The Vermont Family Based Approach in Primary Care Pediatrics: Effects on Children’s and Parents’ Emotional and Behavioral Problems and Parents’ Health-Related Quality of Life

This randomized controlled trial tested the Vermont Family Based Approach (VFBA) in primary care pediatrics. The VFBA is a model of healthcare delivery that shifts the focus from the individual to the family, emphasizes emotional and behavioral health, and uses evidence-based health promotion/prevention along with the treatment of emotional and behavioral problems. Participants were 81 families of 3–15-year-olds. For children, the VFBA was associated with greater reductions than the Control condition on the Child Behavior Checklist Emotionally Reactive, Withdrawn, Sleep Problems, Aggressive Behavior and Total Problems scales. For parents, the VFBA was associated with greater reductions than the Control condition on the Adult Self-Report Anxious/Depressed, Rule-Breaking Behavior, Internalizing Problems and Total Problems scales. The VFBA was also associated with greater improvement than the Control condition in the parents’ health-related quality of life, as indicated by all scales of the Medical Outcomes Study Health Survey.