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A Hybrid Digital Parenting Program Delivered Within the Malaysian Preschool System: Protocol for a Feasibility Study
Hal Cooper1, Farah Zeehan Mohd Nadzri2, Seema Vyas1
1Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Insights
This study tested a digital parenting program in Malaysia, combining a chatbot with support groups and in-person sessions. Results will guide future scalable interventions for early childhood development.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Early Childhood Education
- Digital Health Interventions
Background:
- Global early childhood education targets are unmet, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- In-person parenting programs show promise but face scalability challenges in low-resource settings.
- Hybrid digital-human interventions offer a potential solution for widespread delivery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a digital parenting program (Naungan Kasih) in Malaysia.
- To evaluate recruitment, retention, and engagement across different intervention component combinations.
- To explore program acceptability, implementation fidelity, costs, and preliminary effectiveness.
Main Methods:
- A 10-week factorial cluster randomized trial involving caregivers of 4-6 year olds.
- Intervention components included a chatbot, WhatsApp support, and 1-2 in-person sessions.
- Mixed methods evaluation using surveys, digital data, child assessments, and focus groups.
Main Results:
- 208 parents recruited, with 168 (80.8%) enrolling in the program.
- Recruitment and enrollment data were collected in late 2023/early 2024.
- Full findings on feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness are pending.
Conclusions:
- This is the first factorial cluster randomized trial of a hybrid digital-parenting program in Southeast Asia.
- The study will inform optimization for a scalable, cost-effective intervention.
- Results will guide future large-scale trials for early childhood development programs.
Background:
The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 4, and particularly target 4.2, which seeks to ensure that, by 2030, all children have access to quality early childhood development, care, and preprimary education so that they are ready for primary education, is far from being achieved. The COVID-19 pandemic compromised progress by disrupting education, reducing access to well-being resources, and increasing family violence. Evidence from low- and middle-income countries suggests that in-person parenting interventions are effective at improving child learning and preventing family violence. However, scaling up these programs is challenging because of resource constraints. Integrating digital and human-delivered intervention components is a potential solution to these challenges. There is a need to understand the feasibility and effectiveness of such interventions in low-resource settings.
Objective:
This study aims to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of a digital parenting program (called Naungan Kasih in Bahasa Melayu [Protection through Love]) delivered in Malaysia, with varying combinations of 2 components included to encourage engagement. The study is framed around the following objectives: (1) to determine the recruitment, retention, and engagement rates in each intervention condition; (2) to document implementation fidelity; (3) to explore program acceptability among key stakeholders; (4) to estimate intervention costs; and (5) to provide indications of the effectiveness of the 2 components.
Methods:
This 10-week factorial cluster randomized trial compares ParentText, a chatbot that delivers parenting and family violence prevention content to caregivers of preschool-aged children in combination with 2 engagement components: (1) a WhatsApp support group and (2) either 1 or 2 in-person sessions. The trial aims to recruit 160 primary and 160 secondary caregivers of children aged 4-6 years from 8 schools split equally across 2 locations: Kuala Lumpur and Negeri Sembilan. The primary outcomes concern the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention and its components, including recruitment, retention, and engagement. The effectiveness outcomes include caregiver parenting practices, mental health and relationship quality, and child development. The evaluation involves mixed methods: quantitative caregiver surveys, digitally tracked engagement data of caregivers' use of the digital intervention components, direct assessments of children, and focus group discussions with caregivers and key stakeholders.
Results:
Overall, 208 parents were recruited at baseline December 2023: 151 (72.6%) primary caregivers and 57 (27.4%) secondary caregivers. In January 2024, of these 208 parents, 168 (80.8%) enrolled in the program, which was completed in February. Postintervention data collection was completed in March 2024. Findings will be reported in the second half of 2024.
Conclusions:
This is the first factorial cluster randomized trial to assess the feasibility of a hybrid human-digital playful parenting program in Southeast Asia. The results will inform a large-scale optimization trial to establish the most effective, cost-effective, and scalable version of the intervention.
Trial Registration:
OSF Registries; https://osf.io/f32ky.
International Registered Report Identifier (Irrid):
DERR1-10.2196/55491.
