Implementing a Digital Child Behavioral Health Prevention Program in Faith-Based Settings in Uganda: A Feasibility...

Area of Science:

• Global Mental Health
• Digital Health Interventions
• Pediatric Behavioral Health

Background:

• Pediatric mental disorders pose a significant burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
• Limited solutions exist to address this burden, and digital interventions require systematic testing in these settings.
• Digital tools offer potential for scalable prevention services in underserved communities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the feasibility and impact of a digital parenting intervention tool for pediatric behavioral health in low-resource communities.
• To assess the implementation of a digital health service model within faith-based organizations in Uganda.
• To preliminarily estimate the effects on parenting and child social-emotional outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A pre-post assessment design was employed for evaluation.
• The Pediatric-Behavioral Health Digital Tool content was co-designed with local experts and adapted based on community feedback.
• Pilot evaluation focused on 91 families and 10 community-health-workers.

Main Results:

• High acceptability, appropriateness, and usefulness of the digital tool were reported by community-health-workers.
• Intervention parents demonstrated increased mindfulness (d=1.61, p=.049) and perceived effectiveness in discipline (d=1.29, p=.003).
• Children showed improved social-emotional outcomes, including decreased parent-child conflict (d=-1.08, p=.002) and enhanced emotional regulation (d=1.0, p=.049).

Conclusions:

• The Pediatric-Behavioral Health Digital Tool shows promise as a cost-effective solution for preventive mental health care in low-resource settings.
• The digital tool can promote child social-emotional wellbeing and mental health within community-based programs.
• This approach facilitates caregiver access to essential preventive mental health services for young children.