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

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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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.

Detailed Description
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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.

Official Title
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Effectiveness Trial of Methods for Engaging Parents Into Parenting Interventions

Conditions
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Patient Compliance

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Enrollment Flyer
* Other: Testimonial Booklet
* Other: Teacher Endorsement
* Other: Provider Engagement Call


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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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.
Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: Participants are randomly assigned to one of five conditions: 1) enrollment flyer only; 2) enrollment flyer + testimonial booklet; 3) enrollment flyer + teacher endorsement; 4) enrollment flyer + provider engagement call; or 5) all four engagement strategies.
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Enrollment Flyer<br>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. | Other: Enrollment Flyer<br>* Enrollment flyer that provided information about the Triple P Positive Parenting Program and an enrollment form.<br>|
| Experimental: Enrollment Flyer & Testimonial Booklet<br>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. | Other: Enrollment Flyer<br>* Enrollment flyer that provided information about the Triple P Positive Parenting Program and an enrollment form.<br>Other: Testimonial Booklet<br>* Booklet that included quotes and photos from parents who had previously participated in the Triple P Positive Parenting Program and/or their children who participated in the free childcare, as well as an enrollment form.<br>|
| Experimental: Enrollment Flyer & Teacher Endorsement<br>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. | Other: Enrollment Flyer<br>* Enrollment flyer that provided information about the Triple P Positive Parenting Program and an enrollment form.<br>Other: Teacher Endorsement<br>* Brief conversation between the parent and their child's teacher in which the teacher told the parent about the benefits of participating in the Triple P Positive Parenting Program and recommended that the parent attend. The teacher also gave the parent a brochure that gave information about the Triple P program and an enrollment form.<br>|
| Experimental: Enrollment Flyer & Engagement Call<br>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. | Other: Enrollment Flyer<br>* Enrollment flyer that provided information about the Triple P Positive Parenting Program and an enrollment form.<br>Other: Provider Engagement Call<br>* This was a manualized, 15-minute call from the Triple P Positive Parenting Program provider to a parent in which the provider elicited the parent's child-focused goals and showed how the parent's goals could be addressed by Triple P. The provider also helped the parent anticipate and problem solve possible barriers to attendance.<br>|
| Experimental: All Engagement Strategies<br>Participants in this condition received all engagement strategies in the Parent Engagement Package: enrollment flyer, testimonial booklet, teacher endorsement, and provider engagement call. | Other: Enrollment Flyer<br>* Enrollment flyer that provided information about the Triple P Positive Parenting Program and an enrollment form.<br>Other: Testimonial Booklet<br>* Booklet that included quotes and photos from parents who had previously participated in the Triple P Positive Parenting Program and/or their children who participated in the free childcare, as well as an enrollment form.<br>Other: Teacher Endorsement<br>* Brief conversation between the parent and their child's teacher in which the teacher told the parent about the benefits of participating in the Triple P Positive Parenting Program and recommended that the parent attend. The teacher also gave the parent a brochure that gave information about the Triple P program and an enrollment form.<br>Other: Provider Engagement Call<br>* This was a manualized, 15-minute call from the Triple P Positive Parenting Program provider to a parent in which the provider elicited the parent's child-focused goals and showed how the parent's goals could be addressed by Triple P. The provider also helped the parent anticipate and problem solve possible barriers to attendance.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Parenting Intervention Attendance | Number of sessions a caregiver from a student's family attended the parenting intervention, the Triple P Positive Parenting Program | Attendance at the Triple P Positive Parenting Program was collected once per week for 8 weeks | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Parenting Intervention Enrollment | Whether or not a family enrolled in the Triple P Positive Parenting Program by completing an enrollment form. | from the date engagement strategies commenced until the date the Triple P Positive Parenting Program began, up to 7 weeks | 
| Parenting Intervention Homework Completion | caregiver report of completion of Triple P Positive Parenting Program assignments between sessions | collected once per week for 7 weeks, at the beginning of each Triple P Positive Parenting Program sessions 2 through 8 | 
| Parenting Intervention Session Involvement | group leader reports of the extent to which a caregiver actively participated in each Triple P Positive Parenting Program session attended | collected once per week for 8 weeks, after each Triple P Positive Parenting Program session | 
| Child Behavior Problems | parent and teacher reports of child behavior problem frequency and intensity | collected at baseline and at Triple P post-test, an average of 7 months after baseline | 
| Parenting Skills | parent report of parenting warmth and discipline | collected at baseline and at Triple P post-test, an average of 7 months after baseline |