Parent Engagement Package: Comparing Strategies for Engaging Parents Into Parenting Programs

Arizona State University (ASU)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Patient Compliance

Treatments: Other: Teacher Endorsement; Other: Enrollment Flyer; Other: Provider Engagement Call; Other: Testimonial Booklet

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT03147716

STUDY00001365

R01DA033352 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study tests the effectiveness of different strategies for engaging parents into an evidence-based parenting skills intervention, the Triple P Positive Parenting Program, offered universally to parents of children attending one of six public elementary schools.

Full description

Parenting skills programs have been shown to help prevent youth substance use and mental health disorders. Unfortunately, few parents participate in parenting programs when given the opportunity. Thus, developing effective strategies to increase engagement in effective preventive parenting interventions is essential for these programs to have a significant public health impact. The purpose of this study is to identify parent engagement strategies that increase participation in effective parenting programs and consequently improve parenting practices and children's well-being.

Enrollment: 854 patients

Sex: All

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Is a caregiver of a child in kindergarten, 1st, 2nd or 3rd grade at a participating school (i.e.,"target child");
• The target child lives with the caregiver at least half of the time;
• The caregiver speaks English or Spanish;
• The caregiver is listed as one of the target child's parents/guardians in the school's records.

Exclusion criteria

• The target child is in a self-contained classroom due to cognitive or emotional disabilities;
• The caregiver is a kindergarten, 1st, 2nd or 3rd grade teacher at a participating school;
• The target child attended one of the participating schools during a previous cohort of the study;
• The caregiver is participating in a competing parenting program at the school, the "Intensive Family Literacy program".

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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854 participants in 5 patient groups

Enrollment Flyer

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants in this condition received one of the strategies in the Parent Engagement Package: an enrollment flyer that provided information about the Triple P Positive Parenting Program being offered at their child's school, including the location of meetings, free childcare, topics covered, choice of days/times and English or Spanish groups, and an enrollment form. Parents who returned the enrollment form received automated text, email and/or phone reminders and a confirmation letter prior to each parenting program session.

Treatment:

Other: Enrollment Flyer

Enrollment Flyer & Testimonial Booklet

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in this condition received two of the strategies in the Parent Engagement Package: the enrollment flyer plus a two-page, testimonial booklet that included photos and quotes from parents and children describing benefits other parents reported after participating in the Triple P Positive Parenting Program and fun activities children reported about the childcare. The booklet also contained the location of meetings, free childcare, choice of days/times and English or Spanish groups, and an enrollment form.

Treatment:

Other: Enrollment Flyer

Other: Testimonial Booklet

Enrollment Flyer & Teacher Endorsement

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in this condition received two of the strategies in the Parent Engagement Package: the enrollment flyer plus a teacher endorsement of the Triple P Positive Parenting Program. The teacher also gave the participant a colorful brochure that included information about the location of meetings, free childcare, topics covered, choice of days/times and English or Spanish groups, and an enrollment form.

Treatment:

Other: Teacher Endorsement

Other: Enrollment Flyer

Enrollment Flyer & Engagement Call

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in this condition received two of the strategies in the Parent Engagement Package: the enrollment flyer plus an engagement call from a Triple P provider. Providers followed a manualized protocol for implementing the engagement call, which included strategies to increase parental motivation to participate in Triple P and reduce barriers to participation.

Treatment:

Other: Provider Engagement Call

Other: Enrollment Flyer

All Engagement Strategies

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in this condition received all engagement strategies in the Parent Engagement Package: enrollment flyer, testimonial booklet, teacher endorsement, and provider engagement call.

Treatment:

Other: Provider Engagement Call

Other: Teacher Endorsement

Other: Enrollment Flyer

Other: Testimonial Booklet