Reach Out and Read Arabic to Promote Arabic Literacy in Toddlers

Child Development Clinical Trial

Official title:

"Reach Out and Read" Arabic to Promote Parental Reading to Toddlers and Preschoolers

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Terminated

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03847675
• Other study ID #: PED.LC.13
• Status: Terminated
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: November 1, 2018
• Est. completion date: July 30, 2022

Study information

• Verified date: February 2022
• Source: American University of Beirut Medical Center
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The goal of this study is to encourage parents to read Arabic books to their children from an early age and by extension children will be more likely to read Arabic books and ultimately improve their Arabic literacy. The investigators' hypothesis is that an adapted "Reach Out and Read" program will result in an increase in the proportion of parents reading Arabic books to their children after the intervention.

Description:

Early reading for toddlers has been linked to a better grasp of the fundamentals of language as they approach school age, as reading exposes the child to rich language and diverse content. Reach Out and Read program (ROR) is an American non-profit organization that advocates for childhood literacy. In this study the investigators aim to implement an adapted version of the "Reach Out and Read" program and to encourage parents to read Arabic books to their children in order for this to become a daily habit. The goal of this study is to see an increase in the proportion of parents who read Arabic books to their children and by extension children will grow up loving to read Arabic books and ultimately may have improved Arabic literacy.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Terminated
• Enrollment: 20
• Est. completion date: July 30, 2022
• Est. primary completion date: May 30, 2022
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 4 Months to 6 Months

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Parents must identify the study's settings as the usual site for their child regular checkups
• Families are eligible if at least one parent understands, speaks and reads Arabic.
• The child's age between 4 and 6 months at the time of the enrollment

Exclusion Criteria:

• Children diagnosed or displaying severe behavioral, cognitive, or physical impairment, that prevents them in meaningfully engaging in a reading activity example: severe autism, profound developmental or intellectual delay.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Child Development

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Reach out and Read
The intervention group will be viewing a video encouraging to read to their children and giving tips on reading methods, in addition will be given a schematic pamphlet highlighting the importance of reading Arabic to children. After each visit participants will receive an age appropriate book for their child (a total of 3 books). The first book consist of popular nursery rhymes that are usually sung for younger infants. The choice of the 2 other books is based on recommendations from an early child educator according to age specificity. Focus group conducted by a qualitative researcher will follow the protocol reported by Richard A. Krueger.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Lebanon	American University of Beirut	Beirut

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
American University of Beirut Medical Center

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Lebanon, 

References & Publications (2)

Duursma E, Augustyn M, Zuckerman B. Reading aloud to children: the evidence. Arch Dis Child. 2008 Jul;93(7):554-7. doi: 10.1136/adc.2006.106336. Epub 2008 May 13. No abstract available. — View Citation

Kuhl PK. Early Language Learning and Literacy: Neuroscience Implications for Education. Mind Brain Educ. 2011 Sep;5(3):128-142. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-228X.2011.01121.x. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Proportion of parents reading Arabic books to their children	Measure the proportion of parents reading Arabic books to their children after 3 intervention visits, when their child is about 15 months of age. Parental reading is defined as reading for a minimum of 10 minutes daily for at least 5 days per week.	3 years
Secondary	Weekly frequency of parental reading in Arabic before, and after the intervention	The weekly frequency of parental reading in Arabic before, and after the intervention at each age group (9, 12 and 15 months), then at 2 and 3 years of age as compared between experimental and control group	3 years
Secondary	Children's vocabulary and language / words'	The children's vocabulary and language / words' acquisition in the experimental compared to the control group at 2 years and 3 years.	3 years
Secondary	Children's early developmental milestones	The children's early developmental milestones in the experimental compared to the control group at 2 years and 3 years.	3 years