Funded Projects

Problem:

To appropriately serve children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), developmental disorders (DD), and behavioral health (BH) conditions, there is an urgent need to grow the workforce of subspecialists in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP), train collaborating providers, and expand relevant systems of care.

Goals and Objectives:

The Cincinnati DBP Training Program (DBPTP) seeks to develop the next generation of leaders within the field of DBP and its clinical and systems of care collaborators through a balance of clinical, community-based, leadership, and research/scholarly learning opportunities framed in an interdisciplinary, person/family-centered, and culturally responsive manner. We will build workforce capacity to evaluate and treat ASD/DD/BH related concerns by training 3-year DBP fellows, long-term (1-year) primary care trainees, and a variety of medium- and short-term trainees. All our training modalities are designed to build skills in the provision of person/family-centered, culturally responsive, interdisciplinary care that promotes equity and inclusion. To prepare trainees to deliver outstanding clinical care and to build the evidence base for ASD/DD/BH care, we provide extensive medical center- and community-based clinical practicum experiences, didactic sessions, case conferences, systems of care-related experiences, and research activities. To prepare fellows and long-term trainees for leadership roles as educators, investigators, and clinicians, we provide extensive leadership training as well as opportunities for advocacy and for serving as educators of patients, families, other trainees, and practicing professionals. Further, we provide pediatric practitioners (as well as trainees) with essential psychosocial knowledge and ASD/DD/BH-related clinical expertise by offering numerous continuing education activities that emphasize social determinants of health and Life Course Theory in addition to medical and biophysical models of health. We also provide technical assistance to strengthen systems of care for children who may have ASD/DD and their families via our extensive collaboration with agencies, committees, task forces, and organizations across local, regional, and national levels. Finally, to address the numerous health and healthcare disparities facing minoritized groups, we conduct structured activities focused on provider education in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related principles and practices; facilitating access to care for underserved urban and rural populations; and identifying and addressing care disparities in the medical center setting using quality improvement methodology.

Evaluation:

Cincinnati DBPTP's multifaceted evaluation process will lead to continuous improvement of the program through measuring program performance on stated objectives and MCH Performance Measures, tracking trainee performance during and after participation in the program, and measuring satisfaction from trainees and continuing education participants. We will disseminate project curricula, products, scholarly activity, and training approaches through publications in scholarly journals and presentations at local, state, national, and international conferences.