An assessment of satisfaction with ambulatory child psychiatry consultation services to primary care providers by parents of children with emotional and behavioral needs: the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project University of Massachusetts Parent Satisfaction Study

Yael Dvir, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Melodie Wenz-Gross, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Mary Jeffers-Terry, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Peter Metz, University of Massachusetts Medical School

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Copyright: © 2012 Dvir, Wenz-Gross, Jeffers-Terry and Metz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited. Link to article on publisher's website

Abstract

This study evaluated parents' experience with University of Massachusetts (UMass) Child Psychiatry Access Project (MCPAP), a consultation service to primary care providers (PCP), aimed at improving access to child psychiatry. Parent satisfaction questionnaire was sent to families referred to UMass MCPAP by their PCP, asking about their concerns leading to the referral, the satisfaction from the service provided, adequacy of the follow up plan, and outcome. Seventy-nine percent of parents agreed or strongly agreed that the services provided were offered in a timely manner. Fifty percent agreed or strongly agreed that their child's situation improved following their contact with the services. Sixty-nine percent agreed or strongly agreed that the service met their family's need. The results suggest moderate to high parental satisfaction with MCPAP model, but highlight ongoing challenges in making successful referrals for children's mental health services in the community, following MCPAP recommendations.