Pilot Testing of the Pediatric Screening Inventory in the Primary Care Setting

Michelle R. Byrd

Abstract

Objective: The present study was a preliminary evaluation of a parental self-report questionnaire appropriate for the pediatric primary care setting (The Pediatric Screening Inventory; PSI). The PSI assesses three domains: parenting skills, child behavior problems, and behaviors related to medical compliance. Methods: Piloting of the PSI involved a randomized block design that assigned pediatric primary care providers (n=214 visits) to either utilize the PSI (experimental condition) or conduct assessment as usual (control condition). Three hypotheses comparing the control and experimental conditions were tested. Results: The PSI was found to statistically significantly improve rates of detection and intervention of targeted problem domains in the pediatric primary care setting, while not having any observed adverse effects on either parent or provider satisfaction. Conclusions: These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that screening and providing effective and efficient behavioral interventions in the pediatric primary care setting can lead to positive outcomes.