Session: Using a Collaborative Approach to Leverage Research-Policy-Practice Partnerships to Improve Child Wellbeing and Reduce Child Adversities in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (Society for Prevention Research 26th Annual Meeting)

This symposium will present a series of innovative studies that involve researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in the optimization of child and youth interventions to improve child wellbeing and reduce child adversities for vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). It is in alignment with the conference theme, the “Role of research-practice-policy partnerships in optimizing prevention science and the use of research evidence in policy and practice.” It also is relevant to the themes, “Promoting equity and decreasing disparities through optimizing prevention science,” the “Development and testing of interventions,” and the “Dissemination and implementation science.”

The first paper, “Integration of a Parenting Program within a Conditional Cash Transfer System for Low-Income Filipino Families with Children Ages 2 to 6: Results from a Small-Scale Randomized Controlled Trial in Metro Manila,” is a partnership between local and international universities, policymakers from the Philippine government and UNICEF, and practitioners engaged in child protection and social work. It is the first study to rigorously examine the effectiveness and implementation of a parenting program on reducing risks of violence against children when integrated within an existing conditional cash transfer program in a LMIC.

The second paper, “Mphatlalatsane: Promotion of cognitive development, HIV testing and treatment support, and nutrition education in rural Lesotho,” examines the impact of a community-based intervention program to integrate HIV-testing and treatment services, early childhood care and development, and nutrition education for caregivers with children aged 1 to 5 years. This study was implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Training using a network of informal preschools in rural villages to deliver a complex array of services for young children and their caregivers.

The third paper, “Optimizing implementation at scale in low-resource settings using routine and trial data from the Parenting for Lifelong Health interventions: A multi-country pooling study,” examines the translation of evidence-based research into practice by presenting a study protocol and preliminary implementation findings from the large-scale dissemination of parenting programs for more than 110,000 beneficiaries by large nongovernmental agencies in seven sub-Saharan African countries. It also illustrates the importance of building local capacity of monitoring and evaluation personnel and other staff from service providers when monitoring routine program implementation at scale.

At the conclusion of the presentations, the discussant will provide an overview of the key points from each presentation and their relevance to the opportunities and challenges presented when engaging government officials, policymakers, and practitioners to optimize prevention science in low-resource settings. The diversity of levels of engagement on local (Philippines), national (Lesotho), and international (Sub-Saharan Africa) offers a unique opportunity to discuss different strategies for conducting rigorous research that is relevant, pragmatic, and applicable in the real world.