title: A parenting programme to prevent abuse of adolescents in South Africa: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.
abstract: An estimated one billion children experience child abuse each year, with the highest rates in low- and middle-income countries. The Sinovuyo Teen programme is part of Parenting for Lifelong Health, a WHO/UNICEF initiative to develop and test violence-prevention programmes for implementation in low-resource contexts. The objectives of this parenting support programme are to prevent the abuse of adolescents, improve parenting and reduce adolescent behavioural problems. This trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Sinovuyo Teen compared to an attention-control group of a water hygiene programme.
  
  
  
  This is a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial, with stratified randomisation of 37 settlements (rural and peri-urban) with 40 study clusters in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Settlements receive either a 14-session parenting support programme or a 1-day water hygiene programme. The primary outcomes are child abuse and parenting practices, and secondary outcomes include adolescent behavioural problems, mental health and social support. Concurrent process evaluation and qualitative research are conducted. Outcomes are reported by both primary caregivers and adolescents. Brief follow-up measures are collected immediately after the intervention, and full follow-up measures collected at 3-8 months post-intervention. A 15-24-month follow-up is planned, but this will depend on the financial and practical feasibility given delays related to high levels of ongoing civil and political violence in the research sites.
  
  
  
  This is the first known trial of a parenting programme to prevent abuse of adolescents in a low- or middle-income country. The study will also examine potential mediating pathways and moderating factors.
  
  
  
  Pan-African Clinical Trials Registry PACTR201507001119966. Registered on 27 April 2015. It can be found by searching for the key word 'Sinovuyo' on their website or via the following link: http://www.pactr.org/ATMWeb/appmanager/atm/atmregistry?_nfpb=true&_windowLabel=BasicSearchUpdateController_1&BasicSearchUpdateController_1_actionOverride=%2Fpageflows%2Ftrial%2FbasicSearchUpdate%2FviewTrail&BasicSearchUpdateController_1id=1119.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, UK. lucie.cluver@spi.ox.ac.uk.|Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. lucie.cluver@spi.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0418-835X
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cluver
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, UK.
authors.forename: Franziska
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Meinck
authors.affiliation: Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, ᅟ, ᅟ
authors.forename: Yulia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shenderovich
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Catherine L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, UK.
authors.forename: Rocio Herrero
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, UK.
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Redfern
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lombard
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, UK.
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Doubt
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, UK.
authors.forename: Janina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Steinert
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, UK.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Catanho
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, UK.
authors.forename: Camille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wittesaele
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, UK.
authors.forename: Sachin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Stone
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, UK.
authors.forename: Nasteha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Salah
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, UK.
authors.forename: Phelisa
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mpimpilashe
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, UK.|Clowns Without Borders South Africa, PO Box 18670, Durban, 4014, South Africa.
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lachman
authors.affiliation: UNICEF, Offices of Research - Innocenti, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Loening
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, UK.
authors.forename: Frances
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, UK.
authors.forename: Daphnee
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blanc
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, UK.
authors.forename: Mzuvekile
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nocuza
authors.affiliation: Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, UK.
authors.forename: Meryn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lechowicz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D006801:Humans; D016487:Parenting
keywords: Child abuse; Low- and middle-income countries; Parenting