Effectiveness and micro-costing of the KiVa school-based bullying prevention programme in Wales: study protocol for a pragmatic definitive parallel group cluster randomised controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundBullying refers to verbal, physical or psychological aggression repeated over time that is intended to cause harm or distress to the victims who are unable to defend themselves. It is a key public health priority owing to its widespread prevalence in schools and harmful short- and long-term effects on victims’ well-being. There is a need to strengthen the evidence base by testing innovative approaches to preventing bullying. KiVa is a school-based bullying prevention programme with universal and indicated elements and an emphasis on changing bystander behaviour. It achieved promising results in a large trial in Finland, and now requires testing in other countries. This paper describes the protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) of KiVa in Wales.Methods/DesignThe study uses a two-arm waitlist control pragmatic definitive parallel group cluster RCT design with an embedded process evaluation and calculation of unit cost. Participating schools will be randomised a using a 1:1 ratio to KiVa plus usual provision (intervention group) or usual provision only (control group). The trial has one primary outcome, child self-reported victimisation from bullying, dichotomised as ‘victimised’ (bullied at least twice a month in the last couple of months) versus ‘not victimised’. Secondary outcomes are: bullying perpetration; aspects of child social and emotional well-being (including emotional problems, conduct, peer relations, prosocial behaviour); and school attendance. Follow-up is at 12 months post-baseline. Implementation fidelity is measured through teacher-completed lesson records and independent school-wide observation. A micro-costing analysis will determine the costs of implementing KiVa, including recurrent and non-recurrent unit costs. Factors related to the scalability of the programme will be examined in interviews with head teachers and focus groups with key stakeholders in the implementation of school-based bullying interventions.DiscussionThe results from this trial will provide evidence on whether the KiVa programme is transportable from Finland to Wales in terms of effectiveness and implementation. It will provide information about the costs of delivery and generate insights into factors related to the scalability of the programme.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN23999021 Date 10-6-13

The Effectiveness of the KiVa Bullying Prevention Program in Wales, UK: Results from a Pragmatic Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

“…The present study aimed to test the effectiveness of KiVa, measure the fidelity of its implementation, find out what teachers thought of the program (likes and dislikes, facilitators of and barriers to implementation), examine factors predicted to affect the scalability of the program, and calculate delivery costs (see Clarkson et al 2016 for the trial protocol). This paper focuses on effectiveness and fidelity, with qualitative results regarding implementation reported elsewhere (DSRU et al 2016).…”

“…Informed Consent Informed consent was obtained for all individual participants included in the study. Further details about informed consent are provided in the published trial protocol (Clarkson et al 2016).…”

Understanding effective approaches to promoting mental health and preventing mental illness

“…Early evaluation reported significant reductions in victimisation, with positive feedback from pupils and teachers on the approach. Following this initial positive evaluation, a larger scale evaluation is taking place across Wales (Clarkson et al, 2016).…”

“…The KiVa programme has also been implemented in other countries, including pilot and ongoing studies in schools in Estonia, England, Wales and Italy (Yahner et al, 2015, Clarkson et al, 2016, Nocentini and Menesini, 2016. The Olweus Programme, another well know antibullying measure has been implemented by schools in countries including United States, Canada, Mexico, Lithuania (3 year EU funded pilot project), Iceland, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom.…”

System to Detect Racial-Based Bullying through Gamification

“…These two programs have been jointly implemented in Belgium since 1995–1997 (Smith et al, 2003), and in Spain, “SAVE ( Sevilla Anti Violencia Escolar )” since 1996–96 (Ortega, 1997) and “ANDAVE (Andalucía Antiviolencia Escolar)” since 1999–2000 (Ortega and Mora-Merchán, 1998). Another two more recent programs, also from an integral perspective, are the “ViSC Program” started in Austria in 2008 (Trip et al, 2015), and also implemented in Turkey in 2012–2014 (Solomontos-Kauntouri et al, 2016) and the KiVA Project from Finlandia in 2006–2009 (Salmivalli and Poskiparta, 2012), which has been used in Estonia (Ginter and Tropp, 2012), Italy, the Netherlands and Whales (Clarkson et al, 2016). One characteristic which makes this project unique is the use of a virtual working environment with games simulating daily life, for constant team monitoring of the project (Kärnä et al, 2013).…”