Economic Empowerment Program Suubi-Maka

Poverty Clinical Trial

— Suubi-Maka  

Official title:

SUUBI MAKA ("Hope for Families"): A Family-Based Economic Empowerment Model for Orphaned Children in Uganda

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT01180114
• Other study ID #: AAAD2525
• Secondary ID: R34MH081763-02
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: July 14, 2010
• Last updated: November 22, 2012
• Start date: August 2008
• Est. completion date: July 2012

Study information

• Verified date: November 2012
• Source: Columbia University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: United States: Institutional Review BoardUganda: National Council for Science and Technology
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The overall goal of SUUBI-MAKA is to further develop and preliminarily examine a family economic empowerment intervention that creates economic opportunities (specifically Children Development Accounts) for families in Uganda who are caring for children orphaned due to the AIDS pandemic, and to lay groundwork for a bigger study with practice and policy implications for Sub-Saharan Africa.

Description:

The study has two specific aims (1) To conduct formative work in order to understand children and families´ ability and interest in participating in a family-level economic empowerment intervention focused on savings and family income generation, and their response to this family-focused economic empowerment approach alongside additional intervention components, including savings for youth education and adult mentorship. (2) Based on formative data (Aim #1), to adapt the intervention and examine issues related to feasibility and preliminary outcome on a small scale in order to prepare for a larger study.

The intervention, SUUBI-MAKA, uses a novel approach by focusing on economic empowerment of families caring for children orphaned due to AIDS. The intervention has three key components (1) it promotes family-level income generating projects (micro-enterprises) which we believe will enhance economic stability, reduce poverty, and enhance protective family processes for youth orphaned by AIDS. (2) It promotes monetary savings for educational opportunities for AIDS-orphaned children. (3) It provides an adult mentor to children. The intervention will be evaluated via a two-group randomized trial. The two groups are SUUBI-MAKA or Usual care for orphaned children. The participating children will be nested within 20 primary schools that will be randomly assigned such that all children from a particular school receive the same intervention.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 300
• Est. completion date: July 2012
• Est. primary completion date: July 2012
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 11 Years to 16 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

1. An AIDS-orphaned child, defined as a child who has lost one or both parents to AIDS;

2. Enrolled in the last two years of primary school (even though possibly not attending regularly);

3. Between the ages of 11 to 16 years;

4. Living within a family.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Any youth below 11 years or above 16 years at the time of enrollment in the study;

2. Any youth not enrolled in the final two years of primary school;

3. Any youth who does not self-identify as an AIDS-orphan;

4. Any youth not being raised primarily within a family context at the start of the study.

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Double Blind (Subject, Outcomes Assessor), Primary Purpose: Supportive Care

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Poverty

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Suubi-Maka ('Hope for Families')
Each child in the SUUBI-MAKA condition receive the usual care plus asset focused services, specifically: a matched Child Development Account (CDA); twelve 1-2 hour training sessions on career planning, setting short-term and long-term career goals, and how to save money; and monthly mentorship program with young adult peers (undergraduate students) on life options and how to avoid risk behaviors. In addition, participants receive a 2:1 match for their deposits into the account. Further, participants and their adult caregivers receive specific training on microenterprise development and specifically on how to start an income-generating project using up to 50% of the matched savings. The intervention is delivered over a period of 24 months.

Other:
• Usual Care
Each child in the control condition receives the usual services for orphaned children (counseling, school lunches, and textbooks).

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Uganda	St. Joseph's Matale Parish	Rakai

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Columbia University	National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Uganda, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Savings and asset-accumulation	Formal and informal savings, wealth/assets (e.g. livestock, type of housing), and attitudes toward saving	12-month post-intervention	No
Primary	Educational outcomes	School enrollment, School attendance, School grades, Educational plans and aspirations	12-month post-intervention	No
Primary	Sexual risk taking	Sexual risk taking behavior (onset of sexual intercourse, unprotected sexual intercourse), Intentions to engage in sexual risk behaviors, HIV knowledge	12-month post-intervention	No
Primary	Savings and asset-accumulation	Formal and informal savings, wealth/assets (e.g. livestock, type of housing), and attitudes toward saving	24-month post-intervention	No
Primary	Educational outcomes	School enrollment, School attendance, School grades, Educational plans and aspirations	24-month post-intervention	No
Primary	Sexual risk taking	Sexual risk taking behavior (onset of sexual intercourse, unprotected sexual intercourse), Intentions to engage in sexual risk behaviors, HIV knowledge	24-month post-intervention	No
Secondary	Mental health	Self-esteem, depression, hopelessness, helplessness	12-month post-intervention	Yes
Secondary	Social and family support	Child-caregiver relationship, family cohesion, family communication, family support	12-month post-intervention	No
Secondary	Mental health	Self-esteem, depression, hopelessness, and helplessness scales	24-month post-intervention	Yes
Secondary	Social and family support	Child-caregiver relationship, family cohesion, family communication, family support	24-month post-intervention	No