Development and Examination of a Trainee-Led ECHO Autism Network for Rural Healthcare Providers

ABSTRACT

Rural healthcare providers face numerous challenges in caring for autistic individuals. Some of the most common obstacles to optimal services include lack of specialized training and expertise, resources, and collaborators, as well as large physical distances between providers and those they serve, region-specific cultural factors, and others. Recent methodologies, such as Extensions for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO), use videoconferencing technology to connect subject-matter experts with community providers to remediate disparities in 1) provider access to knowledge and consultation relevant to evidence-based practices (EBP) and, thereby, 2) patient access to quality care. Despite such advances, few projects have targeted rural communities in the same geographic area as network personnel. Additionally, to date, ECHO networks have been staffed with senior personnel, who have provided their experience and expertise to attendees. We, a multidisciplinary group of trainees and faculty, developed and piloted an ECHO Autism network for healthcare providers across the rural Western United States. In preparation for the launch of this network, trainees polled prospective participants regarding their disciplines and interests. Then, ECHO sessions were developed and implemented over several months. Finally, attendees provided feedback about their experiences. We report information regarding each of these phases and initial results of the post-session feedback to assist those who desire to develop a similar network in their area, and to provide preliminary examination (i.e., formative evaluation) of its benefit in view of the needs of rural providers caring for autistic individuals. We posit that our trainee-led model has unique value for cost-effectiveness and sustainability of implementation.

Acknowledgments

HRSA training grant-LEND Neurodevelopmental Disabilities # T73MC00054-20-01

University of Wyoming - Wyoming Institute for Disabilities ECHO Superhub faculty and staff

Kristin Sohl for her guidance and encouragement in initiating our ECHO network

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the HRSA training grant-LEND Neurodevelopmental Disabilities [T73MC00054-20-01]; the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders [1K01DC016339-01A1].

Notes on contributors

Garrett Cardon

Garrett Cardon is an Audiologist and Assi.stant Professor of Communication Disorders and Neuroscience.

Ethan Dahl

Ethan Dahl is an Assistant professor of Education, Health, and Behavior.

Diana Maria Diaków

Diana Maria Diakow is a psychologist, researcher, linguist.

Alyssa A Neumann

Alyssa Neumann is a Pediatric Clinical Neuropsychology Fellow.

Kalley Mallone

Kalley Malone is a Special Education Teacher.

Haley Permar

Haley Permar is a Speech-Language Pathologist.

Kandice Benallie

Kandice Benallie is a Psychology.

Taylor Clark

Taylor Clark is an occupational Therapy.

Cassity Haverkamp

Cassity Haverkamp is a School Psychology.

Rebecca Lindsey

Rebecca Lindsey is a Clinical Psychology.

Sebastian Romero

Sebastian Romero is a Nursing.

Whitney Sherman

Whitney Sherman is a Special Education Specialist and BCBA.

Canyon Hardesty

Canyon Hardesty is an Associate Director of WIND, the Director of Community Education and Training, and the Director of the Wyoming Telehealth Network. She is also adjunct faculty at the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Utah, serving as public health faculty for the Utah Regional Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities.

Paul Carbone

Paul Carbone is a Medical Director of the Child Development Program within the University Developmental Assessment Clinics and primary care pediatrician within the University of Utah Neurobehavior HOME Program.

Terisa Gabrielsen

Terisa Gabrielsen is a School Psychologist and Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology and Special Education.