Text-message support for parents after their child's psychiatric emergency
Developing and testing a text-messaging intervention to support parents after their child's psychiatric emergency
Automated, supportive text messages will help parents of children discharged from the emergency department after a psychiatric crisis connect with follow-up care and manage caregiving stress.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Vanderbilt University Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11262910 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would receive an 8-week series of automated text messages designed to teach basic mental health information and boost your confidence caring for your child after an ED visit. The messages are being developed with parent input and refined over time to be clear and useful. The program aims to help families get linked to outpatient mental health services and reduce repeat emergency visits. Researchers will pilot the messages and measure whether parents find them helpful and whether they affect care follow-up.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Parents or primary caregivers of children or adolescents recently discharged home from an emergency department following a psychiatric crisis.
Not a fit: Families without regular access to a mobile phone or phone service, parents who are not the child’s primary caregiver, or children who remain hospitalized rather than discharged are unlikely to benefit from this texting program.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: This could help parents feel more prepared and speed their child's connection to outpatient mental health care, which might lower the chance of repeat ED visits.
How similar studies have performed: Brief in-ED interventions for youth have shown promise and text-message supports have improved engagement in other health areas, but automated parent-focused texting after pediatric psychiatric ED visits is largely untested.
Where this research is happening
Nashville, United States
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center — Nashville, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Benningfield, Margaret Mccullough — Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Benningfield, Margaret Mccullough
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.