Bandebereho 6 Year Follow up RCT in Rwanda
Condition: Gender Relations; Violence; Child Development; Contraception; Prenatal Care; Partner Communication
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This study seeks to conduct a six-year follow-up of the Bandebereho randomized control trial
      (RCT) to assess the longer-term impact of the gender-transformative Bandebereho couples
      intervention on participating men, women, and their children. The Bandebereho program was
      implemented by the Rwanda Men's Resource Centre (RWAMREC) and Promundo-US, in collaboration
      with the Rwanda Ministry of Health and local authorities between 2013 and 2015. A two-arm RCT
      collected three rounds of data from 1,199 couples (575 treatment; 624 control) starting in
      2015-16: baseline (pre-intervention), 9 month follow-up, and 21-month follow-up. The findings
      at 21-months demonstrated significant impacts of the intervention on multiple gender and
      health-related outcomes. This study will conduct surveys with men enrolled in the RCT and
      their female partners 6 years after the intervention, to assess its long-term impact on
      reproductive and maternal health, gender attitudes and household dynamics, intimate partner
      violence, mental health and wellbeing, parenting, and child development. In addition, child
      assessments will be conducted with a sub-sample of 800 children aged 4 to 7 years to directly
      assess early childhood development outcomes.
    

Detailed description: 
      This study seeks to conduct a six-year follow-up of the Bandebereho randomized controlled
      trial (RCT) to assess the longer-term impact of the gender-transformative Bandebereho couples
      intervention on participating men, women, and their children. The Bandebereho program being
      assessed was first implemented by the Rwanda Men's Resource Center (RWAMREC) and Promundo-US,
      in collaboration with the Rwanda Ministry of Health and local authorities in Karongi,
      Musanze, Nyaruguru and Nyaruguru districts between 2013 and 2015. A two-arm RCT was conducted
      with 1,199 couples (575 treatment; 624 control) in 2015-16. Three rounds of data were
      collected: baseline (pre-intervention), 9 month follow-up (4 months post-intervention), and
      21-month follow-up (16 months post-intervention). The findings at 21-months demonstrated
      significant impacts of the intervention on multiple gender and health-related outcomes. The
      proposed study will conduct surveys with men enrolled in the RCT and their female partners,
      to assess the longer-term impact of the intervention on reproductive and maternal health,
      gender attitudes and household dynamics, intimate partner violence, mental health and
      wellbeing, parenting, and child development. In addition, child assessments will be conducted
      with a sub-sample of 800 children aged 4 to 7 years to directly assess early childhood
      development outcomes.
    

Intervention name(s): MenCare+/Bandebereho fathers'/couples' group education
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): MenCare+/Bandebereho was a 3 year project to engage men in maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) and in sexual and reproductive health in Rwanda. A core component of the project is fathers'/couples' group education. The target participants were first-time parents or parents of young children living in 16 rural and semi-urban sectors selected by the implementing partner in collaboration with local authorities. The MenCare+/Bandebereho fathers'/couples' group education engaged men in 15 weekly sessions of group discussion, critical reflection and interactive activities led by a trained facilitator using a curriculum developed by RWAMREC and Promundo and approved by the Rwandan Ministry of Health, adapted from the Program P Manual. Men's partners participate in 6-8 sessions. The sessions focused on men's role in MNCH, family planning, sharing household responsibilities, intimate partner violence, conflict resolution, family budgeting, and gender equality.
Other intervention name(s): Program P
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Gender; Violence; Early childhood development (ECD); Caregiving; Parenting; MNCH; Reproductive health