Tics are unwanted, repetitive movements and sounds that frequently present during childhood. They are typically brief and purposeless, but can create significant distress for individuals, and often co-occur with other neuropsychiatric conditions. Thus, early identification of tics is warranted. Unfortunately, tics are often misdiagnosed, and because tics may wax and wane, identification can be difficult, especially in the context of routine clinical visits. There are limited tools that can be used to reliably identify tics in clinical practice, especially in non-specialty settings. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the performance of the Motor tic, Obsession and compulsion, and Vocal tic Evaluation Survey (MOVES), a self-report scale with some support as a screening tool. In addition, the performance of a subset of questions (the MOVES-6) was evaluated for rapid screening. Participants were recruited across two study sites and included children and adolescents diagnosed with Tourette syndrome (n = 151) or another persistent tic disorder (n = 10) and community controls (n = 74). Results suggest both the MOVES and the MOVES-6 have high sensitivity (90% and 88%, respectively) and at least acceptable specificity (77% and 86%, respectively) compared with expert assessment of tic disorders, suggesting that both versions can identify tic disorders without high proportions of false negatives. Both versions were highly sensitive with acceptable specificity regardless of sex, race/ethnicity, and age. The MOVES and MOVES-6 show promise as a screener for tics or tic disorders, but additional research is needed, particularly in a general population setting.
Engaging caregivers in their children's mental health treatment is critical for delivering high quality, evidence-based care, particularly for young children with externalizing behaviors. Lay health workers (LHWs), including peer providers and promotoras de salud, have been identified as important workforces in addressing structural and stigma-related barriers to engagement in mental health services. Importantly, research has suggested that LHWs may be integral in efforts to address engagement disparities in evidence-based behavioral parent training programs (BPTs) for Latinx caregivers. The purpose of the study was to understand how different LHW workforces engage caregivers within their usual services, in order to inform strategies that improve access to and engagement in BPTs. Qualitative interviews were conducted with two different LHW workforces: volunteer LHWs (i.e., promotoras de salud) (n = 14), who were part of a community-embedded network, and paid LHWs (i.e., parent support partners, home visitors) (n = 9) embedded within children's mental health agencies. Participants were predominately Latinx (79%) and female (96%). Qualitative analyses revealed three primary themes related to engagement strategies used by LHWs to address barriers to care: 1.) Building Trust, 2.) Empowerment, 3.) Increasing Access. Although the majority of themes and sub-themes were consistent across the two LHW workforces, agency-embedded LHWs often discussed having the means to provide resources through their organizations, whereas community-embedded LHWs discussed acting as a bridge to services by providing information and conducting outreach. Findings have implications for partnering with different workforces of LHWs to increase equity in access to BPTs.