None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Parent training is the most effective approach for treatment of behavioural problems, but accessing these interventions can be difficult due to the availability of services, attitudes to accessing help, cultural differences, cost and time. Increasingly smart mobile phone based interventions are used to deliver interventions for hard to reach populations. Play Kindly is a gamified animated app that can be used on a smartphone (iPhone or android) or tablet designed to help parents respond appropriately and effectively to common problem behaviours in children. The characters, scenarios and voices is designed to appeal to Pacific peoples, a population group with a higher risk of behavioural problems in childhood and later life. This study aims to evaluate whether the Play Kindly app can teach parenting strategies that in turn reduce behavioural problems in children and increase parenting confidence
Interventions
Play Kindly is a computer app that can be used on a smartphone (iPhone or android) or tablet. It was designed in New Zealand with the aim of teaching effective parenting strategies for common childhood behavioural problems. Whilst its content consists of strategies evidenced to work with different populations, the interface (characters, scenarios and voices) is designed to appeal to Pacific peoples, a population group with a higher risk of behavioural problems in childhood and later life. Play
Play Kindly is a computer app that can be used on a smartphone (iPhone or android) or tablet. It was designed in New Zealand with the aim of teaching effective parenting strategies for common childhood behavioural problems. Whilst its content consists of strategies evidenced to work with different populations, the interface (characters, scenarios and voices) is designed to appeal to Pacific peoples, a population group with a higher risk of behavioural problems in childhood and later life. Play Kindly consists of five scenarios demonstrating common behavioural problems and two scenarios demonstrating positive parenting techniques. Each scenario is approximately 30 seconds long. The first five scenarios end where the parent has to make a decision about how to intervene. Feedback is given about their answers. The last two demonstrate positive parenting techniques and asks questions about how much the app user can remember from the scenario. Scenario 1: A boy is playing with a tablet. His little sister comes along and asks for the tablet. The brother refuses to give her the tablet and the she keeps pestering him for it. The boy calls out to the mother for help. Scenario 2: A mother tries to get her daughter to eat dinner. The daughter refuses to eats and responds disrespectfully to her mother. Scenario 3: A brother and sister are playing with their toy cars. The brother asks the sister for her car. When she refuses, tries to snatch the toy from her. He ends up hitting her and the girl calls for her mother Scenario 4: A mother asks her son to help his little sister put on her jumper. The little sister refuses. She kicks the brother as he struggles to dress her. Scenario 5: A father is at supermarket when his daughter asks him if he can buy her a toy. After the father refuses, the daughter throws a tantrum and lays on the floor. Scenario 6: Child-led play. Where the child has at least 5 minutes of leading an activity. Scenario 7: Positive praise. Reinforcing things parents would like to see more of. The intervention will be delivered on the participating parent's own mobile device when ever they choose throughout the six week intervention period. No minimum or maximum amount of use will be required as the amount of use will be an outcome variable.
Sponsors
Department of Psychological Medicine, FMHS, University of Auckland
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Single group
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
16 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
New Zealand born parents of at least one Pacific ethnicity. Have Children between the ages of 2 years old and 5 years old. The child is in the participting parents’ care for at least 50% of the time
Exclusion criteria
Parents who are enrolled in a parenting programme or have completed one in the last 12 months. Parents who do not have access to a smartphone or are unable to use one. Parents of children who have a pre-existing mental health condition. Individuals with a connection to the Play Kindly Study
Outcome results
None listed