Using WhatsApp Support Groups to Promote Responsive Caregiving, Caregiver Mental Health and Child Development in the COVID-19 Era: A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Fully Digital Parenting Intervention

Overview

Journal Digit Health

Specialty Medical Informatics

Date 2023 Nov 6

PMID 37928327

Authors

Sarah Skeen

Marguerite Marlow

Stefani du Toit

G J Melendez-Torres

Lynette Mudekunye

Edwick Mapalala

Kelvin Ngoma

Byamukama Michael Ntanda

Moroesi Maketha

Caitlin Grieve

Laura Hartmann

Sarah Gordon

Mark Tomlinson

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: Digital interventions hold important potential for supporting parents when face-to-face interventions are unavailable. We assessed the feasibility and effectiveness of a digital parenting intervention in Zambia and Tanzania.

Methods: Using a randomised controlled trial, we evaluated the Sharing Stories digital parenting intervention for caregivers of children aged 9-32 months with access to a smartphone in their household. Caregivers were stratified based on child age and randomly assigned to the intervention or waitlist control arm. The intervention was delivered via facilitated WhatsApp groups over 6 weeks to promote caregiver wellbeing and responsive caregiving through shared reading activities. Primary outcomes were caregiver-reported responsive caregiving, child language and socio-emotional development. Secondary outcomes were caregiver mental health and parental stress. Masked assessors conducted assessments at baseline and immediate follow-up.

Results: Between October 2020 and March 2021, we randomly assigned 494 caregiver-child dyads to the intervention ( = 248) or waitlist control ( = 246) arm. Caregivers in the intervention group reported more responsive caregiving (OR = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.15-5.66, = 0.02), time reading or looking at books (β = 0.45, = 0.04) and telling stories (β = 0.72, = 0.002). Intervention caregivers reported significantly lower symptoms of depression (β = -0.64, = 0.05) and anxiety (β = -0.65, = 0.02). Child development and parental stress did not differ significantly between groups.

Conclusions: Digital parenting interventions using WhatsApp can effectively promote responsive caregiving and caregiver mental health in low-resource settings, with great potential for scalability.

Trial Registration: ISRCTN database, ISRCTN77689525.

Citing Articles

Digital Parenting Program: Enhancing Parenting and Reducing Child Behavior Problems.

Pisani Altafim E, de Oliveira R, Pluciennik G, Marino E, Gaspardo C Children (Basel). 2024; 11(8).

PMID: 39201915 PMC: 11352771. DOI: 10.3390/children11080980.

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