A parenting programme to prevent abuse of adolescents in South Africa: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundAn estimated one billion children experience child abuse each year, with the highest rates in low- and middle-income countries. The Sinovuyo Teen programme is part of Parenting for Lifelong Health, a WHO/UNICEF initiative to develop and test violence-prevention programmes for implementation in low-resource contexts. The objectives of this parenting support programme are to prevent the abuse of adolescents, improve parenting and reduce adolescent behavioural problems. This trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Sinovuyo Teen compared to an attention-control group of a water hygiene programme.Methods/DesignThis is a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial, with stratified randomisation of 37 settlements (rural and peri-urban) with 40 study clusters in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Settlements receive either a 14-session parenting support programme or a 1-day water hygiene programme. The primary outcomes are child abuse and parenting practices, and secondary outcomes include adolescent behavioural problems, mental health and social support. Concurrent process evaluation and qualitative research are conducted. Outcomes are reported by both primary caregivers and adolescents. Brief follow-up measures are collected immediately after the intervention, and full follow-up measures collected at 3–8 months post-intervention. A 15–24-month follow-up is planned, but this will depend on the financial and practical feasibility given delays related to high levels of ongoing civil and political violence in the research sites.DiscussionThis is the first known trial of a parenting programme to prevent abuse of adolescents in a low- or middle-income country. The study will also examine potential mediating pathways and moderating factors.Trial registrationPan-African Clinical Trials Registry PACTR201507001119966. Registered on 27 April 2015. It can be found by searching for the key word ‘Sinovuyo’ on their website or via the following link: http://www.pactr.org/ATMWeb/appmanager/atm/atmregistry?_nfpb=true&_windowLabel=BasicSearchUpdateController_1&BasicSearchUpdateController_1_actionOverride=%2Fpageflows%2Ftrial%2FbasicSearchUpdate%2FviewTrail&BasicSearchUpdateController_1id=1119Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-016-1452-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Exposure to violence, teacher support, and school delay amongst adolescents in South Africa

“…For the more sensitive questions, tablets with Audio Computer‐Assisted Self‐Interview Software (ACASI) options were available. Further information about the Sinovuyo Teen trial recruitment, design, and methods can be found in the trial protocol (Cluver et al ., ).…”

Delivering a Parenting Program in South Africa: The Impact of Implementation on Outcomes

“…The control arm clusters received a hygiene information event. More details, including power calculations for the trial, are available in the study protocol (Cluver et al 2016b).…”

Perspectives of South African caregivers in receipt of Child Support Grants: Implications for family strengthening interventions

“…Given the dearth of appropriate evidence-based family interventions in South Africa (Wessels, 2012) and in low-and middle-income countries (Mejia Calam, & Sanders, 2012), organisations are more likely to rely on international interventions that have been rigorously evaluated in high-income countries (Cluver et al, 2016). Noting the real dangers of using unadapted Western models of intervention (Mejia, Leijten, Lachman, & Parra-Cardona, 2017), and unthinkingly reinforcing gendered norms of caregiving (Molyneux, Jones, & Samuels, 2016), caution needs to be exercised in uncritically transposing these programmes in different countries with different cultural beliefs about families and caregiving and different resource levels.…”