Good Schools Study

Mental Health Clinical Trial

— GSS  

Official title:

The Good Schools Study: Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial of a Program to Prevent Violence Against Children in Schools

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT01678846
• Other study ID #: LSHTM_6183
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: August 24, 2012
• Last updated: December 17, 2015
• Start date: June 2012
• Est. completion date: July 2014

Study information

• Verified date: June 2015
• Source: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: United Kingdom: London School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineUganda: National Council for Science and Technology
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether use of the Good Schools Toolkit is effective in reducing violence against children in primary schools.

Description:

Violence against children has profound effects on both children's health and their ability to do well at school. Fear, anxiety and injuries caused by violence may play a large role in both children's absenteeism and low educational achievement, and there is increasing interest from large bilateral donors in investigating this link in low income countries. The Good School Toolkit has been developed and refined for 6 years in Uganda by Raising Voices. The toolkit takes a systemic approach, involving an entire school in a process of change to reduce violence and improve teaching techniques. The Toolkit draws on the Transtheoretical Model and incorporates standard behaviour change techniques such as setting a goal and making an action plan, which are effective in modifying behaviour. This study aims to determine whether use of the Good School Toolkit reduces children's experience of violence by school staff. The investigators will also examine the effects of the Toolkit on children's educational outcomes, mental health and well-being.

The investigators will conduct a cluster randomised controlled trial in 40 primary schools in Luwero District, Uganda. More than 3500 children in Primary 5, 6 and 7 will be surveyed (aged about 11-16 years). Half of the schools will receive the Toolkit, and other half will be put on a waiting list to receive the Toolkit at the end of the study. The results from this evaluation will be used to brief policy-makers within the Ministry of Education and Sports involved in developing country-wide policy and practice around violence against children in schools.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 3820
• Est. completion date: July 2014
• Est. primary completion date: July 2014
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: N/A and older

Eligibility

1. Inclusion Criteria:

• Schools

• in Luwero District, Uganda

• more than 40 students registered in Primary 5

• Participants

• registered as a Primary 5, 6 or 7 pupil

• any school staff member

2. Exclusion Criteria:

• Schools

-- existing program related to prevention of violence against children or school governance

• Participants -- not able to understand consent and study procedures

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Prevention

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Educational Achievement
• Mental Health
• Physical Violence
• Sexual Violence
• Violence Against Children

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Good School Toolkit
The Toolkit uses a six step process to create a school wide intervention that engages teachers, students, administration, and parents to reflect on how they can promote quality of education in their school. The Toolkit articulates complex ideas (what is a good learning environment, a good teacher, how to create positive discipline without using violence) through booklets, posters and school initiated learning processes. Specific modules on alternative discipline techniques and how staff can use positive discipline are included in the Toolkit. The intervention includes sessions on knowledge, attitudes and opportunities to practice new behavioural skills. Work is led by teachers and students, and supported by visits from Raising Voices staff. The Toolkit can be reviewed at (http://www.raisingvoices.org/children/good_school_toolkit.php).

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Uganda	District-wide	Multiple	Luwero District

Sponsors (4)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine	Institute of Education, UK, Makerere University, Raising Voices

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Uganda, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Physical Violence From School Staff	past week experience of any physical violence from school staff	2-year follow-up	No
Secondary	Child Mental Health	score on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ): 20 questions. Total difficulties score, divided by the number of completed items. Modelled as a continuous variable. Range 0 (no difficulties) to 2 (high difficulties).	2-year follow-up	No
Secondary	Educational Achievement: Word Recognition in English	Word recognition in English(words per minute). Early Grade Reading Assessment, Uganda version. Calculated as number of words read correctly (out of a maximum of 50), divided by the time (out of a maximum of 60 seconds).	2-year follow-up	No
Secondary	Safety and Well-being at School	Five questions. Each question asked with response options: all the time, most of the time, sometimes, never: I feel that my teachers care about me. I feel safe in school. I feel like I belong at school. I like to spend time at school. I am scared of my teachers (reverse coded). Scores summed, modelled as a continuous variable. Range 0 (low) to 15 (high). Higher score is better safety and well-being at school.	At 2 year follow-up	No