 3 (from the main menu). We'll be happy to hear from you!

    Thank you for your help!

    We wish to extend our sincere gratitude to the families and referral physicians for their continued support of the program.

    Contact Family Help

    BY MAIL:

    Trish Pottie, Program Manager
    IWK Health Centre
    8th floor, Pediatric Pain Research Lab
    5850 University Avenue
    Halifax, N.S. B3J 3G9

    TOLL-FREE PHONE:

    1-866-470-7111

    TOLL-FREE FAX:

    1-866-470-7222

    E-MAIL:

    Family.help.info@dal.ca
    The Family Help Team:

    Principal Investigators: Patrick McGrath, IWK/Dalhousie University * Cathy MacLean, Dalhousie University * Carolyn Watters, Dalhousie University * Catherine Thurston Cumberland District Health Authority 5

    Staff: Patricia Pottie, Program Manager * Heather Robertson, Psychologist, Candidate Register * Liz Coffin, Web Development Coordinator * Kirstie Hawkey, Web Development Consultant * Teresa Janz, Web Programmer * Sasha Porter, Research Assistant * Angela Mailman, Coach * Sonya Melnyk, Coach * Andrew Clarke, Coach * Christine Sherren, Coach * Claire Reinhardt, Secretary * Shamus Peveril, Co-op Student * Savvas Boukistianos, Co-op Student