Lessons Learnt during COVID-19 Lockdown: A Qualitative Study of South African Families

In a pandemic, such as COVID-19, with every single person struggling to deal with the unknown, it is often within the family that support is found but it is also within the family that circumstances, contexts and behaviours could further drive the pandemic and where they struggle to cope. This is novel research in the South African context with no known information regarding family life during and post the pandemic. This study, therefore, explores the lessons learnt during COVID-19 by South African families. A qualitative approach was employed to guide the gathering and analysis of the data. Data were collected from a sample of 31 family members above the age of 18 years from communities of the Western Cape Province and analysed through thematic analysis. According to the participants interviewed some of the significant lessons learnt from the lockdown include hygiene and health consciousness, appreciation for family, valuing life, self-introspection, less dependency, remote working, and financial savings. The realisation of such lessons even post-pandemic has the potential of strengthening families to be a resource of coping and resilience during very difficult times at the same time, contributing to greater physical, social, and economic functioning of families across South Africa.

Evaluating the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of the ‘strengthening families, strengthening communities’ group-based parenting programme: study protocol and initial insights

Background Up to 20% of UK children experience socio-emotional difficulties which can have serious implications for themselves, their families and society. Stark socioeconomic and ethnic inequalities in children’s well-being exist. Supporting parents to develop effective parenting skills is an important preventive strategy in reducing inequalities. Parenting interventions have been developed, which aim to reduce the severity and impact of these difficulties. However, most parenting interventions in the UK focus on early childhood (0–10 years) and often fail to engage families from ethnic minority groups and those living in poverty. Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities (SFSC) is a parenting programme designed by the Race Equality Foundation, which aims to address this gap. Evidence from preliminary studies is encouraging, but no randomised controlled trials have been undertaken so far. Methods/design The TOGETHER study is a multi-centre, waiting list controlled, randomised trial, which aims to test the effectiveness of SFSC in families with children aged 3–18 across seven urban areas in England with ethnically and socially diverse populations. The primary outcome is parental mental well-being (assessed by the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale). Secondary outcomes include child socio-emotional well-being, parenting practices, family relationships, self-efficacy, quality of life, and community engagement. Outcomes are assessed at baseline, post intervention, three- and six-months post intervention. Cost effectiveness will be estimated using a cost-utility analysis and cost-consequences analysis. The study is conducted in two stages. Stage 1 comprised a 6-month internal pilot to determine the feasibility of the trial. A set of progression criteria were developed to determine whether the stage 2 main trial should proceed. An embedded process evaluation will assess the fidelity and acceptability of the intervention. Discussion In this paper we provide details of the study protocol for this trial. We also describe challenges to implementing the protocol and how these were addressed. Once completed, if beneficial effects on both parental and child outcomes are found, the impact, both immediate and longer term, are potentially significant. As the intervention focuses on supporting families living in poverty and those from minority ethnic communities, the intervention should also ultimately have a beneficial impact on reducing health inequalities. Trial registration Prospectively registered Randomised Controlled Trial ISRCTN15194500.

Mutual Deference Between Hospitals and Courts

This Article explores the phenomenon of “mutual deference” between the medical and legal systems to show that placing mandated reporting responsibilities on clinicians results in lasting harm for families. On the medical side, clinicians are obligated to defer any “reasonable suspicion” that a child may be at risk to the legal system; their concern may be mild or severe, medical or nonmedical in nature. But the legal system, comprised of lay-people in the field of medicine, is illequipped to evaluate a medical concern, and so defers back to the clinician’s report when making critical decisions around family integrity. Thisdeference often functions to elevate a clinician’s “reasonable suspicion” to a finding of “imminent risk,” justifying needless and prolonged separation of families. More systemically, mutual deference creates and reinforces medical and legal associations between low-income communities of color and notions of child maltreatment. Mutual deference insulates the medical reporter and the legal system from liability while imposing tremendous harm on the families caught in the middle. That mandated reporting laws discourage clinicians from considering this harm when deciding whether to report a family reflects the extent to which the family regulation system has prioritized prosecution over supporting families. Efforts to re-envision how society’s support for and protection of families can move away from state-sanctioned violence and towards strengthening families within their communities must begin with removing mandated reporter responsibilities from medical providers.

Beyond effectiveness of the Strengthening Families Program (10-14): a scoping RE-AIM-based review

A scoping review, based on the RE-AIM framework, was conducted to analyze evidence of reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance of the Strengthening Families Program (10-14), a preventive family-based substance abuse program for adolescents. Sixty-five articles were included. The results disclosed that effectiveness, implementation, and maintenance at the individual-level were the most evaluated aspects, while reach, maintenance at the setting-level, and adoption were the least investigated aspects. Positive effects on drug abuse prevention and protective parenting factors were found in the U.S. studies. Likewise, Latin American studies have shown the improvement of parenting practices. However, European studies have produced mixed results, with predominantly null effects on substance abuse. The implementation quality was high. There is no available evidence of adoption and maintenance at the setting-level by the organizations that implemented it. New studies must examine the reach, adoption, and sustainability of the program to lay foundations for its future use as an instrument of public policies.

“It’s a lab full of art machinery”: implications of women’s experiences, values and visions of success for makerspace evaluation

Purpose Evaluation of public library makerspaces traditionally examines achievement of library goals, which reflect leaders’ and funders’ values. Understanding makers’ experiences and perspectives may help evaluators frame their inquiry to reflect community values, test assumptions about makers and support democratic and equity-focused aims. This paper aims to inform how evaluations of public library makerspaces are framed to address the experiences, values and visions for success of adult women, a group that is often marginalized in making and makerspaces. Design/methodology/approach Informed by democratic approaches to evaluation and activity theory, this paper draws on semi-structured interviews with women makers engaged with digital fabrication in public library makerspaces. Findings The women in the sample leveraged digital fabrication to deepen existing creative practices, challenging gendered distinctions between crafting and technology. They directed making toward economic survival and thriving, including creative-sector entrepreneurship. Making was also directed toward strengthening families and communities, centering relationships beyond the makerspace. Learning emerged as a byproduct of engagement, organized to produce specific artifacts. Library resources, arrangements and rules supported women with varying technology skills and also constrained some making activities. Practical implications Findings suggest evaluators should resist deficit framing of women and making; broaden science, technology, engineering and mathematics-focused definitions of making; focus on the personally meaningful ends to which making is directed; expand conceptualizations of community; examine arrangements and resources that mediate making and learning; and center the perspectives of local women makers. Originality/value This paper presents an empirical account of makers who are often marginalized and identifies six implications for evaluations of public library makerspaces.

Características de los estudios de evaluación de programas grupales de educación parental. Una revisión de alcance

Se ejecutó una revisión de alcance de las características de los estudios de evaluación de programas grupales de educación para progenitores con hijos de cero a dieciocho años, extraídos de ocho bases de datos, entre los años 2006 y 2019 y pertenecientes a revistas científi cas. De los 114 artículos revisados, la mayoría estaban publicados en Norteamérica o Europa, eran ensayos controlados aleatorizados, contaban con muestras pequeñas (inferiores a 100 sujetos), se implementaron en contextos escolares y estaban destinados a progenitores con hijos de hasta seis años o necesidades específi cas de apoyo educativo. Un amplio porcentaje (49.5%) no incluía pruebas de seguimiento post-intervención. Habitualmente el número de sesiones oscilaba entre seis y ocho (30.2%), con una duración promedio de dos horas y una perioricidad de una a la semana. Las intervenciones más evaluadas fueron Triple-P, Incredible Years, Strengthening Families y el Programa-Guía. Los contenidos más abordados fueron la comunicación, las emociones y las estrategias para manejar las conductas. Las principales variables medidas fueron los problemas de comportamiento, las prácticas de crianza y la autoefi cacia parental. Se detectó un interés creciente y global en el tópico analizado; se proporcionan datos actualizados que pueden ser útiles a profesionales e investigadores del área y guiar los procesos de diseño de nuevas intervenciones.

The Influence of the Competences of the Professionals in Charge of Family Evidence-Based Programmes on Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms in Adolescents

This study analyses the influence of trainers' intrapersonal and group management competences on the effectiveness of the Universal Strengthening Families Program 11-14 (SFP 11-14). More specifically, it assesses the effect of these competences on internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescents. The analysed data is made up of ratings given by the 174 mothers participating in SFP 11-14. The results confirm the effectiveness of SFP 11-14 in reducing internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescents. Using linear regression models, evidence is provided of the influence of the trainers' expertise, in terms of their competences, in improving internalizing symptoms in adolescents (through a reduction in levels of anxiety, depression, and somatization and in the global internalization scale). Emphasis is placed on how trainer competences can impact on the effectiveness of evidence-based programmes, stressing that this should be taken into account by the public authorities and other stakeholders in the assessment and design of family evidence-based programmes.

Support for Families of Youths and Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: Contributions of a Program from Families’ and Specialists’ Perspectives

A family-centered approach (FCA) is recognized as a set of values, principles, and practices aimed at strengthening families’ abilities to promote the development and well-being of its members. Despite the limited information available, results show the positive relationship between the support model, based on the collaboration between families and specialists, and family empowerment. This paper seeks to analyze the opinions of families and specialists on their participation in an intervention program for families of youths and adults with disabilities. Thirteen families and eight specialists participated in the study that used qualitative techniques, such as interviews and discussion groups, and a questionnaire to gather information about the families’ and specialists’ viewpoints over one year. Results show that families welcomed their involvement in the program. Both families and specialists recognize that creating a space for the whole family is the main contribution of the program, as it highlights the importance of considering the family’s entire system as a support unit, as well as the close relationship between the individual’s and family’s quality of life (FQoL).