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- Title
The effect of the Roots of Empathy program on the use of psychotropic medications among youth in Manitoba.
- Authors
Dahl, L.; Chartier, M.; Fransoo, R.; Tefft, B.
- Abstract
Introduction: The Roots of Empathy (ROE) program was piloted in Manitoba schools during 2001 and has been implemented every year since to interested public, band-operated and private school divisions and communities. The aim of the program is to strengthen essential social skills through empathy development in children from kindergarten to Grade 8. Research has demonstrated the program's ability to effectively achieve these objectives; however, more distal and unintended outcomes of the program have not been studied. The program may improve mental health and has the potential, therefore, to decrease the use of psychotropic medications in youth. Objectives: The objective of this study is to determine if the Manitoba Roots of Empathy program is reducing the risk of youth being dispensed psychotropic medication if they participated in the program as children. Methods: This study uses administrative health, education and social service records for youth in Manitoba to estimate the effect of the ROE program on future psychotropic medication use. Children who participated in ROE between the 2002/03 and 2012/13 school years were matched to children who did not receive ROE through a combination of hard matching on key variables and propensity score matching approaches. Only children who were not dispensed a psychotropic medication in the year prior to the start of followup were eligible for study. Incomplete 10:1 matching without replacement resulted in 16 815 children in the control group and 5563 children in the ROE group. Youth from both groups will be followed from the conclusion of their ROE program for the first occurrence of being dispensed a medication from five subclasses of psychotropic medications: (1) antidepressants, (2) anxiolytics, (3) psychostimulants, (4) antipsychotics, and (5) hypnotics and sedatives. Kaplan-Meier survivor curves and Cox proportional regression models will be used to compare and describe the survival experience between the two groups. Analyses will be conducted on a composite outcome for being dispensed any psychotropic medication, as well as separate analyses for each of the subclasses of psychotropic medications. Results: The study is expected to be completed by December 2016. Conclusion: This study may provide novel insights regarding an unanticipated outcome of the ROE program that extends beyond the proximal outcomes that have established the program's success. Measuring the future use of psychotropic medications in youth may demonstrate a lasting effect of the program and its effectiveness to promote mental health among youth.
- Subjects
EMPATHY; PSYCHIATRIC drugs; SOCIAL skills; MENTAL health; SOCIAL services
- Publication
Health Promotion & Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada, 2016, Vol 36, Issue 11, p267
- ISSN
2368-738X
- Publication type
Article