47.9 SEXUAL HEALTH IN CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY: MULTISITE IMPLEMENTATION THROUGH SYNCHRONIZED VIDEOCONFERENCING OF AN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE USING STANDARDIZED PATIENTS

Abstract

Objectives Matters of sexuality and sexual health are common in the practice of child and adolescent psychiatry, yet clinicians can feel ill-equipped to address them with confidence. To address this gap in training and practice, we developed and implemented an educational module enhanced by videotaped depictions of clinicians interacting with standardized patients (SPs). Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we used synchronous videoconferencing, which allowed content dissemination to several training programs across the country. Methods We developed scripts highlighting common issues of sexuality relevant to child and adolescent psychiatrists, including psychotropic-related side effects and sexuality in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We made digital recordings of 2 clinicians interacting with 3 SPs, yielding 5 video clips with a cumulative running time of 18 minutes. The clips were interspersed during a 90-minute session comprising didactic and interactive components delivered through the synchronous videoconferencing platform Zoom. Results Through the AACAP Alliance for Learning Innovation (AALI), we recruited 15 child and adolescent psychiatry programs to participate. In the first of 2 planned sessions, 86 participants provided consent and completed a baseline assessment. The follow-up assessment for that group is scheduled to take place 1 week after this abstract’s submission deadline; a second session, anticipated to double the overall sample size, is scheduled in late June. By the time of final poster submission, we will report findings on skills, attitudes, and knowledge before and after the teaching intervention. Conclusions A sexual health curriculum enriched by videotaped examples can lead to measurable improvement in outcomes pertinent to the clinical practice of child and adolescent psychiatrists. These educational materials are available for distribution, use, and adaptation by local instructors. Our study also provides proof of principle for the use of multisite educational initiatives through synchronized videoconferencing. SEX, SD, REST