School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra (Asampong, Ibrahim); Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis (Sensoy-Bahar, McKay, Ssewamala); BasicNeeds, Tamale, Ghana (Kumbelim, Yaro).
Psychiatr Serv. 2021 May 1;72(5):571-577. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201900626. Epub 2021 Jan 12.
The health system in Ghana is severely underequipped to meet the needs of children with behavioral health problems. A substantial treatment gap exists among individuals with behavioral challenges, necessitating the implementation of an evidence-based intervention to address child behavioral challenges in Ghana. This article presents learning opportunities from the adaptation and initiation process of an evidence-based approach, the multiple-family group (MFG) intervention, aimed at addressing child behavioral challenges in northern Ghana.
The MFG intervention will be tested and implemented in three schools selected through a clustered randomization process, with 60 child-caregiver dyads per school. Each school will be assigned to MFG delivery by parent peers, MFG delivery by School Health Education Program (SHEP) coordinators, or an intervention where students are supplied only with mental health wellness materials and educational supports. The providers will be assessed on a fidelity measure.
The approach of engaging stakeholders in Ghana is anticipated to prove challenging because multiple partners are involved in MFG implementation. Participants are expected to actively participate, however, given some changes to the protocol to adapt it to the Ghanaian context, including the types of MFG facilitators and sample size. Other anticipated challenges include obtaining permission from key partners such as the education authorities, timing of the study within the academic calendar in Ghana, and meeting the high expectations of school authorities for the study.
The MFG intervention will be delivered by parent peers and SHEP coordinators at the selected schools.
加纳的卫生系统严重缺乏满足儿童行为健康问题需求的能力。有行为障碍的个体存在着巨大的治疗缺口，因此需要实施一种基于证据的干预措施，以解决加纳儿童的行为挑战问题。本文介绍了适应和启动一种基于证据的方法（多家庭小组干预）的学习机会，该方法旨在解决加纳北部的儿童行为挑战问题。
多家庭小组干预将通过聚类随机过程在三所选定的学校进行测试和实施，每所学校有 60 对儿童和照顾者。每所学校将根据多家庭小组由家长同伴提供、多家庭小组由学校健康教育计划协调员提供，或学生仅提供心理健康福利材料和教育支持的方式进行干预。将根据忠实度衡量标准对提供者进行评估。
预计在加纳让利益相关者参与的方法将具有挑战性，因为多伙伴都参与了多家庭小组的实施。然而，参与者预计将积极参与，因为对方案进行了一些调整，以适应加纳的情况，包括多家庭小组的 facilitators 类型和样本大小。其他预期的挑战包括获得关键合作伙伴（如教育当局）的许可、在加纳的学术日历内安排研究的时间，以及满足学校当局对研究的高期望。
多家庭小组干预将由选定学校的家长同伴和学校健康教育计划协调员提供。
