Clinical Trials Logo

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Active, not recruiting

Administrative data

NCT number NCT04512352
Other study ID # early-childhood-2020
Secondary ID
Status Active, not recruiting
Phase N/A
First received
Last updated
Start date November 1, 2017
Est. completion date May 2021

Study information

Verified date August 2020
Source The University of Hong Kong
Contact n/a
Is FDA regulated No
Health authority
Study type Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The poverty rate among children under 18 years old in Hong Kong in 2015 was 18% after social welfare intervention. James Heckman, a Nobel Prize winner in Economics, advocates early childhood investment to enhance social mobility, given its lifelong impact of on child development. However, few randomized control trails have been used to examine the effectiveness of early childhood intervention in promoting social mobility through child development in Hong Kong. To fill these gaps, we propose an interdisciplinary intervention study involving academics from economics, sociology, social work, gerontology, education, and psychology to investigate methods to promote the social mobility of children living in poverty through early intervention.

The overall objective is to enhance the developmental outcomes of children in poverty by utilizing parental resources within a family system, technological resources available in modern metropolis and the human resources enjoyed by the elderly in Hong Kong.

The primary objective is to evaluate an internet- and family-based intervention to promote the development of children in poverty aged 24 months to three years. The examined outcome will be the developmental well-being of participating children, with the long-term goal of promoting their social mobility to break the cycle of poverty. In the long run, we aim to establish the proposed intervention in policy to promote the development of disadvantaged children.

The secondary objective is to identify intergenerational volunteerism as a means for productive aging through a mentoring program using older adults as mentors to participating parents.


Description:

The proposed research consists of three phases. The first phase will be a cross-sectional survey with a sample of 1,000 cases from 60 nurseries cum kindergartens to explore the family demographics and developmental profiles of low-income children in comparison to others. The second phase will be a randomized control trail implementing a 24-month internet-based intervention with 200 toddler-parents dyads from 20 to 30 of the original 60 nurseries. Interventions will be delivered by older mentors professionally trained by the research team. All children, parents and elderly mentors will be evaluated through a set of outcome measurements to assess the effectiveness of the program. The last phase will involve the dissemination of research information that may become building blocks for policies on internet-based early childhood education, poverty alleviation and social mobility enhancement, as well as productive aging.


Recruitment information / eligibility

Status Active, not recruiting
Enrollment 200
Est. completion date May 2021
Est. primary completion date September 2020
Accepts healthy volunteers Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Gender All
Age group N/A and older
Eligibility Inclusion Criteria:

- Parents who have children aged 24 months to 3 years

Exclusion Criteria:

- Parents who have children beyond the above age range

Study Design


Related Conditions & MeSH terms


Intervention

Other:
Online curriculum
The psychologist and our advisory team had successfully developed a total of 100 hours of parenting curriculum. The adopted curriculum had focused on using play to facilitate parents in promoting their children's development in cognitive, motor, emotional and social aspects. Play-based activities are instrumental in improving children's development. Given that parents in poverty had difficulties spending time and money travelling back-and-forth to the training site and their homes, the research team decided to use e-learning as the medium of learning for our parenting programme. Web-based learning has the advantage of cutting time and travelling costs, which are luxuries to many parents in poverty.

Locations

Country Name City State
Hong Kong Hong Kong Christian Service Hong Kong
Hong Kong Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service Hong Kong
Hong Kong Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association Hong Kong
Hong Kong Po Leung Kuk Hong Kong
Hong Kong The Salvation Army Hong Kong
Hong Kong Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Hong Kong

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor Collaborator
The University of Hong Kong

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Hong Kong, 

Outcome

Type Measure Description Time frame Safety issue
Primary Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III (Bayley III) It is a comprehensive tool to identify development issues during early childhood. Change from baseline assessment at 10 months
Secondary Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) and ASQ: SE It is a parent-report developmental screening tool. It covers the following aspects:
Cognitive?Receptive Communication?Expressive Communication?Fine Motor?Gross Motor?Social-Emotion?Adaptive Behavior
Change from baseline assessment at 10 months
See also
  Status Clinical Trial Phase
Completed NCT03991182 - Evaluation of Scaling Up Early Childhood Development in Zambia N/A
Active, not recruiting NCT03450174 - Effectiveness of Multiple Micro-nutrient Fortified Fudge on Nutritional Status of 3-5 Years of Age Children N/A
Recruiting NCT04594902 - The PANTHERS (Parents and iNfants Together in Home-based Early Remote Services) Project N/A
Recruiting NCT05129696 - Integrating Early Stimulation and Play at Scale: "MAHAY Mikolo" Phase 3
Recruiting NCT03753646 - Evaluating Effects of Integrating ECD Activities Into Bangladesh Government's Urban Lactating Mothers Allowance Program for the Poor on Children's Cognition and Behavior in Rangpur City Corporation, Bangladesh N/A
Completed NCT03665246 - Evaluation of the iMBC/ECD Model in Ghana N/A
Completed NCT04111016 - Feasibility of Implementing RINEW Through the Government System
Completed NCT02462733 - Efficacy of Tools of the Mind for Enhancing Self-Control in Preschoolers N/A