Creating Opportunities Through Mentoring, Parenting and Safe Spaces - Democratic Republic of Congo

NCT ID: NCT02384642

Last Updated: 2018-02-08

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

1633 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2015-06-30

Study Completion Date

2016-12-31

Brief Summary

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The study is a randomized controlled trial of COMPASS, an intervention for adolescent girls in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The study design will employ a two-arm randomized controlled trial where girls will be enrolled at the same time and randomized to receive a basic package of services, which includes life skills education and access to mentors in safe spaces, or the basic package plus a structured parenting intervention for girls' caregivers. An experimental design will be used to evaluate the relative impact of the parenting initiative in addition to the safe space program for girls. In addition, qualitative research will address additional questions of acceptability, processes of change and best practice.

Groups in North and South Kivu will be randomized so that every group is randomly designated as a group that will either roll out the core intervention or the intervention plus caregiver component. Groups that do not receive the parental intervention during the study will receive the intervention when the study is complete to reduce communal jealousies.

The intervention, the COMPASS program, will involve a structured intervention for girls between the ages of 10-14 that is intended to engage adolescent girls, those who are influential in their lives, service providers and other stakeholders, with the ultimate goal of co-creating environments in which girls are valued and safe. The program is centered on establishing or supporting community-supported safe spaces for girls where they can come and gather among themselves and participate in a structured life-skills curriculum. In addition to the safe spaces for girls, the COMPASS project will also implement structured activities for the parents and caregivers of participants.

Detailed Description

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The study will examine the relative impact of the parenting initiative in addition to the program for adolescent girls. The study will seek to determine whether the structured intervention with girls' parents has an added impact on outcomes improve girls' safety and well-being. Research will focus on unpacking the components of the program in order to determine which components or combination of components have the most impact. This research will include a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches to establish a foundation for good programming that supports adolescent girls' safe and healthy transition into adulthood.

The study assessment will employ a mixed methods approach with most data collection occurring at pre-test/baseline and post-intervention, although a qualitative assessment will also be performed at the intervention midpoint as a process indicator. Quantitative survey methods will be used to evaluate attitudes towards a host of topics related to physical and financial assets and health-related behaviors. Survey questions will be administered using Audio Computer Assisted Self-Interviewing (ACASI) and Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI). Quantitative methods will be used to yield statistical measures of the scale of changes in attitudes, skills, and behaviors due to the intervention.

Qualitative methods will include in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with girls, their family members and mentors, as well as participatory methods with girls to assess topics such as self-esteem, empowerment, and resilience.

Conditions

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Sexual Assault Interpersonal Relations Marital Status Domestic Violence

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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COMPASS

The COMPASS program will involve a structured intervention for girls between the ages of 10-14 that is intended to engage adolescent girls, those who are influential in their lives, service providers and other stakeholders, with the ultimate goal of co-creating environments in which girls are valued and safe. The program is centered on establishing or supporting community-supported safe spaces for girls where they can come and gather among themselves and participate in a structured life-skills curriculum.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

COMPASS

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

COMPASS (Creating Opportunities through Mentoring, Parental involvement and Safe Spaces) is a program for 10-14 year old girls in Eastern DRC. The program is a structured intervention that is intended to engage adolescent girls, through life skills training and establishing or supporting community-supported safe spaces for girls where they can come and gather among themselves and participate in a structured life-skills curriculum.

COMPASS plus parenting

In the COMPASS plus parenting intervention arm, girls will receive the COMPASS intervention, and In addition to the safe spaces for girls, the COMPASS project will also implement structured activities for the parents and caregivers of participants. The study will examine the relative impact of the parenting initiative in addition to the program for adolescent girls. The study will seek to determine whether the structured intervention with girls' parents has an added impact on outcomes improve girls' safety and well-being.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

COMPASS plus parenting

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The COMPASS plus parenting intervention is the core COMPASS intervention, plus activities for the parents and caregivers of participants.

Interventions

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COMPASS

COMPASS (Creating Opportunities through Mentoring, Parental involvement and Safe Spaces) is a program for 10-14 year old girls in Eastern DRC. The program is a structured intervention that is intended to engage adolescent girls, through life skills training and establishing or supporting community-supported safe spaces for girls where they can come and gather among themselves and participate in a structured life-skills curriculum.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

COMPASS plus parenting

The COMPASS plus parenting intervention is the core COMPASS intervention, plus activities for the parents and caregivers of participants.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* female
* aged 10-14
* give informed consent

Exclusion Criteria

\- cognitive impairment
Minimum Eligible Age

10 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

14 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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International Rescue Committee

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Department for International Development, United Kingdom

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role collaborator

Columbia University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Lindsay Stark

Associate Professor of Population and Family Health

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Lindsay Stark

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Associate Professor of Population and Family Health

Locations

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International Rescue Commitee

New York, New York, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Seff I, Falb K, Yu G, Landis D, Stark L. Gender-equitable caregiver attitudes and education and safety of adolescent girls in South Kivu, DRC: A secondary analysis from a randomized controlled trial. PLoS Med. 2021 Sep 28;18(9):e1003619. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003619. eCollection 2021 Sep.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 34582454 (View on PubMed)

Stark L, Seff I, Asghar K, Roth D, Bakamore T, MacRae M, Fanton D'Andon C, Falb KL. Building caregivers' emotional, parental and social support skills to prevent violence against adolescent girls: findings from a cluster randomised controlled trial in Democratic Republic of Congo. BMJ Glob Health. 2018 Oct 19;3(5):e000824. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2018-000824. eCollection 2018.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 30398222 (View on PubMed)

Stark L, Seff I, Assezenew A, Eoomkham J, Falb K, Ssewamala FM. Effects of a Social Empowerment Intervention on Economic Vulnerability for Adolescent Refugee Girls in Ethiopia. J Adolesc Health. 2018 Jan;62(1S):S15-S20. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.06.014.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 29273113 (View on PubMed)

Falb KL, Tanner S, Ward L, Erksine D, Noble E, Assazenew A, Bakomere T, Graybill E, Lowry C, Mallinga P, Neiman A, Poulton C, Robinette K, Sommer M, Stark L. Creating opportunities through mentorship, parental involvement, and safe spaces (COMPASS) program: multi-country study protocol to protect girls from violence in humanitarian settings. BMC Public Health. 2016 Mar 5;16:231. doi: 10.1186/s12889-016-2894-3.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 26945586 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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AAAO6612

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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