Mainstreaming a Life Skills Education Programme Right to Play- Plus to Reduce Violence Against Girls in Pakistan (RTP-Plus)

Aga Khan University

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Resilience; Gender Equity; Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights; Gender Based Violence; Mental Health

Treatments: Behavioral: Right to Play-Plus (RTP-Plus); Other: Control

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06777849

22-SC35-INT (Other Identifier)

2024-9681-30134

Details and patient eligibility

About

Right to Play-Plus (RTP-Plus) aims to address violence against women and girls by promoting changes in social norms among young people within the school environment. The project focuses on building the capacity of young people to identify harmful gender norms and prevent violence against girls and boys by incorporating Right to Play's play-based learning methodology and Aahung's Life Skills Based Education curriculum. The strategies employed include interactive, learner-centered methodologies, curricular activities, and the development of peer educators and junior leaders. Teachers play a crucial role as key influencers and delivery agents of the curricular content. The project emphasizes capacity development for teachers, challenging their social norms, strengthening their play-based methodologies, and improving their sexual and reproductive health and rights knowledge (SRHR). The ultimate goal is to equip teachers to effectively deliver a gender transformative curriculum, empowering young people to respond to and prevent violence.

The research question for this study is:

What is the effectiveness of an adapted play-based life skills education that incorporates a "whole school" approach in reducing sexual harassment and abuse, peer violence experiences, mental illness (including suicidal ideation), improving resilience, and promoting gender equity, SRHR knowledge in both home and public settings?

The research objective will be achieved through two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial (for girls-only, co-ed, and boys-only schools). The intervention arm participants will be able to participate in the adapted play-based life skills education intervention, which the Right to Play and Aahung will deliver. It will be provided to all eligible school children in grade 6. Moreover, a delayed intervention will be offered to the control arm upon completion of endline data collection after the comprehensive intervention is delivered in the intervention arm.

Enrollment: 3,000 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 10 to 16 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Schools will be chosen from District Malir and adjacent areas, including Korangi and East Karachi. Among the 100 selected schools, the following distribution will be maintained: 40 girls-only schools (public), 40 co-ed schools (private), and 20 boys-only schools (public).
• Schools having a minimum of 30 students enrolled in grade 6
• Private schools with low to medium fees, with monthly amounts ranging from PKR 2000 to 3500.
• Factors such as teacher availability, school management support, accessibility to research and intervention partners, and school clustering will also be considered for the selection of these hundred schools.
• Schools' willingness to adapt child protection and safeguarding/anti-harassment administrative measures and policies to improve school safety, reduce the use of corporal punishment, enhance school performance, and increase girls' retention rates, primarily apply to private schools.

Exclusion criteria

• Schools where Right to Play or Aahung have already implemented their play-based/other activities.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

3,000 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

The intervention arm participants will receive the adapted play-based life skills education intervention from teachers, which the Right to Play and Aahung will deliver.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Right to Play-Plus (RTP-Plus)

Control

Other group

Description:

The control arm will not receive the intervention during the two years of cluster randomised control trial (cRCT). However, a delayed intervention will be offered to the control arm upon completion of endline data collection after the comprehensive intervention is delivered in the intervention arm.

Treatment:

Other: Control