Healthy Start Home Visit Program - school-based approach
ISRCTN | ISRCTN16238864 |
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DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN16238864 |
Secondary identifying numbers | EDB/QEF 22/17/14 |
- Submission date
- 13/06/2016
- Registration date
- 21/07/2016
- Last edited
- 07/08/2018
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
The Healthy Start Home Visit Program has been developed to promote the health of preschool children. It does this by helping school teachers and parents work together on a program offering ways to improve child health (focusing on nutrition, activities, safety in the home and dental health), learning (for example, reading), child behaviour and parenting skills. This study aims to adapt this program into a school-based parent training program, to empower pre-primary parents with parenting needs to effectively promote healthy life styles for their pre-primary children.
Who can participate?
Parents identified as having parenting needs and their children.
What does the study involve?
The schools taking part in the study are randomly allocated to one of two groups. Those in group 1 (the control group) carry on as usual. Those in group 2 (intervention group) undergo the Healthy Start Home Visit Program. The program is delivered through school-based parent training programs, with parent ambassadors (PA) as assistants. The program first facilitates PAs to develop skills and knowledge in enhancing children’s healthy life styles. This is followed by the training so-called Healthy Start Parents (HSP) HSPs are parents that are in need of support (have parenting needs) and have children who are attending pre-primary institutions. Priority is given for disadvantaged families. Each institution has 1 school representative, either teacher or school social worker, to participate in the PA training and assist in HSP school-based program. Assessments take place before the start of the program, after the program completes and then six months later. These include for example, tests of parenting stress and how supported they feel, child behaviour, and child learning.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Not provided at time of registration
Where is the study run from?
Twenty pre-primary institutions, Hong Kong.
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
July 2016 to August 2017
Who is funding the study?
Quality Education Fund (Hong Kong)
Who is the main contact?
1. Ms Yin Kwan Heung (public)
2. Ms Cynthia Leung (scientific)
Contact information
Public
2/F, Tseng choi Street Government Complex, 27 Tseng Choi Street, Tuen Mun, N.T.
Hong Kong
852
China
Scientific
Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Hong Kong
852
China
0000-0002-6070-8794 |
Study information
Study design | Cluster randomized controlled trial |
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Primary study design | Interventional |
Secondary study design | Cluster randomised trial |
Study setting(s) | School |
Study type | Prevention |
Participant information sheet | ISRCTN16238864_PIS_30Jun16.pdf |
Scientific title | Evaluation of Healthy Start Home Visit Program - school-based approach in disadvantaged families |
Study acronym | HSHVP |
Study objectives | The Healthy Start Home Visit Program (HSHVP)- School Approach can enhance parents' competence and confidence in promoting their pre-school children's development in physical, cognitive and psychosocial aspects. |
Ethics approval(s) | Human Subjects Ethics Sub-Committee of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 02/06/2016 |
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Assessment includes pre and post intervention and follow-up tests of parenting stress, parent general efficacy, parent perceived social support, child behaviour, and child learning, parent feeding practice, oral health practice. Moreover, sense of efficacy for school representatives, either school teachers or social workers, will also be assessed. |
Intervention | Schools are randomly assigned to one of two groups - the intervention group and the control group (business as usual) The intervention includes 2 parts: Part I: intensive parent ambassador (PA) training -it aims to facilitate PAs to develop skills and knowledge in helping parents enhance children’s healthy life styles, in physical, cognitive and psychosocial aspects. Part II: Healthy Start Parent (HSP) school-based program - Provide training to 200 parents through 12 taught sessions, 2 revision sessions and 3 joint-school talks. The parent training will be conducted by project workers and an educational psychologist, assisted by PAs who completed the training in Part I. The content of the program includes the following domains: 1. Psychosocial areas - parent-child relationship, praise, reward, increasing positive behaviours, decreasing inappropriate behaviours 2. Cognitive areas – reading and language skills, preschool concepts 3. Physical areas – nutrition, physical exercises, learning through play (conducted in talks) and home safety (by one-off home visit or individual consultation) 4. Each 2 hour taught session will include feedback on the activities the week before, teaching of each protocol session, role play to practise working on the worksheets and activities and conclusion 5. Revision sessions - 2 hands-on practice sessions will be held to enhance HSP’s skills in establishing child relationship and reading |
Intervention type | Behavioural |
Primary outcome measure | Both parent ambassadors and Healthy Start Parents' outcomes will be measured: Part I. The PAs will be assessed using standardized questionnaires both before and after training, and after delivery of the Healthy Start Parent training program, to examine the changes in: 1. Parenting stress (Parenting Stress Index) 2. Parent general efficacy (GSE) 3. Parent perceived social support (Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire) 4. Child behaviour (Eyberg Child Behaviour Inventory) Part II. Assessment for HSPs includes pre and post HSP training and follow-up tests of: 1. Parenting stress (Parenting Stress Index) 2. Parent general efficacy (GSE) 3. Parent perceived social support (Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire) 4. Child behaviour (Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory) 5. Child learning 6. Parent feeding practice 7. Oral health practice The above tests will be administered before (pre) and after program completion (post) and 6 months after program completion (follow-up) |
Secondary outcome measures | 1. Co-working school teachers/ social workers' efficacy before PA training and after HSP school-based program, using the questionnaire adapted from Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale – short form 2. Parent participation in school activities, parent-teacher meetings and parent practice of exercises at home, assessed using a log that will be kept for those participating in the program 3. Parents views in relation to the program materials, activities and delivery format, collected through focus groups |
Overall study start date | 01/07/2016 |
Completion date | 31/08/2017 |
Eligibility
Participant type(s) | Other |
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Age group | Other |
Sex | Both |
Target number of participants | 200 parents will be recruited from 20 pre-primary institutions |
Key inclusion criteria | The PA and HSP must meet the following criteria: 1. The participating parent show parenting needs 2. Can read Chinese and have children who are attending pre-primary institutions 3. The parent and the children should normally reside in Hong Kong Priorities are given to HSPs from disadvantaged families, including single-parent families, Mainland new arrivals and low-income families. |
Key exclusion criteria | 1. Parents with children having major developmental problems 2. History of domestic violence 3. Drug abuse 4. Mental illness in the family |
Date of first enrolment | 01/07/2016 |
Date of final enrolment | 30/09/2016 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Hong Kong
Study participating centres
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Sponsor information
Government
Room 3602, 36/F, Hopewell Centre
183 Queen's Road East, Wanchai
Hong Kong
852
China
Phone | 2921 8833 |
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qefenq@edb.gov.hk | |
Website | http://qef.org.hk |
Funders
Funder type
Charity
No information available
Results and Publications
Intention to publish date | 31/12/2017 |
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Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
IPD sharing plan summary | Not expected to be made available |
Publication and dissemination plan | A 2-day mass training come knowledge exchange seminar will be held to disseminate project evaluation data and experience sharing for parent educators and the public. |
IPD sharing plan |
Study outputs
Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Participant information sheet | 30/06/2016 | 26/07/2016 | No | Yes | |
Results article | results | 10/07/2018 | Yes | No |
Additional files
- ISRCTN16238864_PIS_30Jun16.pdf
- Uploaded 26/07/2016
Editorial Notes
07/08/2018: Publication reference added.
26/07/2016: Participant information sheet uploaded.