ACT Together: Implementing a Web-Based Program With Brief Coaching for Parents of Children With Disabilities in Pediatric Outpatient Clinics

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the feasibility, usability, and preliminary benefits of implementing ACT Together for parents of children with disabilities in pediatric outpatient clinics. ACT Together includes six self-paced, web-based modules and brief weekly one-on-one coaching sessions led by a trained occupational therapist. The program is based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which teaches practical skills to help people handle stress and difficult thoughts or feelings while taking steps toward what matters to them.

The main questions this study aims to answer are:

• Can parents and occupational therapists complete the study activities as planned (e.g., module completion, coaching sessions, and surveys)?
• Is the program usable and acceptable/appropriate/feasible to implement in this setting?
• Do parents show improvements in mental health and coping-related outcomes after participating in the program?
• What are the experiences and perspectives of parents and therapists regarding the program?

Parents as participants will:

• Complete six self-paced web-based modules and brief weekly individual phone coaching sessions with a trained occupational therapist working in pediatric outpatient clinics.
• Complete online questionnaires before starting and after completing the program.
• Take part in one online interview about their experiences and perspectives on the program.

Occupational therapists as participants will:

• Complete therapist training materials and deliver brief individual phone coaching sessions to parent participants, including completing a post-session checklist.
• Complete brief online questionnaires before starting and after delivering the program.
• Take part in one online interview about their experiences and perspectives on the program.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Depression; Stress; Parents; Children With Disabilities
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: ACT Together

Detailed Description

Parents of children with disabilities often experience elevated psychological distress and may face barriers to accessing timely, evidence-based support. ACT Together is a research-developed program designed to support parents' coping and psychological well-being in a scalable format that can be implemented in pediatric outpatient clinic settings. This study will be a one-group, pretest-posttest mixed-methods pilot to evaluate the feasibility and implementation of ACT Together when delivered as (1) six self-paced, web-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) modules and (2) six brief phone coaching provided by occupational therapists working in pediatric outpatient clinics. All study activities will be coordinated by the University of South Florida (USF) and will be completed remotely using secure online platforms; coaching sessions will be delivered by phone.

Occupational therapists will be recruited via a study flyer and will complete an online screening process. Eligible therapists will complete electronic informed consent and baseline questionnaires and will then access therapist-specific training materials in Canvas. Parents of children with disabilities will be recruited through clinic-based flyer dissemination (e.g., posting or placing flyers at reception). Interested parents will contact the study team and will complete online screening. Eligible parents will complete electronic informed consent and baseline questionnaires and will then receive access to the parent Canvas course.

ACT Together will include six self-paced, weekly web-based ACT modules and six brief coaching sessions (approximately 15-20 minutes each) delivered after each module by a trained occupational therapist. The modules will be hosted on the USF Canvas platform. Two separate Canvas courses will be used: a parent course that includes ACT modules and activities for parents, and a therapist course that includes training materials and structured coaching guidance to support delivery of the brief coaching sessions. Coaching sessions will use structured questions and guidance developed for research purposes and are not intended as standard clinical care. Coaching sessions will be conducted by phone at a mutually agreed time between the parent and the participating occupational therapist. Occupational therapists will complete a brief session checklist in Qualtrics after each coaching session to document that required components were delivered; these checklists will be used to calculate session-level coaching fidelity.

Parents will be encouraged to complete approximately one module per week and to participate in a coaching session after each module over approximately 7-8 weeks. Both parents and occupational therapists will complete questionnaires at pretest and posttest. Parent-reported outcomes will include depressive symptoms, anxiety, perceived stress, psychological quality of life, and ACT-related processes (psychological inflexibility, cognitive fusion, and values-based engagement). Posttest implementation measures will capture perceived usability, acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility (reported separately by parents and therapists).

Both groups will complete a one-time individual interview at posttest to understand user experiences and implementation perspectives and to inform refinement of the program and study procedures. Post-program interviews will be conducted via the HIPAA-compliant version of Microsoft Teams and will be audio recorded. Interviews are expected to last approximately 40 minutes.

The Canvas course will capture program engagement metrics (e.g., logins, time spent, and module completion) and responses to in-program activities for research purposes. Occupational therapist checklists completed after each coaching session will provide implementation documentation and fidelity indicators. Feasibility indicators will include enrollment rate, retention, and adherence (completion of modules and coaching sessions).

All data will be collected electronically using university-approved secure platforms (Qualtrics, the ACT Together program hosted on USF Canvas, and HIPAA-compliant Microsoft Teams). ACT Together will not be publicly available and will be accessible only to enrolled participants using study-specific login credentials. Identifying information will be collected only as needed for study operations (e.g., communication and compensation) and will be stored separately from research data. Study data will be stored in secure, access-controlled USF systems (including USF Box), with access restricted to authorized study personnel. Only de-identified, aggregate results will be used for dissemination.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Areum Han, PhD; Phone Number: 813-396-0524; Email: areumhan@usf.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Jeremy Jenkins, MS; Phone Number: 813-396-0524; Email: jeremyjenkins@usf.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Florida
    • Tampa, Florida, United States, 33612
      • Recruiting
      • University of South Florida
      • Contact: Areum Han, PhD; Phone Number: 813-396-0524; Email: areumhan@usf.edu
      • Contact: Jeremy Jenkins, MS; Phone Number: 813-396-0524; Email: jeremyjenkins@usf.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria (Parents of children with disabilities):

1. Community-dwelling adults (aged ≥18 years) with primary caregiving responsibility for a child with disabilities (aged <18 years) who is enrolled in a participating clinic;
2. Expected to use services at the participating clinic at least once per week over the next three months;
3. Willing to learn strategies to cope with emotions and thoughts; and
4. Have access to a web-enabled device (e.g., smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop) with reliable internet access at home or in a public space (e.g., library).

Exclusion Criteria (Parents of children with disabilities):

1. Cognitive, physical, sensory impairments, or language barriers (non-English speaking) that would impede participation;
2. Suicidal intent or suicide attempt(s) within the past six months;
3. Participation in another parent support research study at the time of recruitment; or
4. More than three hospitalizations of either the parent or child within the past year, or other serious health concerns that would interfere with program engagement.

Inclusion Criteria (Occupational therapists):

1. Have three or more years of clinical experience in a pediatric setting and be willing to participate in training, program implementation, and study evaluations; and
2. Currently work in a clinic that serves at least 15 children who attend the clinic at least once per week.

Exclusion Criteria (Occupational therapists): N/A

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) group; The ACT group will complete the ACT Together program.	Behavioral: ACT Together; ACT Together includes six self-paced, weekly web-based ACT modules and six brief phone coaching sessions delivered after each module by a trained occupational therapist.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Retention	Retention will be defined as the proportion of enrolled participants who complete the post-intervention assessment.	Baseline through post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)
Web-based module completion	Web-based module completion will be defined as the number of web-based modules completed (range 0-6 modules).	Baseline through post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)
Coaching session completion	Coaching session completion will be defined as the number of coaching sessions completed (range 0-6 sessions).	Baseline through post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)
Enrollment rate	The enrollment rate will be calculated as the number of participants who consent and complete the baseline evaluation divided by the number of participants who are eligible and invited to participate in the study.	During the recruitment period (up to approximately 6 months)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Usability	Usability will be assessed using the System Usability Scale (SUS; 10 items rated 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree; total score 0-100).	Post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)
Acceptability of the program	Acceptability of the program will be assessed using the Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM). AIM includes 4 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). Mean scale scores will be calculated and reported separately for parents and therapists.	Post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)
Appropriateness of the program	Appropriateness will be assessed using the Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM). IAM includes 4 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). Mean scale scores will be calculated and reported separately for parents and therapists.	Post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)
Feasibility of the program	Feasibility of the program will be assessed using the Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM). FIM includes 4 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). Mean scale scores will be calculated and reported separately for parents and therapists.	Post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks).
Change in Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scores from baseline to post-intervention	PHQ-9 is a nine-item self-report questionnaire assessing depressive symptoms over the past two weeks, rated from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day). Total scores range from 0 to 27, with higher scores indicating greater severity of depressive symptoms.	Baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)
Change in Generalized Anxiety Disorder -7 (GAD-7) scores from baseline to post-intervention	GAD-7 is a seven-item self-report questionnaire assessing anxiety symptoms over the past two weeks, rated from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day). Total scores range from 0 to 21, with higher scores reflecting greater anxiety symptoms.	Baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)
Change in Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10) scores from baseline to post-intervention	PSS-10 is a 10-item questionnaire assessing perceived stress. Items are rated from 0 to 4. Total scores range from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater perceived stress.	Baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)
Change in World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) Psychological Health domain scores from baseline to post-intervention	The WHOQOL-BREF Psychological Health domain includes 6 items rated from 1 to 5. Domain scores will be calculated and reported as transformed scores on a 0-100 scale, with higher scores indicating better psychological quality of life.	Baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)
Change in Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire-7 (CFQ-7) scores from baseline to post-intervention	CFQ-7 is a 7-item self-report questionnaire measuring cognitive fusion. Items are rated from 1 to 7. Total scores range from 7 to 49, with higher scores indicating a higher degree of cognitive fusion.	Baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)
Change in Engaged Living Scale-9 (ELS-9) scores from baseline to post-intervention	ELS-9 is a 9-item self-assessment instrument measuring clarity and engagement with personal values. Items are rated from 1 to 5. Total scores range from 9 to 45, with higher scores indicating increased clarity and engagement with personal values.	Baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)
Change in Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (BEAQ) scores from baseline to post-intervention	BEAQ is a15-item self-report measure of experiential avoidance on a scale of 1 to 6. Total scores range from 15 to 90, with higher scores indicating greater experiential avoidance.	Baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)
Change in Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory-24 (MPFI-24) scores from baseline to post-intervention	MPFI-24 is a 24-item self-report measure of multidimensional psychological flexibility and inflexibility processes on a scale of 1 to 6. Higher subscale or composite scores indicate greater psychological flexibility or inflexibility.	Baseline to post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
User experiences	Individual interviews (~40 minutes) will be conducted via videoconference to explore experiences among parents (e.g., perceived impact, usability/access, and suggestions for improvement) and therapists (e.g., training, coaching session delivery, and suggestions for improvement).	Post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)
Coaching session fidelity	After each coaching session, occupational therapists complete a module-specific fidelity checklist (item rating: 0 = Not completed, 1 = Partially completed, 2 = Completed). For each session, a fidelity percentage will be calculated as: (sum of item scores ÷ maximum possible score for that module) × 100. Higher percentages indicate greater fidelity to the coaching protocol.	Immediately after each coaching session, throughout the intervention period (approximately weeks 1-6) per parent participant
Participant Perceptions of Online Modules, Phone Coaching Sessions, and Training Materials	Additional questions about the online modules, phone coaching sessions, and training materials in particular (e.g., design, engagement, information quality, and fit) will be administered using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). Mean scale scores will be calculated and reported separately for parents and therapists.	Post-intervention (approximately 7-8 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of South Florida
• Collaborators: American Occupational Therapy Foundation
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Areum Han, PhD, University of South Florida

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 18, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 13, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 13, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): January 22, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 13, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 9, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; stress; feasibility; parents; internet-based intervention; implementation; depressive symptoms; Pilot Study; acceptability; web-based intervention; mixed methods; usability; children with disabilities; phone coaching; occupational therapist
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Depression
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY009450; AOTFIR24Han (Other Grant/Funding Number: American Occupational Therapy Foundation)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No