Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Trials
Published in: Trials 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Study protocol

Reducing violence against children by implementing the preventative intervention Interaction Competencies with Children for Teachers (ICC-T): study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial in Southwestern Uganda

Authors: Joseph Ssenyonga, Katharin Hermenau, Mabula Nkuba, Tobias Hecker

Published in: Trials | Issue 1/2018

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

An adolescent's school is often the second most important place for his development and education after the home. However, reports highlight the recurrence of the use of violent discipline in schools. There are few school-based interventions that aim at reducing violence at school that have been implemented and evaluated in sub-Saharan Africa. To reduce violent disciplinary measures used at school, we aim to implement and evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of the preventative intervention Interaction Competencies with Children for Teachers (ICC-T).

Methods/design

The study will be conducted in six randomly selected districts of the Ankole region in southwestern Uganda. We shall randomly select two mixed-day secondary schools from each district that fulfill our inclusion criteria. Schools will be randomly assigned to the intervention condition, where ICC-T will be implemented, and control schools (no intervention). Sixty students between the ages of 12 and 17 years and at least 15 teachers per school will be included in the trial. We aim to collect pre-assessment data directly before the intervention (t1) and 3 months after the intervention (t2) in both intervention and control schools.
Using self-administered questionnaires, we will measure students’ exposure to violence using the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS), their psychological well-being using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and teachers’ positive attitudes towards violent disciplining and teachers’ use of violent disciplinary methods (CTS). The implementation feasibility of ICC-T in the cultural context of southwestern Uganda will be assessed with purpose-built measures that follow the guidelines for feasibility studies assessing the demand, applicability, acceptability, and integration of core elements in the daily work.

Discussion

The proposed study will allow us to test the feasibility and efficacy of a preventative intervention seeking to reduce violent disciplinary measures in school settings using a scientifically rigorous design. The proposed study provides the opportunity to contribute to the attainment of goal number 16.2 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Agenda 2015–2030, which aspires to end all forms of violence against children.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03051854. Registered on 14 February 2017.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
Straus MA, Hamby SL, Finkelhor D, Moore DW, Runyan D. Identification of child maltreatment with the parent-child-conflict tactics scale: development and psychometric data for a national sample of American parents. Child Abuse Negl. 1998;22:249–70.CrossRefPubMed
2.
Pinheiro PS. World report on violence against children. New York: United Nations; 2006.
3.
Gershoff ET. School corporal punishment in global perspective: prevalence, outcomes, and efforts at intervention. Psychol Health Med. 2017;22:224–39.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
4.
Devries K, Child J, Allen E, Walakira E, Parkes J, Naker D. School violence, mental health and educational performance in Ugandan primary school children: a cross-sectional survey. Pediatr. 2014;133:e129–37.CrossRef
5.
6.
7.
Straus MA. Prevalence, societal causes and trends in corporal punishment by parents in world perspective. Law Contemp Prol. 2010;31:1–30.
8.
9.
Ndofirepi A, Makaye J, Ndofirepi ES. To discipline or to punish? A critical discourse on schooling in South Africa. Greener J Edu Res. 2012;2:83–90.CrossRef
10.
Parkes J, Heslop J. Stop violence against girls in school: a cross-country analysis of change in Ghana, Kenya and Mozambique. Action Aid International: Johannesburg, South Africa; 2013.
11.
12.
Rudatsikira E, Siziya S, Kazembe LN, Muula AS. Prevalence and associated factors of physical fighting among school-going adolescents in Namibia. Ann of Gen Psychiatry. 2007;6:18.CrossRef
13.
UNICEF. Hidden in plain sight: a statistical analysis of violence against children. UNICEF, Division of Data, Research and Policy: New York; 2014.
14.
Dubanoski RA, Inaba M, Gerkewicz K. Corporal punishment in schools: myths, problems and alternatives. Child Abuse Negl. 1982;7:271–8.CrossRef
15.
16.
17.
Naker D, Sekitoleko D. Positive discipline: creating a good school environment without corporal punishment. Raising Voices: Kampala; 2009.
18.
African Network for Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect [ANPPCAN]. A situation analysis of child abuse and neglect in Uganda. Kampala: ANPPCAN; 2011.
19.
Naker D. Violence against children: the voices of Ugandan children and adults. Kampala: Raising Voices, Save the Children Uganda; 2005.
20.
Gwirayi P. Functions served by corporal punishment: adolescent perspectives. J Psychol Afr. 2011;21:121–4.CrossRef
21.
Devries KM, Knight L, Child JC, Mirembe A, Nakuti J, Jones R, Sturgess J, Allen E, Kyegombe N, Parkes J, Walakira E, Elbourne D, Watts C, Naker D. The Good School Toolkit for reducing physical violence from school staff to primary school students: a cluster-randomised controlled trial in Uganda. Lancet Glob Health. 2015;3:e378–e86.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
22.
Gershoff ET. Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behavior experiences: a meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychol Bull. 2002;128:539–79.CrossRefPubMed
23.
Hecker T, Hermenau K, Isele D, Elbert T. Corporal and children’s externalizing problems: a cross sectional study of Tanzanian primary school aged children. Child Abuse Negl. 2014;38:884–92.CrossRefPubMed
24.
Hermenau K, Hecker T, Elbert T, Ruf-Leuschner M. Maltreatment and mental health in institutional care—comparing early and late institutionalized children in Tanzania. Inf Mental Health J. 2014;35:102–10.CrossRef
25.
Hermenau K, Hecker T, Ruf M, Schauer E, Elbert T, Schauer M. Childhood adversity, mental ill- health and aggressive behavior in an African orphanage: changes in response to trauma-focused therapy and the implementation of a new instructional system. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Mental Health. 2011;5:1–9.CrossRef
26.
27.
28.
Moyo G, Khewu NPD, Bayaga A. Disciplinary practices in schools and principles of alternatives to corporal punishment strategies. S Afr J Educ. 2014;34:779.CrossRef
29.
Devries KM, Allen E, Child JC, Walakira E, Elbourne D, Watts C, Naker D. The Good Schools Toolkit to prevent violence against children in Ugandan primary schools: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial. Trials. 2013;14:232.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
30.
31.
Kaltenbach E, Hermenau K, Nkuba M, Goessmann K, Hecker T. Improving interaction competencies with children — a pilot feasibility study to reduce school corporal punishment. J Aggress Maltreat Trauma. 2017;27:35–53.CrossRef
32.
Hermenau K, Kaltenbach E, Mkinga G, Hecker T. Improving care quality and preventing maltreatment in institutional care: a feasibility study with caregivers. Frontiers in Psychol. 2015;6:937.CrossRef
33.
Hecker T, Mkinga G, Ssenyonga J, Hermenau K. Interaction Competencies with Children (ICC): an approach for preventing violence, abuse, and neglect in institutional care in sub-Saharan Africa. In: Rus A, Parris S, Stativa E, editors. Child maltreatment in residential care. Cham: Springer; 2017. p. 357–78.CrossRef
34.
35.
The Statistics section, Education Planning and policy department, Ministry of Education and Sports. A comprehensive report on the Universal Post Primary Education and Training (UPPET /USE), and Universal Post O’ Level Education and Training (UPOLET) national headcount exercise 2014. Kampala: The Statistics section, Education Planning and policy department, Ministry of Education and Sports; 2014.
36.
Education Planning and Policy Analysis Department, Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Sports. Statistical abstract 2014: findings from the annual school census 2014. Kampala: Education Planning and Policy Analysis Department, Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Sports; 2014.
37.
Nkuba M, Hermenau K, Hecker T. Violence and maltreatment in Tanzanian families — findings from a nationally representative sample of secondary school students and their parents. Child Abuse Negl. 2018;77:110–20.CrossRefPubMed
38.
Hecker T, Goessmann K, Nkuba M, Hermenau K. Teachers’ stress intensifies violent disciplining in Tanzanian secondary schools. Child Abuse Negl. 2018;76:173–83.CrossRefPubMed
39.
Hecker T, Hermenau K, Salmen C, Teicher M, Elbert T. Harsh discipline relates to internalizing problems and cognitive functioning: findings from a cross-sectional study with school children in Tanzania. BMC Psychiatry. 2016;16:118.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
40.
Faul F, Erdfelder E, Lang A-G, Buchner A. G*Power 3: a flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behav Res Methods. 2007;39:175–91.CrossRefPubMed
41.
The American Academy of Pediatrics. In: Schor EL, editor. Caring for your school-age child: ages 5 to 12 (revised). New York: Bantam Books; 1999.
42.
Goodman R, Meltzer H, Bailey V. The strengths and difficulties questionnaire: a pilot study on the validity of the self-report version. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1998;7:125–30.CrossRefPubMed
43.
Bowen DJ, Kreuter M, Spring B, Cofta-Woerpel L, Linnan L, Weiner D, Bakken S, Kaplan CP, Squiers L, Fabrizio C, Fernandez M. How we design feasibility studies. Am J Prev Med. 2009;36:452–7.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
44.
Uganda National Council for Science and Technology [UNCST]. National guidelines for research involving humans as research participants. Kampala: UNCST; 2014.
45.
Muhanguzi FK. Gender and sexual vulnerability of young women in Africa: experiences of young girls in secondary schools in Uganda. Cult Health Sex. 2011;13:713–25.CrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
Reducing violence against children by implementing the preventative intervention Interaction Competencies with Children for Teachers (ICC-T): study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial in Southwestern Uganda
Authors
Joseph Ssenyonga
Katharin Hermenau
Mabula Nkuba
Tobias Hecker
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Trials / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1745-6215
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-018-2827-9

Other articles of this Issue 1/2018

Trials 1/2018 Go to the issue

Study protocol

Restrictive Versus Massive Fluid Resuscitation Strategy (REFILL study), influence on blood loss and hemostatic parameters in obstetric hemorrhage: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Research

Comparison of registered and published intervention fidelity assessment in cluster randomised trials of public health interventions in low- and middle-income countries: systematic review

Study protocol

Herbal medicine foot bath for the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy: protocol for a randomized, double-blind and controlled trial

Study protocol

At-risk registers integrated into primary care to stop asthma crises in the UK (ARRISA-UK): study protocol for a pragmatic, cluster randomised trial with nested health economic and process evaluations

Study protocol

Baby Steps – a structured group education programme with accompanying mobile web application designed to promote physical activity in women with a history of gestational diabetes: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Study protocol

Evaluation of a novel device for the management of high blood pressure and shock in pregnancy in low-resource settings: study protocol for a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised controlled trial (CRADLE-3 trial)