Health Technology/clinical-trials

Phase III Effectiveness Trial: STEP-UP Telehealth vs Community Referral for Pediatric Anxiety and Depression — What Primary Care Clinicians Need to Know

247 Health News Editorial

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15 Apr 2026

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4 min read

·clinical-trials

New effectiveness trial compares STEP-UP telehealth intervention with community referral for treating anxiety and depression in youth aged 8-16 years within community health centres. Results could transform pediatric mental health delivery in primary care settings.

Originally reported by ClinicalTrials.gov

References

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  2. 2.Baumel, A., Muench, F., Edan, S., & Kane, J. M. (2017). Objective user engagement with mental health apps: systematic search and panel-based usage analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(9), e7891. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.8850
  3. 3.Becker, K. D., Lee, B. R., Daleiden, E. L., Lindsey, M., Brandt, N. E., & Chorpita, B. F. (2015). The common elements of engagement in children's mental health services: which elements for which outcomes? Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 44(1), 30-43. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2013.814543
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  5. 5.Cummings, J. R., Wen, H., Ko, M., & Druss, B. G. (2014). Race/ethnicity and geographic access to Medicaid substance use disorder treatment facilities in the United States. JAMA Psychiatry, 71(2), 190-196. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.3575
  6. 6.Ehrenreich-May, J., Kennedy, S. M., Sherman, J. A., Bilek, E. L., Buzzella, B. A., Bennett, S. M., & Barlow, D. H. (2018). Unified protocols for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders in children and adolescents. Guilford Publications.
  7. 7.Gopalan, G., Goldstein, L., Klingenstein, K., Sicher, C., Blake, C., & McKay, M. M. (2010). Engaging families into child mental health treatment: updates and special considerations. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 19(3), 182-196.
  8. 8.Merikangas, K. R., He, J. P., Burstein, M., Swanson, S. A., Avenevoli, S., Cui, L., ... & Swendsen, J. (2010). Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in US adolescents: results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication–Adolescent Supplement. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(10), 980-989. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2010.05.017
  9. 9.San Diego State University. (2024). Behavioral Telehealth in Low-resource Primary Care Settings for Anxiety and Depression in Youth: A Randomized Effectiveness-implementation Study. ClinicalTrials.gov. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06273982
  10. 10.Weersing, V. R., Jeffreys, M., Do, M. C. T., Schwartz, K. T., & Bolano, C. (2017). Evidence base update of psychosocial treatments for child and adolescent depression. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 46(1), 11-43. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2016.1220310
  11. 11.Whitney, D. G., & Peterson, M. D. (2019). US national and state-level prevalence of mental health disorders and disparities of mental health care use in children. JAMA Pediatrics, 173(4), 389-391. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.5399
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247 Health News Editorial

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