Home Visiting for OVC in Tshwane Townships of South Africa

NCT02395328 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: AID-674-A-12-00002-FFGS
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 481
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

This study consists of a one-year randomized controlled trial investigating the impact of mobilized care workers trained and supported by Futures Families, a South African non-profit organization, that provide biweekly home visits to families with orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Tshwane (aka Pretoria) townships, South Africa. Future Families takes a family-based approach to addressing the needs of OVC by providing caregivers with information, psychosocial support, and access to external services. Caregivers will participate in a survey providing information on their personal wellbeing as well as key indicators reflecting the wellbeing of each child under their care. Newly enrolled caregivers will be randomly assigned to either program participation beginning in late 2014 or to delayed participation following the impact survey about one year later. The data will be used to test for changes in a set of key program indicators pertaining to child protection, HIV prevention, psychosocial wellbeing, education and early childhood development. This study aims to strengthen the evidence base for effective family centered programming to address the needs of HIV-affected children and their caregivers.

Conditions

HIV

Keywords

Orphans and vulnerable children (OVC); Home visiting intervention; South Africa; Program evaluation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

• Change in access to HIV testing services indicator

  Percent of children and guardians (reported separately) who have ever been tested for HIV and received most recent test results

  Baseline, 12 months post-intervention

• Change in psychosocial wellbeing indicator

  Multi-item indicator to determine the percent of guardians with basic social support and the percent of guardians with high levels of negative feelings;

  Baseline, 12 months post-intervention

• Change in early childhood development indicators

  Multi-item indicator to determine the percent of children 1-5 years who are fully immunized; Percent of children \<5 years of age who recently engaged in stimulating activities with any household member over 15 years of age and percent of children age 1-5 enrolled in a crèche or other early childhood development centre.

  Baseline, 12 months post-intervention

• Change in school attendance indicator

  Percent of school-age children attending school regularly.

  Baseline, 12 months post-intervention

• Change in access to social services indicators

  Percent of children with a verified birth certificate or other identity documentation and percent of eligible children and caregivers receiving grants.

  Baseline, 12 months post-intervention

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Change in household economics indicator

  Baseline, 12 months post-intervention

• Change in health status indicator

  Baseline, 12 months post-intervention

• Change in harsh punishment practices indicator

  Baseline, 12 months post-intervention

Other Outcomes (1)

• Demographics and Background indicator

  Baseline, 12 months post-intervention

Study Arms (2)

Care worker home visitation

EXPERIMENTAL

Care Workers provide biweekly home visits and offer residing caregivers and children information and psychosocial support, and encourage their awareness and accessing of external health and social services.

Behavioral: Care Worker Home Visitation

Wait List

NO INTERVENTION

Access to homework classes are made available to all participants' children at schools supported by the implementing organization.

Interventions

Care Worker Home Visitation BEHAVIORAL

Primary services include biweekly home visits from Care Workers trained, mobilized and supported by Futures Families, a South African non-government organization working to support OVC in six townships within the greater Tshwane area (also known as Pretoria) of South Africa.

Care worker home visitation

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Aged 18 or over at the time of study enrollment;
• Enrolled in a selected Future Families site;
• Willing and able to consent to study participation

You may not qualify if:

• Are not able to give informed consent due to known or recognizable cognitive or psychiatric impairment.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Tulane University School of Social Work: lead
• United States Agency for International Development (USAID): collaborator

Study Officials

• Tonya R Thurman, PhD MPH

  Tulane University School of Social Work

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principle Investigator, Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 5, 2015
• First Posted: March 23, 2015
• Study Start: June 1, 2014
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2015
• Study Completion: December 1, 2015
• Last Updated: March 13, 2017

Record last verified: 2017-03