A South African Pilot Worksite Parenting Program to Prevent HIV Among Adolescents

The investigators hypothesize that participants in the worksite parenting program intervention will show significantly better parent-child communication than will participants in the no-treatment (wait-list) control group.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Parent-Child Relations
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Let's Talk Worksite Parenting Program

Detailed Description

In South Africa, >5 million people, including many adolescents, are living with HIV. Prevalence is increasing throughout South Africa, most precipitously in the Western Cape, the site of our proposed study. The investigators propose to pilot test a multisession worksite-based program to help parents learn how to take an active role in rearing sexually healthy youth. Our specific aims are to: (1) Culturally adapt our US-developed worksite-based program for parents of adolescents to the South African context; (2) Examine whether a worksite-based program for parents of adolescents in South Africa improves the parent-child relationship, including general parent-child communication and communication about sexual health and HIV risk-reduction, as perceived by parents and adolescents; (3) Explore program effects on parents' HIV testing and sexual behaviors; and (4) Explore program effects on theoretically important psychosocial mediators of behavior change (e.g., greater self-efficacy for refusing sex and using condoms, and more perceived disadvantages of unprotected sex). The proposed research is a unique opportunity to adapt and pilot test an innovative HIV prevention intervention that promotes the health of families in a culturally acceptable and sustainable setting.

The research is being conducted in three phases. In Phase 1, the investigators conducted formative qualitative interviews with South African community members who work with adolescents and parents, who work on HIV prevention, and who hold relevant positions at worksites. The investigators used this information from key community members to culturally adapt the program. In Phase 2, the investigators are conducting a process evaluation of one intervention group of 15 parents using qualitative debriefing interviews and quantitative data. In Phase 3, the current phase, the investigators aim to conduct a pilot intervention to refine the program even further and test the evaluation methods with 60 Xhosa and Afrikaans-speaking parents and their 11-15-year-old adolescents (who will participate in the evaluation but not the program). Their outcomes will be compared to a wait-list control group of 60 Xhosa and Afrikaans-speaking parents and their 11-15-year-old adolescents.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 132
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• South Africa
  • Cape Town
    • Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa, 7503
      • Stellenbosch University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 11 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Parents: Work for City of Cape Town; Are Xhosa-speaking or Afrikaans-speaking; Have a child between the ages of 11-15 (self report); Spend at least 3 days/week with their adolescents
• Children: Eligible if they are between the ages of 11-15 (self report) and have a parent or legal guardian who works in the City of Cape Town who is enrolled in the program.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Wait-list control; Participants in the wait-list control group will not receive the intervention until after the 3-month follow-up assessment.
Experimental: Let's Talk Worskite Parenting Program; The Let's Talk Worksite Parenting Program is designed for Xhosa-speaking and Afrikaans speaking parents (separate sessions) with 11- to 15-year-old children. The 5-session program meets weekly for 2 hours. The program will include instruction on parenting skills and will cover topics relevant to promoting adolescent sexual health, such as; parental involvement; adolescent sexual behavior; HIV; violence; and alcohol/substance use. Parent participants will receive weekly exercises to help them practice their new skills at home with their child.	Behavioral: Let's Talk Worksite Parenting Program; The Let's Talk Worksite Parenting Program is designed for Xhosa-speaking and Afrikaans speaking parents (separate sessions) with 11- to 15-year-old children. The 5-session program meets weekly for 2 hours. The program will include instruction on parenting skills and will cover topics relevant to promoting adolescent sexual health, such as; parental involvement; adolescent sexual behavior; HIV; violence; and alcohol/substance use. Parent participants will receive weekly exercises to help them practice their new skills at home with their child.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Topics Discussed Between Parent and Child	Measured using the Parent-Child Communication Scale (communication on sexual and HIV topics that the intervention covers) for both parent and child participants in pre- and post-assessments. This is a measurement of the number of sex and HIV topics discussed. 16 topics were assessed, including how women get pregnant, how to use condoms to prevent pregnancy and HIV, and how to recognize sexual pressure. For each topic, participants answered yes or no if they discussed it, and then rate between 1-16 to indicate their communication (higher scores mean better communication). The total scores is reported as the sum of the 16 items, and can range from 0-16.	6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Boston Children's Hospital
• Collaborators: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH); National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Laura M. Bogart, PhD, Children's Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical School

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: September 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 1, 2012
• Study Completion (Actual): April 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 7, 2011
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 12, 2011
• First Posted (Estimate): September 13, 2011

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): September 9, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 7, 2015
• Last Verified: August 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: HIV
• Other Study ID Numbers: 5R34MH090790-02 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); 5R34MH090790 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)