As a faculty member just shy of seven years into her career and raising a young family, pediatric health outcomes researcher Mandi Newton describes the last four years of her work as "disrupted and disjointed". The Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS), though, sees her work as productive and award-worthy, citing her as a national leader in establishing research evidence to improve mental health care and outcomes for children who are acutely mentally ill.
Newton is the recipient of the national organization's Young Investigator Award, joining just one other woman on the list since 2000, an honour Newton finds personally satisfying and validating. "The bigger picture of my research is quite cohesive, but my personal experience has been different. I've had a lot more on the go than just doing my science," she says.
Newton has been productive in her area of pediatric mental health research and in other ways as well. She has had three children in the last four years, either being pregnant or taking maternity leave while keeping research grants and teams going. "The context of receiving this award, in the first seven years of my career before I turn 40, is a big deal for me. You always feel that you shouldn't slow down, that you can't do enough," she says. "Receiving this award causes me to pause, reflect and say, 'yes, what I've done has been enough and it is okay to slow down.'"
Health outcomes research for children who are acutely mentally ill is Newton's area of expertise. Much of her work focuses on crises that present in emergency departments, but includes the post-crisis period as well. While focused on a theme, her work also has been varied. Newton and her collaborators have led systematic reviews that synthesize studies of emergency department mental health care to identify evidence-based approaches to assessments and interventions. Her teams have also studied trends in emergency department mental health visits and post-visit care. She appreciates the contributions of her team, collaborators and mentors.
"A lot of the work that we do with the large databases focuses the work that we want to do with clinicians. We're looking at practice variation, the type of care being provided and the implications for outcomes."
Newton also leads clinical research studies, including a Canadian Institutes of Health Research-funded project to develop a native smart phone app to supplement cognitive behavioural therapy treatment received by adolescents with anxiety disorders. Under Newton's leadership, this study brings together experts from across the country in child psychiatry, implementation science, knowledge translation, biostatistics and e-health. "What we're developing is called an ecological momentary intervention-it's happening in the moment for kids in the context of their real lives," she explains. "Using the app on their phone when they're experiencing acute anxiety is meant to augment the benefit of seeing a therapist in their office for a scheduled appointment." A casual scroll through Google Play or the iTunes App Store results in quite a few options for anxiety apps, but what will make this one different is the science behind it. The two-year study will result in an evidence-based intervention that is evaluated using principles of implementation science to understand mental health care system use.
The Young Investigator Award will be presented at the CPS Annual Conference June 24-27 in Toronto. "It's personally satisfying to receive a pat on the back not only from my nominator who is, in this case, the chair of my department, but also from our national organization," she says. Newton will fly in to receive the award and then fly out, back to the research she is passionate about and the familial chaos that also sustains her.