Dr. Graham Reid

Biographical Information

Selected Publications

Research

Research areas in the Reid Lab:

About 1 in every 5 children, adolescents, and adults has a clinically significant psychosocial problem (i.e., problems in the areas of cognitive/academic, behavioural, emotional, psychological, or social functioning). However, over 80% of children with psychosocial problems do not receive treatment. Without treatment, about ½ of children continue to have problems years later. We are looking at issues related to access and use of services for children with mental health problems, and new methods of treating and preventing children's psychosocial problems. Two cross-cutting themes in both research programs are: primary health care and measure development. (Click here for selected publications by topic.)

1) RESEARCH ON ACCESSING AND USING HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

a) Access to care.

This program of research focus primarily on how families access and use mental health services for children or adolescents who have mental health problems. We have studied the process of how parents attempt to access mental health services for children (Shanley, Reid, & Evans, 2008; Reid et al., 2011). In one study of families looking for mental health services for their children, we sought to a) identify where and why families were looking for help, and b) describe the treatment services parents were both offered and accepted. Kyleigh Schraeder (PhD., 2016; Schraeder & Reid, 2015) conducted a study entitled “Why wait? The effects of waiting time on subsequent help-seeking among families looking for children’s mental health services”; using survival analysis, she examined how being placed on a waitlist at a children’s mental health agency alters the probability that families will contact another agency for help. The role of family physicians in helping parents of children with psychosocial problems is also a focus in this line of studies (Reid et. al., 2011). Another project includes how individuals of all ages access care from family physicians (Reid, Freeman et al., 2009).

b) Patterns of Services Use & Transition to Adult Care

The natural history of psychopathology indicates many children will re-experience mental health problems. However, very little is known about service use over extended periods of time. Much of our recent work has focused on exploring and predicting the patterns of service use for children receiving specialized mental health care. Throughout these studies, five patterns of service use have been identified (Reid et al., forthcoming). A new project will extend our understanding of patterns of service use in children’s mental health by linking these data with health care data. This is will allow us to examine mental-health related visits within the health care sector (i.e., family physician, pediatric, psychiatrist visits) before, during, and after children receive specialized mental-health care in a community-based children’s centre.

2) PEDIATRIC SLEEP PROBLEMS

a) Parenting Children with Sleep Problems

We have developed and tested a program called: Parenting Matters: Helping parents with young children. The target population is parents of young children (age 2-5 years) seen by family physicians who have concerns about their children's sleeping and bedtime behaviours, or discipline. Treatment consists of brief self-help booklets and support from a telephone coach. A variety of issues and questions will be examined in this line of research including the effects of early intervention for children with mild levels of behaviour problems,  identifying factors that predict who will benefit from brief parenting interventions, primary care models for psychology, and ways of collaborating with family physicians. In a series of randomized clinical trials, over 550 parents were enrolled (Reid et al., 2013).

We were awarded a CIHR Sleep and Circadian Rhythms Team grant, entitled “Better Nights/Better Days: Improving Psychosocial Health Outcomes in Children with Behavioural Insomnia”. This 5-year project is developing, implementing and evaluating web-based sleep interventions for children ages 1-10 years. A randomized clinical trial testing the effectiveness of program has recently been completed. This research brings together an outstanding team of sleep researchers along with a number of important partners. For more information see the Better Nights, Better Days website.

b) Outcomes of sleep problems

Sleep problems have been related to psychopathology among children and adolescents. We examined the relation between sleep and psychopathology in a number of studies. Our Parenting Matters program examined how improvements in the sleep of preschool-age children impacted their behavior. In studies using large community-based samples, we examined the contribution of sleep problems to psychopathology in relation to known correlates of psychopathology such as parenting, family stress, and temperament (Reid, Hong, & Wade, 2009; Coulombe, Reid, Boyle, & Racine, 2010 & 2011).

Kathryn Turnbull (Ph.D. in progress) is taking the lead on a study that is examining the effects of brief sleep restriction and sleep fragmentation (analogous to night waking) on attention and working memory among preschool-age children. This experimental study of healthy children without sleep problems should help us better understand if sleep directly influences preschool children’s cognitive abilities and may help inform the definition of a clinically significant sleep problems in this age group. As a background for her dissertation, we reviewed the literature on behavioral sleep problems and their potential impact on developing executive function in children. (Turnbull, Reid, & Morton, 2013, Sleep).

CROSS CUTTING THEMES

PRIMARY HEALTH CARE

The role of primary health care and in particular family physicians is part of our work in both access to care and pediatric sleep.  In terms of pediatric sleep problems, the Parenting Matters program was specifically designed for parents seen by family physicians.  A recent thesis by Adam Newton examined where parents of 1-10 years old would seek help when, or if, their child had a sleep problem. This project included seeking help in primary care.

Our work on access and use of services always includes the role of family physicians and primary health care. An earlier study (Reid et al., 2011, Adm Policy Ment Health)  on help-seeking found, not surprisingly, that family physicians are the first professional that parents turn to when their child has a mental health problem. As noted above, we examined having access to a regular family physician for individuals of all ages (Reid, Freeman et al., 2009). Recent studies have looked at ongoing care needs for children and youth with mental health problems and the roll of family physicians (Schraeder, Brown, & Reid 2017, J Behav Health Serv Res). Our C3MH (Continuity of Care Scale for Children’s Mental Health ) has modules that assess continuity between the children’s mental health and the medical/health sectors. In a project that we are just winding down, we examined care received by family physicians, as well as pediatricians and psychiatrists, for children and youth who were also receiving services in a children’s mental health agency. Finally, our current project on equity in children’s mental health services will examine access to mental health services of all kinds for children and youth, including care by psychologists and social workers in primary health care, and care provided by family physicians.

MEASUREMENT DEVELOPMENT
As part of our work in both access to care and in other pediatric research, we have developed a number of questionnaires. We have investigated methodological issues, such as how best to ask parents about their help-seeking contacts within the mental health system (Reid, Tobon, & Shanley, 2008). Dianne Shanley (Ph.D., 2008) developed a parent-report measure that helps us understand parent-perceptions of their child’s mental health problems. She also developed the Parents’ Illness Perception Questionnaire – Children’s Mental Health (PIPQ-CMH), a modification of the Illness Perception Questionnaire – Revised (IPQ-R); this measure was used to examine the impact of parents’ illness representations on treatment acceptability for child mental health problems. 

Mor Barzel (Ph.D., 2008) examined the validity of the Coparenting Questionnaire (Margolin, 2001) and developed a diabetes-specific measure of coparenting (Barzel & Reid, 2011; Barzel & Reid, 2011). Aimee Coulombe (Ph.D., 2011) developed three measures related to night-waking among preschool-age children that measure: a) what parents think they should do when 2- to 5-year-olds wake at night (Night-waking Vignettes Scale; Coulombe & Reid, 2013), (b), what preschool-age children do when they wake at night (Children's Night-waking Behavior Scale; Coulombe & Reid, 2014), c) what parents report that they do when their own child wakes at night (Night-waking Strategies Scale, Coulombe & Reid, 2014), and d) what parents think and feel when their child wakes at night (Parental Cognitions about Night-waking Questionnaire, manuscript in preparation).

Juliana Tobon (Ph.D. 2013), in collaboration with colleagues in the Departments of Psychology and Family Medicine along with community children's mental health agencies, developed a measure of the Continuity of Care Scale for Children’s Mental Health (Tobon, Reid & Goffin, 2014). The measure assesses continuity of care within the mental health sector, as well as continuity between the children’s mental health and the education and the medical/health sectors.

INFORMATION FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS

Graduate Students

Students applying for graduate school and wanting to join my lab should be interested in either of my two research programs: Pediatric Sleep or Access and Use of Health & Mental Services. Ideally, students should indicate which of the two research programs they are interested in their application. However, sometimes students accepted into to work with me do not decide until after they start the clinical program. There are opportunities for students with an interest in pediatric sleep and neurocognitive functioning to apply to be co-supervised by myself and Dr. Bruce Morton; interested students should contact both myself and Dr. Morton for more information.

Please note that I will not be accepting applications for new graduate students for the 2019-20 academic year.

Students may also be interested in the looking at the Centre for Studies in Family Medicine website that describes the work of the core researchers in the Department of Family Medicine. Students conducting research related to primary care may apply to TUTOR – PHC – our CIHR funding training program in primary care research. 

Finally, the Children’s Health Research Institute has various opportunities for students including studentships and travel awards, and students are eligible to be Co-PIs on grants.

Honors Students

We typically have at least one student per year completing his/her honors thesis research project in psychology under my supervision. Honors students should be interested in a research topic related to one of the above research programs.  It is common for honors students to be co-supervised by a graduate student. Please note selection of honors students for the upcoming academic year is done in the winter of preceding year. Students interested in working with us on an honors thesis should submit their curriculum vitae (CV)/resume and an unofficial copy of their transcript along with a brief statement of topics they may be interested in studying to Dr. Reid via e-mail. Although there is no set deadline, it is strongly encouraged that you apply by the end February.

CURRENT GRANTS AND PROJECTS

Samuel, S. (PI), Seidel, J. (PI-Knowledge User), Chomistek, C. (PI-Patient/Caregiver Rep), Schraeder, K., Bakal, J., Dimitropoulos, G., Mackie, A., McBrien, K., Nettel-Aguirre, A., Pacaud, D., Patten, S., Reid, G.J., Scott, C., Zwicker, J., Arnold, P., Bahler, B., Jennings, J., Ryan, L., Thul, D. 2019-2021) Evaluating the impact of primary care patient-provider relationships on emergency department utilization by adolescents and young adults with chronic conditions. CIHR Operating Grant: Transitions in Care – Evaluation Grants (2 years #420207).

Reid GJ, Gardner W (Co-PI), Boyle M, Brown JB, Cairney J, Duncan L, Georgiades K, Gilliland J, Kurdyak P, Pajer K, Rayner J, Vingilis E (Collaborators: Hameed S, Hutton B, Nicholls S, Tithecott G). (07/2018 to 06/2022). Equity in Mental Health Care for Children and Youth. Canadian Institutes of Health Research Project Grant Program (# 398849).

Research Lab