Justin Sutherland, Isabella Herrington, Julie Makarski, Jennifer Tindall, Mary Hynes, Monika Kastner
Evaluation of an online arts-based platform to support the health and well-being of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey
BMC public health
children living low middleincome countries lmics greater risk experiencing adversities undermine health early development recently launched digital early childhood development ecd programs attempt support families young children home environments using digital technologies however relatively little known regarding effectiveness new technologies goal study rigorously assess reach effectiveness costeffectiveness newly developed digital ecd platform called afini afini platform designed support parents young children lowresource settings improve ecd interact caregivers messenger services chatbot 3arm cluster randomized controlled trial total 2471 caregivers 3 9monthold children enrolled study across 164 study clusters san marcos cajabamba cajamarca provinces peru clusters participants randomly assigned 1 3 groups control group 72 community clusters 980 caregiverchild dyads home visit intervention group 20 community clusters 316 caregiverchild dyads afini intervention group 72 community clusters 1175 caregiverchild dyads families control group receive focused ecd intervention home visit group receiving biweekly home visits trained field staff following national ecd program programa nacional cuna ms curriculum training guidelines caregivers afini group receiving ecd activities advice digital platform primary study outcome childrens overall development age 25 years using internationally validated long form global scales early development secondary outcomes include caregiver engagement caregiver mental health screen time well caregiver reports childrens motor cognitive language socioemotional development measured locally piloted validated tools enrollment started september 2021 ended march 2023 endline assessments take place august 2023 september 2024 study knowledge first rigorously assess effectiveness costeffectiveness digital ecd technologies lmics given large number children lmics currently receiving limited external support evaluated platform potential improve short longterm wellbeing millions children parents globally clinicaltrialsgov nct05202106 httpsclinicaltrialsgovct2shownct05202106 derr110219650371