School-Based Development and Implementation of an Educational Toolkit

The purpose of this evidence-based change in practice is to increase knowledge and confidence among healthcare providers and teachers within a high school setting by providing an educational tool kit about behavioral disorders in children. The disorders that will be focused upon are conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and common co-morbidities of these disorders. There will be education about an appropriate childhood, evidence based mental health assessment tool that assesses childhood mental health, including how to score the tool and interpret the results. Evidence suggests that healthcare providers and teachers are not confident or knowledgeable about identification, assessment, and behavioral management of these disorders and that they are either not focused upon, or not focused upon enough within educational curriculum. After the onset of the COVID pandemic, there are significant increases of children with behavioral and conduct problems. These disorders have devasting individual, social, and economic ramifications and school-based staff play a key role in prompt identification, assessment, and treatment. The proposed project is a quality improvement project with a one group pre-post assessment with an educational PowerPoint presentation and YouTube presentation that includes prevalence, assessment, common co-existing co-morbidities, community resources and psychosocial treatment of the disorders. Also, the PowerPoint will include a tool kit with resources and appropriate mental health assessment tools that will assist the healthcare providers and teachers within a high school setting