Clinical trial NCT01180114: Economic Empowerment Program Suubi-Maka
Official title: SUUBI MAKA ("Hope for Families"): A Family-Based Economic Empowerment Model for Orphaned Children in Uganda
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Poverty
Keywords: economic empowerment model,
orphaned children and youth,
Uganda,
sub-Saharan Africa
Lead sponsor: Columbia University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
First posted: 2010-08-11
Enrollment: 300
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 11
Maximum age (years): 16
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Brief summary: The overall goal of SUUBI-MAKA is to further develop and preliminarily examine a family economic empowerment intervention that creates economic opportunities (specifically Children Development Accounts) for families in Uganda who are caring for children orphaned due to the AIDS pandemic, and to lay groundwork for a bigger study with practice and policy implications for Sub-Saharan Africa.

Detailed description: The study has two specific aims (1) To conduct formative work in order to understand children and families´ ability and interest in participating in a family-level economic empowerment intervention focused on savings and family income generation, and their response to this family-focused economic empowerment approach alongside additional intervention components, including savings for youth education and adult mentorship. (2) Based on formative data (Aim #1), to adapt the intervention and examine issues related to feasibility and preliminary outcome on a small scale in order to prepare for a larger study.

The intervention, SUUBI-MAKA, uses a novel approach by focusing on economic empowerment of families caring for children orphaned due to AIDS. The intervention has three key components (1) it promotes family-level income generating projects (micro-enterprises) which we believe will enhance economic stability, reduce poverty, and enhance protective family processes for youth orphaned by AIDS. (2) It promotes monetary savings for educational opportunities for AIDS-orphaned children. (3) It provides an adult mentor to children. The intervention will be evaluated via a two-group randomized trial. The two groups are SUUBI-MAKA or Usual care for orphaned children. The participating children will be nested within 20 primary schools that will be randomly assigned such that all children from a particular school receive the same intervention.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

1. An AIDS-orphaned child, defined as a child who has lost one or both parents to AIDS;
2. Enrolled in the last two years of primary school (even though possibly not attending regularly);
3. Between the ages of 11 to 16 years;
4. Living within a family.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Any youth below 11 years or above 16 years at the time of enrollment in the study;
2. Any youth not enrolled in the final two years of primary school;
3. Any youth who does not self-identify as an AIDS-orphan;
4. Any youth not being raised primarily within a family context at the start of the study.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Savings and asset-accumulation
timeFrame: 12-month post-intervention
measure: Educational outcomes
timeFrame: 12-month post-intervention
measure: Sexual risk taking
timeFrame: 12-month post-intervention
measure: Savings and asset-accumulation
timeFrame: 24-month post-intervention
measure: Educational outcomes
timeFrame: 24-month post-intervention
measure: Sexual risk taking
timeFrame: 24-month post-intervention
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Mental health
timeFrame: 12-month post-intervention
measure: Social and family support
timeFrame: 12-month post-intervention
measure: Mental health
timeFrame: 24-month post-intervention
measure: Social and family support
timeFrame: 24-month post-intervention
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Rakai
country: Uganda
facility: St. Joseph's Matale Parish
Study officials:
affiliation: Columbia University
name: Fred M Ssewamala, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Jennings L, Ssewamala FM, Nabunya P. Effect of savings-led economic empowerment on HIV preventive practices among orphaned adolescents in rural Uganda: results from the Suubi-Maka randomized experiment. AIDS Care. 2016;28(3):273-82. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2015.1109585. Epub 2015 Nov 7.
citation: Han CK, Ssewamala FM, Wang JS. Family economic empowerment and mental health among AIDS-affected children living in AIDS-impacted communities: evidence from a randomised evaluation in southwestern Uganda. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2013 Mar;67(3):225-30. doi: 10.1136/jech-2012-201601.