SBIR Phase II: A Parent Coaching App to Help Support Children's Mental, Social and Emotional Health

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响是为5-12岁儿童的养育成人提供他们所需的循证工具，以促进儿童积极的心理，社会和情感健康结果。大约有570万5-12岁的美国儿童被诊断患有精神健康状况，另有20-60%的儿童被怀疑未被诊断。尽管早期干预很重要，但只有大约20%的儿童接受了治疗。在农村地区、低收入和有色人种社区，获得保健的障碍，包括获得保健的机会和负担能力，变得更加明显。创新的智能手机解决方案可以覆盖所有背景的育儿成年人，因为美国85%的成年人拥有智能手机。该项目提供了一个创新的，负担得起的，可访问的数字育儿解决方案，由心理学家，教育工作者和发展专家建立，旨在缩小儿童心理保健公平差距，符合NSF的使命。需要优先考虑减少解决方案，使儿童有机会成长为健康的成年人。 该项目的目标是为5-12岁儿童的父母建立一个父母指导应用程序，可以根据每个孩子和父母的特定身体，心理，社会和情感需求定制它提供的内容。该应用程序核心的关键技术创新是其自适应算法，使其能够根据大量输入量身定制内容之旅。该核心技术包括算法，可为每个独特的家庭提供适合发展的内容。此外，该技术还允许应用程序检测何时需要更高级别的护理，并为父母提供寻求支持的教育。跟踪可变输入的集成算法允许内容随着时间的推移而变化，变得更加相关和有效，以满足不断变化的需求。这一阶段的研究将是纵向的，并将包括一个显着的样本量的父母成人用户，努力检查的功能和积极影响的应用程序，以及准备的应用程序的商业推出方面的可扩展性和安全性。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得的支持，通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to empower parenting adults of children ages 5-12 years with the evidence-based tools they need to promote positive mental, social, and emotional health outcomes in their children. Approximately 5.7 million U.S. children between the ages 5-12 are diagnosed with a mental health condition, with an additional 20-60% suspected of being undiagnosed. Despite the importance of early intervention, only about 20% of these children receive treatment. Barriers to care, including access and affordability, become even more glaring in rural areas and in low income and communities of color. Innovative smartphone solutions can reach parenting adults from all backgrounds, as 85% of adults in the U.S. own a smartphone. This project offers an innovative, affordable, and accessible digital parenting solution, built by psychologists, educators, and developmental specialists, that seeks to close the child mental healthcare equity gap, in line with the NSF’s mission. Reduction solutions need to be prioritized to give children a chance at growing into healthy adults. The goal of the project is to build a parent coaching app, for parenting adults of children ages 5-12 years, that can tailor the content it delivers based on the specific physical, mental, social, and emotional needs of each child and parent. The key technical innovation at the heart of the app is its adaptive algorithms, which allow it to tailor the content journey based on a myriad of inputs. This core technology includes algorithms that deliver developmentally appropriate content suited for each unique family. In addition, the technology allows the app to detect when a higher level of care is needed and provides parents with education on seeking support. Integrating algorithms that track variable input allow the content to change over time, becoming more relevant and effective for evolving needs. This phase of research will be longitudinal and will include a significant sample size of parenting adult users in an effort to examine the functionality and positive impacts of the app, as well as to prepare the app for commercial launch in terms of scalability and security.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.