Telehealth delivery of GenerationPMTO in the public mental health system: A pragmatic, noninferiority study

Abstract

Telehealth is a promising means for expanding access to mental health treatment. Yet, more research is needed to ensure that telehealth service delivery is no less effective than in‐person treatment in real‐world service delivery contexts. In the current study, we compared telehealth delivery of the GenerationPMTO parenting intervention to in‐person delivery in the context of the public mental health system. Using a noninferiority approach with a sample of n = 1452 caregivers, we found telehealth delivery to be noninferior to in‐person delivery on all caregiver outcomes: parenting practices, parenting confidence, and caregiver depressive symptoms. We were unable to conclude that telehealth delivery was noninferior to in‐person delivery for child behavior problems. Our findings add to the literature suggesting the utility of using telehealth to provide services to families—particularly for delivering evidence‐based parenting interventions to enhance caregiver outcomes. Implications for couple and family therapy are discussed.