Furaha Adolescent Implementation Research (FAIR) Study

Project outline

Overview

The Furaha Adolescent Implementation Research (FAIR) Study addresses the urgent need to optimise the scale-up of parenting programmes to prevent violence against children (VAC) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It is uses innovative implementation science research methods to evaluate the quality of delivery and impact of an evidence-based parenting programme for adolescents, Parenting for Lifelong Health for Adolescents (PLH-Teens, known as Furaha Teens in Tanzania). The study will be conducted within the national scale-up of the programme by Pact and local implementation partners (LIPs) in Tanzania as part of the USAID-funded Kizazi Kipya Project. The study is funded by the Evaluation Fund.

Intervention

PLH-Teens is a group-based parenting intervention delivered by community facilitators to caregivers and their children ages 9 to 14 years old. It is designed to address multiple risks for VAC in the home and community by improving parent-child communication, positive parenting and supervision, and parent and adolescent mental health, while decreasing corporal punishment, family conflict, financial insecurity, and adolescent risky behaviours.

Readiness for Implementation Research

The FAIR study represents a unique opportunity to deepen our understanding of the scale-up of family-based interventions to reduce VAC in low-resource settings. Since initial testing in South Africa, PLH-Teens has been rapidly disseminated to over 16 LMICs reaching approximately 500,000 families. In 2020 and 2021, the programme is expected to reach 50,000 adolescent girls and their caregivers (N=100,000) in Tanzania, which will allow for the study of real-world implementation of VAC prevention at scale.

Relevance 

The FAIR study aims to advance sustainable development goal 16.2, which calls for the end of abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence and torture against children. This goal is in alignment The Evaluation Fund’s Call for Proposals to use evaluation and implementation research to study a programme aiming to prevent VAC using a researcher-implementer partnership.

Partners and Stakeholders

The FAIR study is a multi-sectoral collaboration between the National Institute for Medical Research, University of Oxford, Clowns Without Borders South Africa (CWBSA), and Pact Tanzania. Stakeholders include the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly, and Children, WHO, UNICEF, African Parenting Network, PLH implementing agencies, and participating families.

Research Question and Methods

The FAIR study addresses the following research questions (RQs): (1) what is the implementation quality and fidelity of PLH-Teens at scale in Tanzania; (2) what factors are associated with the quality of delivery and implementation fidelity of PLH-Teens; (3) how are implementation quality and fidelity associated with intervention outcomes; (4) what are participant and implementing staff perspectives on the acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, benefits, and challenges of delivering PLH-Teens in their schools and communities; (5) what is the impact of PLH-Teens on VAC and participant well-being; and (6) how much does it cost to deliver PLH-Teens at scale? We will use a mixed-methods approach, including observational assessments of facilitator delivery, large-scale family-level pre-post surveys, in-depth interviews, focus groups, and stakeholder meetings to address these research questions. Our study plans can be found in a protocol published in Implementation Science Communications. 

Dissemination and Utilisation

Study findings will inform future implementation of PLH-Teens at scale in Tanzania and internationally. The results will be disseminated with families, NGOs, government, PLH implementing partners, organisations implementing similar family strengthening programmes, and academics through reports, webinars, policy briefs, Pact and CSO community of practice meetings, and academic papers/conferences.

Study and Intervention Materials 

Information and study materials are available on our Open Science Framework page. Intervention materials can be found on the World Health Organization website: