Clinical Research Directory

Peanut-based School Meals in Rural Ghana to Improve Attendance and Retention

The goal of this clinical trial is to test daily provision of peanut paste-based milk-containing ready-to-use school food (PM-RUF) in children 5-17 years of age in Ghana . The main question it aims to answer is: \- Will provision of PM-RUF as a daily school meal improve attendance, improve matriculation, and/or reduce dropouts among Ghanaian schoolchildren 5-17 years of age in Mion District as compared with provision of a common local flour made of rice/millet?

Taabo Tutoring Study

Secondary school completion rates remain low in many low- and middle-income countries, including Côte d'Ivoire. Limited progression through lower secondary education may affect future educational and employment opportunities. In rural areas, pass rates on the Grade 10 national examination are modest, and some students leave school before completing lower secondary education. This study will evaluate whether tutoring improves academic outcomes and school continuation in the Taabo region of Côte d'Ivoire. Approximately 1,000 adolescents will participate in two related substudies. The first substudy will include 500 Grade 10 students identified by schools as being at risk of not passing the national examination. The second substudy will include 500 adolescents who previously attended Grades 7-9 but are not currently enrolled in school. Within each substudy, participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: peer tutoring, teacher tutoring, or no additional tutoring (control group). Students assigned to tutoring may receive up to 15 sessions over approximately 6 to 8 months. Tutoring sessions will focus on reviewing core curriculum content, preparing for examinations, and strengthening academic skills. The primary outcomes are (1) passing the Grade 10 national examination and (2) enrollment in lower secondary school in the following academic year. Secondary outcomes include grade progression, study time, academic confidence, cost-effectiveness of the tutoring models, academic and well-being outcomes among peer tutors, and other longer-term outcomes (educational attainment, early family formation, mental health).

SchoolCare: A Social Intervention Introducing Telepresence Robots and School Navigation to Reduce School Fragmentation for Children Undergoing Cancer Treatment

Advances in pediatric cancer treatment have led to significant improvements in survival rates, where 5-year survival now exceeds 85%. Despite improved survival, children and adolescents who survive cancer often face significant short- and long-term psychosocial and physical late effects. Children undergoing cancer treatment often experience prolonged school absence, which disrupts their academic development and impedes critical socio-emotional growth during formative school years, with lasting consequences into adulthood. Together, these challenges underscore the need for targeted interventions that support educational continuity, promote school activity, and foster psychosocial well-being. The SchoolCare Intervention aims to reduce school absence experienced by children diagnosed with cancer during their treatment trajectory. The intervention introduces school navigation support in combination with the use of telepresence robots (TPRs) and a teleteaching program. TPRs enable the children to attend school remotely, when they are not able to attend physically. The study is designed to investigate the effectiveness of the intervention throughout a period of eight months for school-aged children (i.e., 5-17 years) who are diagnosed with cancer. The investigators hypothesize that telepresence robots will increase school attendance among children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer, representing our primary outcome (H1). Additionally, the investigators explore secondary outcomes by hypothesizing that the intervention will improve the social well-being of these children and adolescents (H2) and enhance their academic level (H3). By focusing on both school attendance and broader psychosocial and academic effects, this study will provide a comprehensive evaluation of the telepresence robot intervention and its potential to support educational continuity and well-being for children with cancer.

The University of Oregon ACCESS Project

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if two behavioral interventions work to reduce office disciplinary referrals, improve attendance, and reduce depression and anxiety in 7th grade students. This project combines two evidence-based programs-the Inclusive Skill-building Learning Approach (ISLA) for school-wide discipline reform and the Family Check-Up Online (FCU-O) for family-centered support-in an adaptive design to examine the unique and additive effects of these interventions on these child behavior outcomes. The main questions it will answer are: 1. What is the relative efficacy of ISLA vs. School-as-Usual? 2. What is the optimal sequencing of these interventions? 3. Which overall sequence of intervention strategies was most effective? Researchers will compare 6 combinations of these interventions to see which combination and sequencing provides the best student outcomes. School personnel participating in the project will be trained to implement the two interventions at their school. They will answer surveys in the fall, winter, and spring of their year of participation. Parent and Youth participants will complete surveys at baseline and then again 6 months and 12 months later.