Health agencies call for the immediate mobilization of existing interventions in response to numerous child and family mental health concerns that have arisen as result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Answering this call, this pilot study describes the rapid, full-scale change from a primarily clinic-based Parent–Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) model to a virtual service model (i.e., I-PCIT) in an academic and community-based program in Miami, Florida. First, we describe the virtual service training model our program developed and its implementation with 17 therapists ( M Age = 32.35, 88.2% female, 47.1% Hispanic) to enable our clinic to shift from providing virtual services to a small portion of the families served (29.1%) to all of the families served. Second, we examine the effect of I-PCIT on child and caregiver outcomes during the 2-month stay-at-home period between March 16, 2020, and May 16, 2020, in 86 families ( M ChildAge = 4.75, 71% Hispanic). Due to the rapid nature of the current study, all active participants were transferred to virtual services, and therefore there was no comparison or control group, and outcomes represent the most recently available scores and not treatment completion. Results reveal that I-PCIT reduced child externalizing and internalizing problems and caregiver stress, and increased parenting skills and child compliance with medium to large effects even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the study examined components of our virtual service training model associated with the greatest improvements in child and caregiver outcomes. Preliminary findings revealed that locally and collaboratively developed strategies (e.g., online communities of practice, training videos and guides) had the strongest association with child and caregiver outcomes. Implications for virtual service delivery, implementation, and practice in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed.

El virus SARS-CoV-2 causante de la enfermedad COVID-19 es altamente contagioso y debido a que la propagación nosocomial ha sido bien documentada, se han implementado directrices que incluyen el uso de elementos de pro­tección personal (EPP) con el objetivo de minimizar el riesgo de contagio en el personal de la salud. Secundario al uso continuo, repetitivo y prolongado de estos dispositivos, se pueden desencadenar procesos inflamatorios cutáneos tales como: dermatitis de contacto, prurito o urticaria por presión, o exacerbar procesos inflamatorios preexistentes como dermatitis seborreica, acné, entre otros. Por lo anterior, la Asociación Colombiana de Derma­tología y Cirugía Dermatológica (AsoColDerma), en alianza con el Hospital Universitario Centro Dermatológico Federico Lleras Acosta, como ente asesor del Gobierno colombiano, nos permitimos hacer las siguientes recomen­daciones encaminadas a reducir el riesgo de lesiones cutáneas derivadas del uso de los equipos de protección personal. Estas recomendaciones son de orientación general para la práctica clínica, y el personal de la salud las debe se­guir de forma individualizada, de acuerdo con sus necesidades y con los recursos disponibles.

Latin American countries view biosimilar agents as an effective approach to curtail health-care expenditures while maintaining the safety and efficacy profile of their branded innovator comparators. To understand the complexities of the regulatory landscape and key therapeutic issues for use of biosimilars to treat moderate to severe psoriasis in Latin America, the International Psoriasis Council convened dermatology experts from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico in October 2015 to review the definition, approval, marketing and future of biosimilars in each country and develop a consensus statement. The regulatory framework for marketing approval of biosimilars in Latin America is currently a mosaic of disparate, country-specific, regulatory review processes, rules and standards, with considerable heterogeneity in clarity and specificity. Regulations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico have undergone multiple refinements whereas Colombia is finalizing draft guidelines. Verification of the similarity in quality, safety and efficacy of biosimilars to the innovator biologic remains a key challenge for policy makers and regulatory authorities. Other key regulatory challenges include: naming of agents and traceability, pharmacovigilance, extrapolation of indications, and interchangeability and substitution. An urgent need exists for more Latin American countries to establish national psoriasis registries and to integrate their common components into a multinational psoriasis network, thereby enhancing their interpretative power and impact. A Latin American psoriasis network similar to PSONET in Europe would assist health-care providers, pharmaceutical companies, regulators and patients to fully comprehend specific products being prescribed and dispensed and to identify potential regional trends or differences in safety or outcomes.

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