Clinical Research Directory

Calling All Dads! Evaluation of APAs ACT Program: Engaging Fathers to Prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences

The goal of this observational study is to assess the American Psychological Association's ACT Raising Safe Kids program with male caregivers. The main question\[s\] it aims to answer are: • Will male caregivers in the ACT Raising Safe Kids program report lower child maltreatment, rates of interpersonal violence, and youth aggression. • Does the ACT RSK program have a positive return on investment and will children and caregivers in the ACT RSK condition have a higher quality adjusted life years. Participants will complete four surveys over time and attend the 9-week ACT Raising Safe Kids program. Researchers will compare survey responses from male caregivers taking the ACT Raising Safe Kids classes to male caregivers not taking ACT Raising Safe Kids classes to see if there are changes in anger regulation, family conflict, parent-child conflict, and relationship satisfaction.

A Regional Partnership to Improve Outcomes Through Fatherhood Engagement

Montefiore will engage fathers in families at risk of substance misuse in the Bronx and neighboring communities. Families will be referred from Bronx and neighboring community-based child welfare systems, substance use disorder (SUD) treatment providers, and medical providers if identified at risk of substance use concerns and will be randomly assigned to receive services as usual as part of the comparison group, or to receive enhanced services as part of the program group. Enhanced services include: (1) Motivational Enhancement; (2) referral to Healthy, Empowered, Resilient, and Open (HERO) Dads fatherhood engagement program; (3) Contingency Management; and (4) Case Management.

K-ORCA: Testing a Decision Support Tool and Group Process for Selecting Interventions

This proposal responds to NIMH Objective 4.2.c to develop "decision-support tools and technologies that increase the effectiveness and continuous improvement of mental health interventions" by leveraging the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) policy opportunity. First, a web-based platform to host (a) a decision-support tool and (b) automated facilitation for group decisions with the tool will be developed with state partners' feedback. Next, decision makers leading their states' FFPSA quality improvement efforts will be engaged to pilot a decision-support intervention comprised of the tool and live or automated facilitation, and to evaluate the implementation quality of evidence-based programs adopted with the decision-support intervention.

iLookOut for Child Abuse -Online Learning Module for Early Childcare Providers

Phase 1 was a randomized control trial that used a test-retest model to evaluate the impact of iLook Out for Child Abuse, an online, interactive learning module about reporting suspected child abuse. Delivered via a learning management system to early childhood professionals who work with infants and young children, this study assessed iLookOut's effect on 1) knowledge about reporting suspected child abuse; 2) attitudes toward reporting suspected child abuse; and 3) preparedness to protect children at risk. Findings from Phase 1 were that iLookOut will improved knowledge, changed attitudes, and increase self-reported preparedness of early childhood providers to report suspected child abuse. Phase 2 of this trial is an open-enrollment study that records pre-/post- data on the same measurements as Phase 1, and is available for use (free of charge) for all childcare providers in Pennsylvania at https://www.ilookoutforchildabuse.com.

Children at Risk and Oral Health, The Dental Record Study

The objectives of this retrospective dental record study, are to increase knowledge of the oral health, - history and -needs of children enrolled at the Childrens Advocacy Centers (CAC)by: * assessing if it is possible to identify oral indicators of child maltreatment. * assessing if and to what degree the children enrolled at CAC are in need of close, adapted and trauma sensitive treatment and follow up at the Public Dental Health Service (PDHS) * assessing if there is a need for new routines in terms of interdisciplinary collaboration and sharing of information between CAC, Child Welfare Services (CWS) and PDHP. By increasing knowledge in regard to child maltreatment and oral health, the study will raise PDHS and CAC ability to prevent, detect and help children being victims of maltreatment, and contribute to strengthen PDHS, CAC and CWS interdisciplinary interaction for the benefit of children at risk.

Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) St. Joseph's Children Home Visiting Longitudinal Study

This study involves a long-term outcome study of the Catholic Health Initiative St. Joseph's Children (CHI SJC) program using a randomized control study. The purpose of this study is to determine the short-term and long-term impact and effectiveness of the CHI SJC program. The CHI SJC program has not been studied to determine program effectiveness. The investigators intend to follow families and their children until the children in the study graduate from high-school or turn 19 years of age. The study, as a template, uses the eight outcome domains listed and described in the Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness website (http://homvee.acf.hhs.gov/outcomes.aspx). These eight domains are: * Child development and school readiness * Family economic self-sufficiency * Maternal health * Reductions in child maltreatment * Child health * Linkages and referrals * Positive parenting practices * Reductions in juvenile delinquency, family violence, and crime The investigators expect to observe significant differences among the two groups with respect to the primary outcome domains listed. The investigators expect study group members randomized to the CHI SJC program will perform better on the eight outcome domains. Other hypotheses include: Other Hypotheses: Hypothesis 1. Randomization to CHI SJC will be associated with higher quality functioning and better child health and well-being. Hypothesis 2. Randomization to CHI SJC will result in more connections to community resources. Hypothesis 3. Randomization to CHI SJC will result in improved indications of maternal health and positive parenting practices. Hypothesis 4. Randomization to CHI SJC will be associated with higher measures of family economic self-sufficiency. Hypothesis 5. Randomization to CHI SJC will be associated with increased school readiness and school progress and attainment. Hypothesis 6. Randomization to CHI SJC will be associated with reductions in juvenile delinquency, family violence, and crime. The study will collect outcome data in the same way and, at the same time, from treatment and control group members. Data collection will primarily be comprised of a set of self-report questionnaires and a review of administrative records that target the outcome domains described earlier. Study group members will be assessed at baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, 3 years, 5 years, 8 years, 12 years, 15 years, and at high-school graduation or 19 years of age.

"Sentinella": Registry and Training for Child Protection

The "Sentinella" project aims to improve the early recognition and prevention of child maltreatment by creating a digital registry and education network for healthcare professionals. The study will test a new online registry built on the REDCap platform to collect standardized, anonymous data about suspected cases of abuse or neglect. It also includes a structured training program for pediatricians and other healthcare workers to strengthen their skills in identifying and reporting maltreatment. This observational study will assess how easy the registry is to use and whether the training improves participants' knowledge and reporting practices. The project is expected to enhance collaboration between hospitals and community services, reduce reporting delays, and create a model for regional or national systems to protect vulnerable children.

iLookOut for Child Abuse: Micro-learning to Improve Knowledge Retention

This proposed randomized controlled trial will examine whether gamified micro-learning is a feasible and effective way to promote long-term learning about child abuse and its reporting. After completing the interactive online learning program, iLookOut for Child Abuse, early childhood professionals will receive brief (5-10 minute) gamified learning exercises to complete on their smart-phones. By measuring knowledge (and other outcomes) over time, the investigators will determine how much knowledge decays over various time periods, how well micro-learning can remediate that decay, and whether such a 2-phase intervention is feasible for helping early childhood professionals be better prepared to identify and report suspected child abuse.

ACT-Based Training for Parental Burnout and Child Well-being

The purpose of the proposed randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in reducing parental burnout and improving children's emotional and behavioral adjustment in families in Hong Kong over 3 months after the intervention. The findings will provide valuable and scientific insights to inform better parenting interventions and child protection policies.

Substance Misuse and Family Violence Treatment Fathers

This study involves a randomized controlled trial of Fathers for Change (F4C) compared to Individual Drug Counseling (IDC) with a sample of 280 fathers enrolled in substance use (SU) treatment within community or veterans (VA) healthcare settings to (a) demonstrate F4C efficacy compared to IDC in reducing SU and family violence (FV) at end of treatment, 3- and 6-month post-treatment follow-up, and (b) document improved emotion regulation as the mechanism within F4C that results in reduced SU and FV.

Application for Sexual Abuse Prevention Based On Empowerment of Parents And School Teachers

The objective of the research is to Analyze the influence of providing the PERAN SADAR Application on the knowledge, attitudes, self-awareness, and communication practices of parents, teachers, children, and adolescents Participants will get education that is given using the PERAN SADAR\_ APPLICATION for 9 consecutive days. Teachers at school and parents at home were encouraged to provide information on preventing sexual abuse to their children after they had read and listened to the information in the PERAN SADAR\_ Application. Information was given every day for 1 month. Children were given a knowledge questionnaire (which had been tested for validity and construct in previous studies) before being given an intervention to provide information on preventing sexual violence. After 1 month, knowledge, attitudes, self-awareness, and communication practices were measured for teachers and parents, while knowledge measurements were carried out for children.

The Unique and Combined Effects of Prenatal and Early Childhood Programming on Child Maltreatment: Examining Mechanisms of Change

Child maltreatment and child exposure to adult intimate partner violence (IPV) often co-occur and are detrimental to the mental and physical health of children, yet few prevention programs address these intersecting forms of adversity using dual-generation approaches. The proposed study is a rigorous randomized controlled trial that uses a 2x2 factorial design to evaluate the potential synergistic benefits of delivering programming prenatally and during early childhood in order to support the mother-child relationship and ultimately prevent child maltreatment. If effective in preventing child maltreatment, these programs have the potential for high public health impact given that they are both cost-effective and readily scalable.

Fostering Healthy Futures for Teens: An RCT

This study will implement and evaluate a mentoring program designed to promote positive youth development and reduce adverse outcomes among maltreated adolescents with open child welfare cases. Teenagers who have been maltreated are at heightened risk for involvement in delinquency, substance use, and educational failure as a result of disrupted attachments with caregivers and exposure to violence within their homes and communities. Although youth mentoring is a widely used prevention approach nationally, it has not been rigorously studied for its effects in preventing these adverse outcomes among maltreated youth involved in the child welfare system. This randomized controlled trial will permit us to implement and evaluate the Fostering Healthy Futures for Teens (FHF-T) program, which will use mentoring and skills training within an innovative positive youth development (PYD) framework to promote adaptive functioning and prevent adverse outcomes. Graduate student mentors will deliver 9 months of prevention programming in teenagers' homes and communities. Mentors will focus on helping youth set and reach goals that will improve their functioning in five targeted "REACH" domains: Relationships, Education, Activities, Career, and Health. In reaching those goals, mentors will help youth build social-emotional skills associated with preventing adverse outcomes (e.g., emotion regulation, communication, problem solving). The randomized controlled trial will enroll 234 racially and ethnically diverse 8th and 9th grade youth (117 intervention, 117 control), who will provide data at baseline prior to randomization, immediately post-program and 15 months post program follow-up. The aims of the study include testing the efficacy of FHF-T for high-risk 8th and 9th graders in preventing adverse outcomes and examining whether better functioning in positive youth development domains mediates intervention effects. It is hypothesized that youth randomly assigned to the FHF-T prevention condition, relative to youth assigned to the control condition, will evidence better functioning on indices of positive youth development in the REACH domains leading to better long-term outcomes, including adaptive functioning, high school graduation, career attainment/employment, healthy relationships, and quality of life.

Responsible Engaged and Loving (REAL) Fathers Intervention Evaluation

The goal of this stepped-wedge cluster randomized control trial is to assess whether a Ugandan community-based intervention for young fathers (ages 18-25 years) of children ages 0-3 years impacts fathers' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding positive parenting practices, father-child interaction, harsh physical punishment of children, and intimate partner violence.

Child-Parent Psychotherapy - a Feasibility Study for Children in Foster Care

Children in foster care have an increased risk of exposure to adverse experiences during childhood and across the lifespan. In current studies of interventions children in foster care are often excluded, or they are too few to be included in statistical analyses of outcomes. As a consequence, knowledge on feasibility of treatment methods for some of the most exposed and maltreated children in society is sparse. Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) is an intervention for children 0-6 years who have been exposed to adverse and traumatic events. CPP is currently being implemented in Sweden. The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of CPP for children in foster care.

Screening to Identify Parents in Need of Mental Health Support: a Feasibility Study in Child Welfare Services

The main aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility, preliminary effects and experiences of the Collaboration-Screening-Referral approach (in Swedish: Samverkan-Screening-Hänvisning - SSH) when used with parents referred to the Swedish child welfare services. The SSH is an approach to screen parents for symptoms of mental illness using structured questionnaires, establish intra-agency collaboration, and refer to mental health services. Additionally, to increase social workers\' competence in assessing and handling mental illness through receiving training in the SSH and administering the screening to parents. The main questions the project aims to answer are: * Are parents engaged with child welfare services willing to undergo screening for symptoms of depression and anxiety? * How have the implementation of the SSH proceeded and to what degree is it sustained? * How do parents and social workers experience the SSH? * Do social workers' behaviors, knowledge and competence relevant to supporting parents with mental illness increase when implementing the SSH? Social workers answer questions before and after their training and after 6 and 12 months. Additionally, social workers and parents will be interviewed. Qualitative and quantitative within-group analyses will be conducted to examine experiences and preliminary effects of the SSH.

Predictors of Child Abuse Among School Going Children and the Impact of Structural Training on Child Abuse Among School Teachers

Child abuse stands as a global public health crisis, impeding the natural growth and development of children. The repercussions of abuse extend beyond immediate trauma, resulting in heightened medical costs and enduring health consequences that may persist into adulthood. These consequences encompass a spectrum of issues, including attachment disorders, behavioral abnormalities, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, altered neurobiological structures, suicidal ideation, risky sexual practices, and susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections. The detrimental impact of any form of child abuse lingers into the adult lives of affected individuals. This study aims to determine the Predictors of Child Abuse among School Going Children and the Impact of Structural Training on Child Abuse Among School Teachers of Dhulikhel Municipality in selected schools of Dhulikhel Municipality. Employing descriptive-analytical, true-experimental, and qualitative research designs, the study involves children aged ≥ 11 and teachers across diverse schools. A purposeful sample technique will be used to select teachers to explore school teachers' strategies in supporting students experiencing childhood violence. A simple stratified sampling technique will be used to select schools and a simple random sampling technique will be used to select the required number of students. Subsequently, one group of teachers undergoes comprehensive training on child protection recognition and response, while another does not. Following a two-week intervention, Investigators will conduct a posttest to evaluate teachers' knowledge and attitudes. To ensure clarity, both standard and self-constructed research tools will be translated into Nepali. Subsequently, these tools will be employed for data collection. The gathered information will be entered into an Excel datasheet and later transferred to Stata version 13 for a comprehensive analysis involving both descriptive and inferential statistics.