The SMART Africa studies examine the impact and implementation of an evidence-based Multiple Family Group (MFG) intervention for children experiencing behavioral problems and their families in Uganda, Kenya, and Ghana.
In November, the Uganda team delivered the final Multiple Family Group (MFG) sessions, in the Amaka Amasanyufu intervention, culminating four years of hard work! The last three MFG sessions were delivered by Community Health Workers in compliance with the local COVID-19 guidelines for participants in a treatment 2 arm study school, where despite the pandemic, 81.5% of the expected families attended the sessions. Families expressed gratitude for the MFG intervention which has been pivotal in positive adjustments in the parenting styles. Following the completion of the sessions in the last school, the team conducted the 16-week follow-up interviews for the participants. Thus far, 90% of participants have been interviewed in the last round of eight schools. On November 19th, the team successfully hosted a remote site monitoring visit that included National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) representatives, the study Principal Investigators, study coordinators, and the site monitors from Partners in Population and Development (PPD). The team presented on the study’s progress and answered questions from the monitors, which was well-received. Congratulations to the SMART Africa-Uganda team, and many thanks to the families who participated in the study as well as our funders, the NIMH!
The Kenya team has been hard at work to adapt to study changes resulting from COVID-19. The team is currently exploring new ways to collect data in a way that maximizes the safety of the research staff and study participants. Prior to COVID-19, the team used paper copies of the assessments exclusively, but is now shifting toward new online methods to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The Kenya team is also beginning to analyze their baseline data and plan to begin drafting manuscripts for publication that detail their findings.
This month, the Ghana team continued 6-month assessments for School Health Educators (SHEP)-facilitated MFG sessions which were postponed due to the COVID-19 shutdowns. Safety precautions for the study team and participants have been established, including scheduled appointments for assessments and sitting more than 6-feet apart during these assessments. MFG sessions for Parent Peers, which were also postponed due to COVID restrictions, concluded this month. Participants were enthusiastic to continue these sessions. The team is now processing and cleaning study data.
Congratulations to all of our SMART Africa teams for their hard work as the project enters its final stage!
