Evaluation on the effectiveness on the implementation of WHO caregiver skills training (CST) programme in Hong Kong: a randomised controlled trial protocol

Abstract

IntroductionThis protocol delineates the research design and analytical framework used to evaluate the effectiveness of the WHO-CST (CST, caregiver skills training) in Hong Kong. The WHO-CST aims to enhance the caregiver skills of parents of children with potential autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and/or developmental delays.Methods and analysisIn this study, 130 eligible caregiver–child dyads were recruited and randomly assigned to the experimental and wait-list-control groups. A randomised controlled trial design was adopted to compare the changes between the two groups regarding caregivers’ skills, knowledge and practices when interacting with their children with impairments due to ASD. Assessments were conducted before, immediately after and 1 month after the completion of the WHO-CST programme. The primary measurement tool was the joint engagement rating inventory developed by WHO experts to gauge how parents engage their children. A 10-min video recording of their dyadic interaction and behaviours in a defined play setting was used for the measurement. A set of other measurements of caregivers’ knowledge, confidence and experience of using the caregiving skills were also measured.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval was received from the Human Research Ethics Committee (EA1901033), The University of Hong Kong. The final findings of this study will be disseminated through public reports, peer-reviewed publication or at a conference launched for the WHO-CST programme.Trial registration numberChiCTR2000034585.

Adapting and pretesting the World Health Organization’s Caregiver Skills Training Program for children with autism and developmental disorders or delays in Hong Kong

“…Their experiences and perspectives of the WHO-CST and recommendations for improvement led to modification of the adapted version of WHO-CST to be further pilot tested in Phase 3 of the study 26 . Several relevant local and international recommendations have been generated from this study to enhance the sustainability of the WHO-CST as an important parent-mediated program for children with potential ASD or DD as part of the world movement for the mental health of children and adolescents and their caregivers 27 , 28 . The following discussion includes the important lessons and recommendations for improvement of the WHO-CST at the macro, meso, and micro levels to enhance the feasibility and sustainability of the program in HICs.…”

“…Details of the WHO-CST’s development, content, structure, and methodology have been described elsewhere 14 – 19 . The JC A-Connect Family Support team (hereinafter, the Team) closely followed the recommendations of the three-phase adaptation and evaluation by WHO: “Adaptation and Implementation Guide of the Parent Skills Training Program for Families with Children with Developmental Disorders and Delays” 20 and “WHO Parent Skills Training Program for Caregivers of Children with Developmental Disorders: Monitoring and Evaluation Framework” 21 .…”

“…Adherence to home practices A caregiver diary was used to evaluate the caregivers’ experiences using the strategies they learned during class sessions in their home practices. They reported their confidence level, comfort in using the strategies, and how difficult, effortful, and natural the caregiver perceived the strategies to be 28 . Each caregiver was invited to complete the diary in accordance with their experience.…”