14-OR: Piloting a Video-Based Telehealth Intervention to Reduce Distress and Depression in Parents of Schoolagers with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D)

Parents of school-agers (5-12 years) with T1D play an important role in their child’s T1D management and may be vulnerable to T1D distress and depressive symptoms. We present pilot data from a new group-based video telehealth intervention to reduce depressive symptoms and distress in parents of youth with T1D. Currently, 40 families enrolled in the Cognitive Adaptations to Reduce Emotional Stress (CARES) intervention and 27 completed treatment (both parents participated from two families for N=29; Age = 41.1±6.7 years; Child age = 10.1±1.5 years, 48% girls). CARES uses a cognitive behavioral framework to help parents identify maladaptive thoughts and promote healthy coping through behavioral activation and mindfulness. Parents participated in weekly CARES sessions via a HIPAA-compliant video-based telehealth platform. We measured feasibility and acceptability of 12-session and 8-session versions of the CARES intervention. We used paired t-tests to assess preliminary efficacy based on pre- and post-intervention changes in parent T1D-Distress (PAID-PR) and depressive symptoms (CESD-R), and exploratory changes in child HbA1c. Parents attended 89% of the 12-version sessions (N=14) and 84% of the 8-version sessions (N=15), suggesting adequate feasibility. Parents reported satisfaction with CARES across both versions. In the 12-session version, parents noted significant reductions in CESD-R scores (p=0.046) and T1D-Distress (immediate, p=0.007; theory, p=0.004), whereas in the 8-session version parents only noted reductions in T1D-Distress (immediate, p=0.018; theory, p=0.024). For both the 12- and 8-session versions, we found no difference in child HbA1c (p=0.497 and p=0.146, respectively). Our preliminary data suggest feasibility and efficacy for using video-based telehealth to deliver a group-based intervention to reduce parent distress, but only our 12-session version achieved a significant reduction in parent depression.