Peer-reviewed article
Suubi4StrongerFamilies: A study protocol for a clustered randomized clinical trial addressing child behavioral health by strengthening financial stability and parenting among families in Uganda
Fred M. Ssewamala, Mary M. McKay, Ozge Sensoy Bahar, Proscovia Nabunya, Torsten B. Neilands et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This is a study protocol for a randomized trial in Uganda examining how economic empowerment and family strengthening interventions affect child mental health and behavior. The study will involve 900 children aged 10-14 in primary schools across 30 schools, comparing three approaches: economic support alone, family group strengthening alone, or both combined. Researchers will track children for three years to understand whether and how these interventions reduce behavioral disorders, which are a significant mental health concern in the region.
Key points
- Disruptive behavioral disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa persist through adolescence and adulthood if left untreated
- The study compares three conditions: economic empowerment only, family strengthening only, or both combined interventions
- Interventions will be delivered for 12 months with follow-up assessments at baseline, 12, 24, and 36 months
- The trial involves 900 children in mid-upper primary school (ages 10-14) across 30 cluster-randomized schools
- The research aims to identify mechanisms and context-specific factors affecting how these interventions improve child behavioral health
Limitations
This is a study protocol document that describes the planned research design but does not present any results or findings. It cannot tell us whether the interventions actually work or what outcomes were achieved, only what the researchers intend to measure.
Abstract
Background Children in Sub-Saharan Africa are burdened by significant unmet mental health needs. Across the region, high rates of poverty, HIV/AIDS, food insecurity, stigma, and an inadequate health safety net system exacerbate serious child behavioral health needs and impede an effective response. Disruptive behavioral disorders are particularly concerning as they persist through adolescence and adulthood. Hence, addressing the context-specific social influences on child behavioral health is critical given that children in the region comprise more than half of the total regional population. Against this backdrop, this study protocol describes a randomized clinical trial that will examine the mechanisms by which economic empowerment and family strengthening interventions targeting social, familial, and context-specific drivers affect the mental health of children in Uganda. Methods The study uses an experimental, longitudinal design across 30 cluster-randomized primary schools to compare single and combination intervention options; influences of economic empowerment and family strengthening on economic, perceptual, and functioning mediators; and context-specific moderators. The study will be conducted with 900 Ugandan children in mid-upper primary school (10–14 years). The three study conditions (n= 300 each) are: (1) economic empowerment only (EE only), (2) multiple family group-based family strengthening only (MFG-based FS only), and (3) combined EE + MFG-based FS. The interventions will be provided for 12 months; and assessments will occur at baseline, 12, 24, and 36 months. Conclusion Children in Sub-Saharan Africa are burdened by significant unmet mental health needs, including disruptive behavior disorders that persist through adolescence and adulthood if left untreated. The proposed study will examine the mechanisms by which economic empowerment and family strengthening interventions targeting social, familial and context-specific drivers affect the mental health of children in mid-upper primary schools in Uganda. Findings from this study can inform group, community, and population approaches that are needed for scalable solutions to address the social drivers negatively impacting child behavioral health in low-resource settings, including in Sub-Saharan Africa. Clinical trial registration [ https://clinicaltrials.gov/ ], identifier [NCT053 68714].
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Economic empowerment combined with multiple family group-based family strengthening, delivered over 12 months; also tested separately as individual interventions
- Population
- 900 Ugandan children aged 10-14 years in mid-upper primary schools
Key finding
This is a protocol document; no findings are reported as the trial has not yet been conducted
Ssewamala et al. · Prof. Fred M. Ssewamala (OpenAlex works) · 23 Nov 2022