Familia Imara — a parenting program to reduce family violence in Tanzania.
Official title: 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
Run by George Washington University · NCT07574567 · Data updated 2026-11-12
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
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 6216 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | George Washington University Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Dar es Salaam) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | May 2, 2026 |
| Main results expected | May 1, 2027 |
| Study ends | April 1, 2028 |
| Registry record updated | June 4, 2026 |
| Trial ID | NCT07574567 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a 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.
✕Probably 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.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
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.
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 gone: 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.
Who can join: the full rules
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 it's running
-
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
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How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.