Eloff 2014.

Study characteristics
Methods	Study design: RCT Duration of study: not specified Country: South Africa Income classification: lower‐middle to upper‐middle‐income country from 1987 to 2014 (year of publication) Geographical scope: two separate communities within Tshwane (formerly Pretoria) in South Africa Healthcare setting: community sessions
Participants	1. Age: children 6‐10 years, caregivers 33.1 (5.9) for intervention group; 33.1 (6.0) for the control group 2. Gender: female 3. Socioeconomic background: 23% employed; 34% employed 4. Educational background: intervention group. Primary 12%, secondary 86%, tertiary 2%. Control group: primary 14%, secondary 83%, tertiary 3%. Inclusion criteria: a. HIV‐positive women attending clinics; b. all participants able to communicate in at least one of five local languages (Sepedi, Setswana, Sesotho, isiZulu, or English); c. the children were aged 6 to 10 years and lived with their mothers at least 5 days per week. Exclusion criteria: families were excluded if the child or others living in the household were known to be HIV‐positive or were reported as having a life‐threatening illness. Note: at baseline, amongst HIV‐positive women, the intervention and control group scores for the Center for Epidemiological Studies‐Depression (CES‐D) were, respectively, 16.51 (0.74) and 15.87 (0.76). Stated purpose: to assess the efficacy of an intervention designed to promote resilience in young children living with their HIV‐positive mothers
Interventions	Name: not specified Title/name of PW and number: community care workers (2) 1. Selection: not specified 2. Educational background: they have good interpersonal skills and had at least 12 years of education. 3. Training: the training included information about HIV and AIDS and skills for facilitating groups, counselling, and identification and management of children's emotional and behavioural problems. It was delivered by a social worker. 4. Supervision: community care workers were supervised by a social worker. 5. Incentives/remuneration: not specified Prevention type: indicated – intervention designed for mothers who were HIV‐positive. Participants presented with some level of distress as indicated by the CES‐D scores, which are still below the cut‐off levels reported in the literature for people living with HIV. Intervention details: the intervention groups were conducted over 24 weekly sessions, each lasting 75 minutes. For the first 14 sessions, mothers and children participated in separate groups occurring concurrently, and thereafter they participated together in 10 interactive sessions. The first 7 sessions focused on the mothers' issues relating to living with HIV; these were followed by sessions addressing parenting. The children's sessions focused on building self‐esteem and enhancing interpersonal and practical life skills. Activities included board games, storytelling and traditional cultural games. The final 10 joint sessions were designed to promote healthy parent‐child interaction and modelling of positive parenting behaviours and included activities such as compiling a family legacy box. The focus was on overarching skills rather than HIV‐specific themes. The study included 12 groups, with approximately 15 participants in each group. The mother and child groups were each facilitated by 2 community care workers. Control: usual care – subjects randomized to the standard care condition were provided with information about local resources available for assistance.
Outcomes	Participants’outcomes of interest for this review Depressive symptoms – CES‐D Distress/PTSD symptoms – Parenting Stress Index (PSI) Carers’ outcomes of interest for this review Nil Economic outcomes Nil Time points: baseline, post‐intervention (1‐6 months, 7‐24 months)
Notes	Source of funding: not specified Notes on validation of instruments (screening and outcomes): the outcomes scales (Center for Epidemiologic Studies, Brief COPE, Child Depression Inventory, Revised Child Anxiety Manifest scale) were adapted, translated, and assessed in their psychometric properties in the sample. Additional information: none Handling the data: not applicable Prospective trial registration number: not reported