Rheanna Platt

• MD, MPH
• Professor (Assistant) at Johns Hopkins Medicine

Background Immigrant Latinas (who are foreign-born but now reside in the USA) are at greater risk for developing postpartum depression than the general perinatal population, but many face barriers to treatment. To address these barriers, we adapted the Mothers and Babies Course—an evidence-based intervention for postpartum depression prevention—to...

Standard models of well-child care may not sufficiently address preventive health needs of immigrant families. To augment standard individual well-child care, we developed a virtual group-based psychoeducational intervention, designed to be delivered in Spanish as a single, stand-alone session to female caregivers of 0–6 month-olds. The interventio...

Interventions to meet the mental health needs of women suffering from perinatal depression or anxiety are limited, particularly those that are culturally and linguistically appropriate. The development and implementation of culturally sensitive interventions are necessary for increasing treatment engagement and effectiveness, as well as promoting t...

Background Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) is a public health framework for addressing adolescent substance use. Implementation of SBIRT in schools carries the potential to improve substance use treatment access and service acceptance for students, but faces barriers related to knowledge deficits, low comfort, and l...

Background: Implementation of evidence-based interventions to reduce depression among uninsured Latinx patients who are at high risk of depression are rare. Objectives: Our goal was to evaluate Strong Minds, a language and culturally tailored, evidence-based intervention adapted from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for mild-moderate depressio...

Introduction: Latinx immigrant-origin youth (IOY) have unique risks for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. It has been suggested that these risks should be addressed from an ecological perspective, addressing cultural and family context as well as structural and systemic barriers to prevention. This study sought to explore perspectives of immigrant-...

Background: Immigrant Latinas are at higher risk for postpartum depression (PPD) than the general perinatal population, yet face numerous barriers to accessing mental health services. The goal of this study was to pilot an enhanced, virtual group delivery of a PPD prevention program, Mothers and Babies (MB), among immigrant Latinas engaged in earl...

To assess mental health-related stigma in an emerging Latino immigrant community and explore demographic characteristics associated with stigma. We surveyed 367 Spanish-speaking Latino adults recruited at community-based venues in Baltimore, Maryland. The survey included sociodemographic questions, the Depression Knowledge Measure, Personal Stigma...

Objective To use scoping review methods to construct a conceptual framework based on current evidence of group well-child care to guide future practice and research. Methods We conducted a scoping review using Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) six stages. We used constructs from the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research and the quadruple a...

There is tremendous need for brief and supported, non-commercial youth- and caregiver-report questionnaires of youth anxiety. The pediatric and parent proxy short forms of the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement System (PROMIS) Anxiety scale (8a v2.0) are free, brief, publicly accessible measures of youth- and caregiver-reported anxiety in childre...

We sought to describe processes of psychosocial screening and discussion with immigrant Latino families in the context of group well-child care. We conducted longitudinal direct observations of the 1-, 2-, 4-, and 6-month visits of 7 group well-child care cohorts at an academic pediatric clinic using unstructured observations of visit and group pro...

Introduction: Group well-child care (GWCC) is an alternative to traditional pediatric well-child care designed to increase parental social support and peer learning. This mixed methods study explored the adaptation and implementation of GWCC to a virtual format during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 pandemic) among Spanish-speaking Latino immigr...

Objectives Federal hemp legalization and ongoing shifts in US marijuana laws have led to increased population-wide use of cannabidiol (CBD) supplements, often without the knowledge of primary healthcare providers (PCPs). Given the potential risks related to CBD use, especially in vulnerable subgroups, improved communication is warranted. This study...

Objective: Group Well-Child Care (GWCC) has been described as providing an opportunity to enhance well-being for vulnerable families experiencing psychosocial challenges. We sought to explore benefits and challenges to the identification and management of psychosocial concerns in Group Well-Child Care (GWCC) with immigrant Latino families. Methods:...

Objectives Nearly 50% of children with a mental health concern do not receive treatment. Child Psychiatry Access Programs like Behavioral Health Integration in Pediatric Primary Care (BHIPP) address regional shortages of mental health treatment access by providing training and consultation to primary care providers (PCPs) in managing mental health...

Objective This article describes survey results from child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) fellowship program directors regarding attitudes of their programs’ capacity to effectively educate fellows on the social determinants of mental health and program directors’ perceived importance of doing so.MethodsA survey asking about six topics within the...

Few studies have examined the association between maternal and youth mental health among US Latinos, or its variation by nativity, country of origin, ethnic subgroup, and time in the mainland US. Using 2007–2014 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data linking Latino youth (N = 15,686 aged 5–17 years) and their mothers, we estimated multivariate model...

There have been increases in adolescent depression and suicidal behaviour over the last two decades that coincide with the advent of social media (SM) (platforms that allow communication via digital media), which is widely used among adolescents. This scoping review examined the bi-directional association between the use of SM, specifically social...

Background: As an alternative to co-located integrated care, off-site integration (partnerships between primary care and non-embedded specialty mental health providers) can address the growing need for pediatric mental health services. Our goal is to review the existing literature on implementing off-site pediatric integrated care. Methods: We s...

Several studies have demonstrated clinical benefits of integrated care for a range of child and adolescent mental health outcomes. However, there is a significant gap between the evidence for efficacy of integrated care interventions vs their implementation in practice. While several studies have examined large-scale implementation of co-located in...

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: We propose to adapt a curriculum for group well-child care in order to (1) improve the experience of care for Latino immigrant families, (2) better address maternal psychosocial concerns impacting parenting and (3) teach parenting practices that promote healthy behaviors, and (4) improve LEP parent health literacy, engagem...

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: (1) To assess the prevalence of mental health symptomatology (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, PTSD symptoms, and problematic alcohol use) and psychosocial risk factors for mental health disorders (low social support, immigration stress, acculturation, and marital/partner discord), and their association with immigrat...

Given the gap in child psychiatric services available to meet existing pediatric behavioral health needs, children and families are increasingly seeking behavioral health services from their primary care clinicians (PCCs). However, many pediatricians report not feeling adequately trained to meet these needs. As a result, child psychiatric access pr...

Latino children in the United States, whether immigrants themselves or children in immigrant families, are at high risk for mental health disorders stemming from poverty, exposure to trauma, assimilation stressors, and discrimination. The timely identification and treatment of mental health disorders in Latino children are compromised by limited he...

Maternal depression is associated with an array of poor child health outcomes, and low-income women face many barriers to accessing treatment. In this pilot study, we assessed treatment engagement in a maternal mental health clinic staffed by a case manager and psychiatrist in an urban pediatric practice. We also examined factors associated with en...

Depression is one of the most debilitating chronic disorders in the U.S., affecting 15 million children in homes with depressed mothers, many of whom endure household chaos, inconsistent nurturing, inadequate safety practices, and harsh discipline. Depressed mothers are under diagnosed and undertreated, yet there is broad consensus about the import...

While a number of factors have been linked with excessive anxiety (e.g., parenting, child temperament), the impact of stressful life events remains under-studied. Moreover, much of this literature has examined bivariate associations rather than testing more complex theoretical models. The current study extends the literature on life events and chil...

To describe the Health Begins at Home (HBH) intervention and examine pediatric resident change in knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported behaviors after the HBH intervention. A prospective mixed-methods cohort study was conducted in 2 outpatient clinics at an urban academic pediatric residency program. Residents serving as primary care providers (...

Now from the AAP! Adolescent Medicine: State of the Art Reviews (formerly Adolescent Medicine Clinics) is the official publication of the AAP Section on Adolescent Health. This widely respected resource continues to deliver practice-focused, useful information you won't see anywhere else. Topics in Evaluation and Management include: Introduction to...

Up to one quarter of US adolescents are thought to have mental health problems, a proportion that seems to be increasing. Only a minority of these adolescents reportedly receive treatment, but of those who do, for many it is in the context of primary care. This article addresses 4 challenges commonly encountered by primary care providers who treat...

Proteases are now firmly established as major regulators of the "execution" phase of apoptosis. Here, we examine the role of proteases and their relationship to ceramide, a proposed mediator of apoptosis, in the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)-induced pathway of cell death. Ceramide induced activation of prICE, the protease that cleaves the...