Assessing parenting practices and service system to adapted a prevention program to promote child wellbeing in Kenya

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Project Summary/Abstract Child maltreatment is a global public health problem, affecting 70% of children in Kenya and significantly increasing children’s risk for negative sequelae (e.g., non-communicable diseases, injury, mental illness) across their lifespan. Parent training programs are key to addressing this global epidemic. In high-income countries, numerous evidence-based parenting programs address familial risk factors associated with maltreatment. The critical barrier to progress occurs in low- and middle-income countries, where few culturally specific programs are available. This project addresses this significant need by leveraging an existing parent training program and its implementation infrastructure. The objectives of this 2-year development study are to: (1) conduct the groundwork to bring SafeCare®, an evidence-based program, to the first location in Africa; and (2) continue and expand the collaborative partnership between Georgia State University (GSU) and Africa Mental Health Foundation (AMHF), our Nairobi partner, to promote the wellbeing of young children and families. Specifically, our project aims to: (1) establish a multi-disciplinary Stakeholder Task Force in Kenya to advise the research and adaptation processes, (2) assess the need and necessary adaptations for SafeCare in Kenya, (3) adapt and test the SafeCare curriculum and implementation, and (4) expand AMHF’s capacity in implementation science. AMHF successfully conducts quantitative research on mental health and substance use with school aged children (ages 6 to 17) and adults across Kenya. This project will expand AMHF’s research capacity for implementation science with respect to cultural adaption and scale-up of evidence-based prevention programs for young children (ages 0 to 5) and families across Kenya and Africa, through extensive partnerships amongst the SafeCare developers at GSU’s National SafeCare Training and Research Center and key country and regional stakeholders, including families, professionals, government, and researchers. We will use focus groups and in-depth interviews with parents, professionals working children and families, and other community stakeholders to understand the prevalent challenges facing parents and the country’s existing service infrastructure. Using the formative research data, we will adapt the SafeCare curriculum and implementation process for delivery with Kenyan families, paving the way for a more comprehensive project evaluating the effectiveness of the adapted curriculum. Our project’s long-term goals are to: (1) build sustainable research and implementation capacity in Kenya and Africa, and (2) design a parenting program to promote children’s wellbeing, and reduce child maltreatment, NCDs and injuries across the lifespan.