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Culturally-Responsive Curriculum for Caregivers With Children at Autism Likelihood

Co-Developing and Piloting Culturally-Responsive Informational Materials About Autism for Families of Young Children: Employing a Train-the-Trainer Implementation Model Within a Nonprofit Setting

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06314438
Enrollment
41
Registered
2024-03-18
Start date
2023-12-15
Completion date
2024-03-15
Last updated
2025-05-04

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Autism, Development Delay

Brief summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine how helpful and relevant the Family Care Project workbook is for families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who have a young child at autism likelihood. The main questions this trial aims to answer are: * Is the Family Care Project workbook useful for families? * Is the Family Care Project workbook easy to use? * Can the Family Care Project be implemented by non-profit workers who do not have health backgrounds? Participants will complete surveys that elicit their feedback on their use of the workbook.

Detailed description

Access to early, evidence-based autism-specific treatment can profoundly improve long-term outcomes for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, current estimates reveal an eight-month to three-year gap between caregiver first concerns about their child's ASD-related behaviors and receipt of ASD-specific services. This prolonged time-period between caregiver first concerns and receipt of ASD-specific services is characterized by elevated parenting stress, increased child behavioral challenges, and reduced quality of life, even compared to families of children with non-ASD developmental concerns. Unfortunately, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities experience lengthier time-periods between first concerns and receipt of services, report increased difficulty accessing timely diagnostic and treatment services, and ultimately experience worse health outcomes compared to White communities. The investigators will partner with Mother Africa, a local non-profit organization, to 1) co-design culturally-responsive caregiver-focused educational materials to support CALD families with young children who have social communication delays or ASD and 2) develop a novel route for dissemination of information and materials within non-profit organizations, which are often the preferred entry-point for accessing healthcare information and services for underserved populations, rather than traditional medical facilities. The educational materials will support caregiver and child well-being by increasing caregiver knowledge and use of ASD specific parenting strategies as well as increasing caregiver awareness and use of local ASD resources. This planned research has the potential to effect programmatic changes in the services and settings available to support CALD communities during the early years of a child's ASD condition and thereby improve child and caregiver outcomes.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALFamily Care Project

Caregivers will be administered the Family Care Project workbook.

Sponsors

National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
CollaboratorNIH
University of Washington
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 85 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Has a child who screens at likelihood on the Ages and Stages Questionnaire * Speaks one of the following languages: Arabic, Mai Mai, Swahili, French, Tigrinya, Dari

Exclusion criteria

\-

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Staff Training Feedback Survey of Implementation Properties (Self-report)1 week after staff complete training in Family Care Project, which is 1 week before the pilot commencesThrough a study-specific survey, staff will answer questions about the acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness of the training. Staff will also have the opportunity to offer suggestions for improvements to the training curriculum. This questionnaire is administered online.
Staff Competence in Assisting Families With Children At-autism Likelihood Survey (Self-report)1 week after implementation of Family Care Project with pilot familiesThrough a study-specific survey, staff will self-report their competence in identifying caregiver concerns, helping caregivers access services, providing new parenting strategies to caregivers, and helping caregivers set up a self-care plan. They will complete these questions via a survey and rate a score on a Likert scale of agreement with statements that reflect these topics. Higher scores indicate greater competence in assisting families with children at-autism likelihood. Scale title: Family Support Sister Self-Competence in Family Care Project Topics Minimum score: 1 Maximum score: 5
The Maternal Self-Efficacy Scale QuestionnaireDuring the last session of the Family Care Project, which is approximately 4-6 weeks after the start of the pilot depending on family preferencesThis questionnaire is a validated measure of caregivers' beliefs about their performance (i.e., self-efficacy) in caregiving tasks. Caregivers will fill out the survey online. They will complete these questions via a survey and rate a score on a Likert scale of agreement. Higher scores indicate greater maternal self-efficacy. Scale title: Maternal Self-Efficacy Scale Minimum score: 1 Maximum score: 4
Caregiver Knowledge and Use of Behaviors That Support Children at Autism-likelihood SurveyDuring the last session of the Family Care Project, which is approximately 4-6 weeks after the start of the pilot depending on family preferencesThrough a study-specific survey, caregivers will answer questions about their knowledge of child development, navigating appropriate child services, setting up a visual support, and creating a self-care plan. They will also answer questions about whether they have used a visual support or implemented a self-care routine. This survey is study-specific and created based on the curriculum topics. It will be filled out via online survey and caregivers will rate a score on a Likert scale of agreement with statements that reflect these topics. Higher scores indicate greater knowledge and use of behaviors to support children at autism-likelihood. Scale title: Caregiver Knowledge and Use Minimum score: 1 Maximum score: 5
Current Services Utilized by Families to Support Children at Autism-likelihood SurveyDuring the last session of the Family Care Project, which is approximately 4-6 weeks after the start of the pilot depending on family preferencesThrough a study-specific survey, caregivers will answer questions about their child's developmental diagnostic evaluations or current developmental services in the community. They will complete the survey online.
Family Care Project Feedback Survey of Implementation PropertiesDuring the last session of the Family Care Project, which is approximately 4-6 weeks after the start of the pilot depending on family preferencesThrough a study-specific survey, mother africa staff and caregivers will answer questions about the acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness of the Family Care Project and suggestions for revisions. They will fill out questions on an online survey. It will be filled out via online survey and all participants will rate a score on a Likert scale of agreement with statements about the acceptability, feasibility, and/or appropriateness of the Family Care Project. Higher scores indicate greater acceptability, feasibility, and/or appropriateness of the Family Care Project. Scale title: Family Care Project Feedback Minimum score: 1 Maximum score: 5

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Recruitment details

Our community organization recruit eligible families.

Pre-assignment details

No participants were excluded from participation in this study.

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Family Care Project Workbook-caregivers
Caregivers will be administered the Family Care Project workbook.
35
Family Care Project Workbook-nonspecialist Providers.
Nonspecialist providers will administer the Family Care Project workbook to caregivers
6
Total41

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicFamily Care Project Workbook-caregiversFamily Care Project Workbook-nonspecialist Providers.Total
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
35 Participants6 Participants41 Participants
Caregiver Knowledge and Use of Behaviors that Support Children at autism-likelihood Survey3.81 score on a scale
STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.82
3.81 score on a scale
STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.82
Current Services Utilized by Families to Support Children at autism-likelihood Survey
Caregivers who did not received a diagnostic or intervention referral before Family Care Project
30 Participants30 Participants
Current Services Utilized by Families to Support Children at autism-likelihood Survey
Caregivers who had received a diagnostic or intervention referral before Family Care Project
5 Participants5 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
35 Participants6 Participants41 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
5 Participants1 Participants6 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
24 Participants4 Participants28 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
6 Participants1 Participants7 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
35 Participants6 Participants41 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Staff Competence in Assisting Families with Children at-autism Likelihood Survey (self-report)4.70 score on a scale
STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.47
4.70 score on a scale
STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.47
The Maternal Self-Efficacy Scale Questionnaire3.28 score on a scale
STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.74
3.28 score on a scale
STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.74

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 0
other
Total, other adverse events
0 / 0
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 0

Outcome results

Primary

Caregiver Knowledge and Use of Behaviors That Support Children at Autism-likelihood Survey

Through a study-specific survey, caregivers will answer questions about their knowledge of child development, navigating appropriate child services, setting up a visual support, and creating a self-care plan. They will also answer questions about whether they have used a visual support or implemented a self-care routine. This survey is study-specific and created based on the curriculum topics. It will be filled out via online survey and caregivers will rate a score on a Likert scale of agreement with statements that reflect these topics. Higher scores indicate greater knowledge and use of behaviors to support children at autism-likelihood. Scale title: Caregiver Knowledge and Use Minimum score: 1 Maximum score: 5

Time frame: During the last session of the Family Care Project, which is approximately 4-6 weeks after the start of the pilot depending on family preferences

Population: Caregivers who completed Family Care Project and completed the survey.

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Family Care Project Workbook-caregiversCaregiver Knowledge and Use of Behaviors That Support Children at Autism-likelihood Survey4.46 score on a scaleStandard Deviation 0.55
p-value: <0.01t-test, 2 sided
Primary

Current Services Utilized by Families to Support Children at Autism-likelihood Survey

Through a study-specific survey, caregivers will answer questions about their child's developmental diagnostic evaluations or current developmental services in the community. They will complete the survey online.

Time frame: During the last session of the Family Care Project, which is approximately 4-6 weeks after the start of the pilot depending on family preferences

Population: Caregivers who completed the Family Care Project and survey.

ArmMeasureCategoryValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
Family Care Project Workbook-caregiversCurrent Services Utilized by Families to Support Children at Autism-likelihood SurveyCaregivers who connected with diagnostic intervention services for their child17 Participants
Family Care Project Workbook-caregiversCurrent Services Utilized by Families to Support Children at Autism-likelihood SurveyCaregivers who did not get connected with local developmental or autism services18 Participants
Primary

Family Care Project Feedback Survey of Implementation Properties

Through a study-specific survey, mother africa staff and caregivers will answer questions about the acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness of the Family Care Project and suggestions for revisions. They will fill out questions on an online survey. It will be filled out via online survey and all participants will rate a score on a Likert scale of agreement with statements about the acceptability, feasibility, and/or appropriateness of the Family Care Project. Higher scores indicate greater acceptability, feasibility, and/or appropriateness of the Family Care Project. Scale title: Family Care Project Feedback Minimum score: 1 Maximum score: 5

Time frame: During the last session of the Family Care Project, which is approximately 4-6 weeks after the start of the pilot depending on family preferences

Population: Caregivers and non-specialist providers who completed the surveys. All participated in Family Care Project (either received it or delivered it).

ArmMeasureGroupValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Family Care Project Workbook-caregiversFamily Care Project Feedback Survey of Implementation PropertiesAppropriateness4.23 score on a scaleStandard Deviation 0.72
Family Care Project Workbook-caregiversFamily Care Project Feedback Survey of Implementation PropertiesAcceptability4.54 score on a scaleStandard Deviation 0.6
Family Care Project Workbook-nonspecialist ProvidersFamily Care Project Feedback Survey of Implementation PropertiesAppropriateness4.56 score on a scaleStandard Deviation 0.62
Family Care Project Workbook-nonspecialist ProvidersFamily Care Project Feedback Survey of Implementation PropertiesAcceptability4.78 score on a scaleStandard Deviation 0.43
Family Care Project Workbook-nonspecialist ProvidersFamily Care Project Feedback Survey of Implementation PropertiesFeasibility4.67 score on a scaleStandard Deviation 0.49
Primary

Staff Competence in Assisting Families With Children At-autism Likelihood Survey (Self-report)

Through a study-specific survey, staff will self-report their competence in identifying caregiver concerns, helping caregivers access services, providing new parenting strategies to caregivers, and helping caregivers set up a self-care plan. They will complete these questions via a survey and rate a score on a Likert scale of agreement with statements that reflect these topics. Higher scores indicate greater competence in assisting families with children at-autism likelihood. Scale title: Family Support Sister Self-Competence in Family Care Project Topics Minimum score: 1 Maximum score: 5

Time frame: 1 week after implementation of Family Care Project with pilot families

Population: All non-specialist providers who delivered Family Care Project to caregivers.

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Family Care Project Workbook-nonspecialist ProvidersStaff Competence in Assisting Families With Children At-autism Likelihood Survey (Self-report)4.73 score on a scaleStandard Deviation 0.26
p-value: 0.34t-test, 2 sided
Primary

Staff Training Feedback Survey of Implementation Properties (Self-report)

Through a study-specific survey, staff will answer questions about the acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness of the training. Staff will also have the opportunity to offer suggestions for improvements to the training curriculum. This questionnaire is administered online.

Time frame: 1 week after staff complete training in Family Care Project, which is 1 week before the pilot commences

Population: It was supposed to be non-specialist providers who completed the web-based tutorial (n=6); however, data was not collected properly because there was an issue with the online questionnaire, specifically the Likert scale was presented incorrectly (i.e., the neutral and slightly agree were accidentally combined into NeutraCompletelyee) and some providers chose this anchor. Therefore, we cannot infer what the providers intended in their selection of this inaccurate anchor.

Primary

The Maternal Self-Efficacy Scale Questionnaire

This questionnaire is a validated measure of caregivers' beliefs about their performance (i.e., self-efficacy) in caregiving tasks. Caregivers will fill out the survey online. They will complete these questions via a survey and rate a score on a Likert scale of agreement. Higher scores indicate greater maternal self-efficacy. Scale title: Maternal Self-Efficacy Scale Minimum score: 1 Maximum score: 4

Time frame: During the last session of the Family Care Project, which is approximately 4-6 weeks after the start of the pilot depending on family preferences

Population: Caregivers who completed the Family Care Project and the maternal self-efficacy survey.

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Family Care Project Workbook-caregiversThe Maternal Self-Efficacy Scale Questionnaire3.48 score on a scaleStandard Deviation 0.51
p-value: 0.05t-test, 2 sided

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026