Familia Imara — a parenting program to reduce family violence in Tanzania.
Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial to Assess the Effectiveness of Familia Imara in Preventing Violence Against Women and Children and Improving Child Nutrition and Development in Tanzania
This program will test whether group parenting sessions led by community health workers can reduce partner violence, lower harsh discipline, and improve child development for couples with a child under two in Tanzanian villages.
Quick facts
| Phase | Not applicable |
|---|---|
| Study type | Interventional |
| Enrollment | 6216 (estimated) |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | George Washington University Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Dar es Salaam) |
| Trial ID | NCT07574567 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this trial studies
This cluster-randomized trial enrolls villages in the Mara and Geita regions and randomly assigns them to receive the Familia Imara intervention or to a waitlist control. The intervention is a group-based, couples-focused parenting program delivered by trained community health workers and integrates nurturing care with gender-transformative and violence-prevention content. Approximately 14 couples with a child aged 0–24 months will be enrolled per village and the trial will run in two sequential cohorts to test both effectiveness and a government-led scalability model. Cohort 1 is implemented with partner-led delivery and supervision support, while Cohort 2 uses a government-led delivery model to assess integration into routine systems.
Who should consider this trial
Good fit: Ideal participants are households in selected villages with a child aged 0–24 months where both the primary female and primary male caregivers live together in the same household and provide written consent.
Not a fit: Households without both co-resident primary caregivers, those with a child older than 24 months, or families planning to relocate within a year are unlikely to be eligible or receive benefit from this program.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the program could reduce intimate partner violence and harsh parenting and improve caregivers' wellbeing and early child development outcomes.
How similar studies have performed: Some parenting programs have shown reductions in harsh discipline and improved child outcomes, but few have explicitly combined couples-focused, gender-transformative content with violence prevention in low-resource settings, so this integrated approach is relatively novel.
Eligibility criteria
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * The household has a child aged 0-24 months at enrollment * The child has a primary female caregiver (i.e., mother) and a primary male caregiver (i.e., father) who are in a partnered relationship * Primary female caregiver, primary male caregiver, and child reside together in the same household * Both caregivers provide written informed consent for themselves and their child to participate in the study Exclusion Criteria: * Need to satisfy the inclusion criteria * Expecting to relocate in the next year
Where this trial is running
Dar es Salaam
- National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) — Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Recruiting)
Study contacts
- Study coordinator: Joshua Jeong, ScD
- Email: joshua.jeong@emory.edu
- Phone: 404-727-2671
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.