Parenting Styles and Parent-Offspring Communication on Sexuality Issues

NCT01772628 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: 241945 PREPARE
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 1,700
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The main objective of the study was to develop a novel intervention method which could reduce the spread of Sexually Transmitted Infections (including HIV) and unwanted pregnancies by improving parent-child communication using schools as gateways. It was done in 22 public day and mixed secondary schools in both Kampala and Wakiso districts. The study employed a cluster randomized controlled trial experimental design. Eligible schools were purposively selected and stratified into urban, peri-urban and rural. The schools were then matched into pairs for potential confounding variables such as religion and gender. In total, 11 schools were randomly allocated to the intervention and an equal number of schools to the comparison arms of the study. A questionnaire was administered to students at baseline and post-intervention. This questionnaire was validated in test re-test on approximately 200 S1 students from 2 schools that did not participate in the intervention nor the comparison arm. A parents'/guardians' questionnaire was also administered both at baseline then at post intervention. This questionnaire was also pre-tested among approximately 200 parents of S1 students who participated in the test re-test. The results of the pre-test were used to finalize the questionnaire. To increase the extent to which questions were understood, the English versions of questionnaires were translated into one of the widely spoken local language Luganda.

Conditions

Delay in Sexual Debut Among Adolescents; Knowledge About Condom Use; Parent-child Communication, Frequency and Quality

Keywords

Communication; Healthy sexual behaviour; Sexual and reproductive health; Adolescents

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Evidence of increased frequency of parent-child communication about sex and sexual risk reduction strategies after implementation of intervention components

  To determine whether assignment homework were effective in enhancing parent-child communication. Repeated measures analysis of variance will be done to assess the effects of time (baseline vs. post-intervention) and whether school-based intervention had any impact. The analysis will include all adolescents from the intervention schools irrespective of whether or not they completed the homework with their parents. To determine whether both males and females would equally benefit, gender will be included in the analysis as an independent variable. Finally, since student's demographic and baseline characteristics are likely to influence their likelihood of completing homework, post-hoc comparisons will be made controlling for these factors to determine dose-response relationships.

  Up to 14 weeks after intervening in 11 intervention schools

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Evidence of intentions to delay sexual debut after intervention

  14 weeks after intervention in 11 intervention schools

Other Outcomes (1)

• Positive change in knowledge and attitudes about condoms after intervention

  14 weeks after implementation of STI/HIV prevention education intervention component

Study Arms (2)

Promoting parent-child communication

EXPERIMENTAL

This is the arm in which all interventions of Promoting parent-child communication on selected sexual and reproductive health issues among young secondary school adolescents in Kampala and Wakiso Districts were implemented. The interventions included; classroom-based component, STI/HIV prevention education, parenting component and homework assignment component.

Behavioral: Classroom-based component; Behavioral: STI/HIV prevention education; Behavioral: Homework assignment component; Behavioral: Parenting component

Comparison

NO INTERVENTION

The 11 comparison schools did not receive any form of intervention. Instead the students continued with the official standard school curriculum and regular parent/guardian involvement in school activities. No homework assignments were given to the senior one students.

Interventions

Classroom-based component BEHAVIORAL

Selected topics about sex, communication, and relationships were integrated in 8 English classroom lessons and 8 Christian Religious Education classroom lessons. The component was implemented in a period of 14 weeks in Senior One classrooms of all the 11 intervention schools.

Promoting parent-child communication

STI/HIV prevention education BEHAVIORAL

For this component, the project partnered with Naguru Teenage information and Health Centre a local NGO providing "youth friendly" Sexual Reproductive Health services. The STI/HIV prevention education was implemented once in each school on a day that had been agreed upon with the school administration.

Promoting parent-child communication

Homework assignment component BEHAVIORAL

This component was to facilitate open parent-child interactions and encourage interpersonal learning in a friendly home environment about selected Sexual Reproductive Health issues. Homework assignments were developed on the basis of the topics covered in the learners' component. Students were asked to discuss each assignment with their parents/guardians and recorded answers in 32 paged exercise books provided by the project which were eventually handed over to the researchers at the end of the intervention. Students were given 8 English homework assignments and 7 Christian Religious Education homework assignments.

Promoting parent-child communication

Parenting component BEHAVIORAL

Three one day parenting workshops were conducted in each of the 11 schools for parents/guardians during the period in which the lessons were being implemented. First workshop was conducted at the beginning of the intervention, the second in the middle of the intervention and the third at the end of the intervention. Each workshop in a school was facilitated by one selected teacher and one selected parent in the school. In the first workshop a brochure about the intervention was distributed to all the parents/guardians in attendance.

Promoting parent-child communication

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 12 Years - 14 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Public day school
• Mixed secondary schools located in Kampala and Wakiso districts
• Parents/guardians provide written consent

You may not qualify if:

• Decline to consent
• Decline to assent

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Child Health & Development Centre: lead
• University of Bergen: collaborator
• University of Oslo: collaborator
• University of Cape Town: collaborator
• University of Limpopo: collaborator
• Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences: collaborator
• Maastricht University: collaborator
• University of Sussex: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Child Health and Development Centre, School of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences

Kampala, 256, Uganda

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Aaro LE, Mathews C, Kaaya S, Katahoire AR, Onya H, Abraham C, Klepp KI, Wubs A, Eggers SM, de Vries H. Promoting sexual and reproductive health among adolescents in southern and eastern Africa (PREPARE): project design and conceptual framework. BMC Public Health. 2014 Jan 18;14:54. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-54.

  PMID: 24438582 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Communication; Coitus

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior; Sexual Behavior

Study Officials

• Anne R Katahoire, PhD

  Child Health and Development Centre, School of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Wilson W Muhwezi, PhD

  Makerere University College of Health Sciences School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Cecily Banura, PhD

  Child Health and Development Centre, School of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assoc. Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 17, 2013
• First Posted: January 21, 2013
• Study Start: January 1, 2010
• Primary Completion: September 1, 2012
• Study Completion: March 1, 2014
• Last Updated: March 4, 2013

Record last verified: 2013-03

Locations

UG (1)