Dowdall 2017.
| Study name | The benefits of early book sharing (BEBS) for child cognitive and socioemotional development in South Africa |
| Methods |
Study design: RCT Country: South Africa |
| Participants | Caregivers of children aged between 23 and 27 months Inclusion criteria: a. families with children aged 23–27 months at the time of baseline assessment; b. requiring an adult primary caregiver who is at least 18 years old, lives in the household with the child for at least four nights per week, and who consents to participate in the study. Exclusion criteria: a. chronic illness or disability in the child or the adult that would prevent them from fully participating in the intervention Stated purpose: to evaluate a book‐sharing intervention for caregivers of children aged between 23 and 27 months designed to promote child cognitive and socioemotional development |
| Interventions |
Intervention: Early book sharing (BEBS) The intervention is a group‐based, dialogic book‐sharing programme based on our previous programme. The intervention consists of 60–90‐min sessions run weekly for eight consecutive weeks. The programme is delivered to groups of three to six caregivers and their children. Each session focuses on different and incremental techniques for caregivers to apply during book‐sharing. For the first six sessions, there is a ‘book of the week’ that the carers take home to share with their child, and that they bring back the following week. In session 7 all the key principles are reviewed, and the child chooses which of the six books they want to take home for that week. During the final, eighth session, there is a group discussion where caregivers are guided in reflecting on the programme and they discuss plans for continuing with their book‐sharing – such as registering at a nearby children’s library or continuing to meet as a group. For the 6‐month period following session 8, the facilitator visits each participant bi‐monthly to deliver a new picture book and have a short encouraging conversation with the caregiver about their book‐sharing. Control: Waiting‐list control (being offered the intervention once the three waves of assessment have been completed) |
| Outcomes |
Participants'outcomes of interest for this review
Economic outcomes Nil Time points: baseline, post‐intervention (immediate post‐intervention and 6‐months follow‐up) |
| Starting date | February 2016 (recruitment start) |
| Contact information | Peter J. Cooper, p.j.cooper@rdg.ac.uk |
| Notes |
Source of funding: Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) at the South African Medical Research Council (MRC) Prospective trial registration number: ISRCTN71109104 |