Gabriela Bustamante1, María Soledad Andrade2, Caley Mikesell3, Clara Cullen4, Pablo Endara5, Verónica Burneo6, Paola Yépez7, Soledad Avila Saavedra8, Paulina Ponce9, Michelle Grunauer10. 1. Universidad San Francisco de Quito-School of Medicine, Edificio de Especialidades Médicas, Hospital de los Valles, Av. Interoceánica Km 12 ½, Cumbayá, Quito, Ecuador; University of Minnesota-School of Public Health, 420 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA. Electronic address: busta027@umn.edu. 2. Fundación Azulado, Río San Pedro E4-226 y Río Chiche, El Arenal - Tumbaco, Quito, Ecuador. Electronic address: soledad.andrade@fundacionazulado.org. 3. Universidad San Francisco de Quito-School of Medicine, Edificio de Especialidades Médicas, Hospital de los Valles, Av. Interoceánica Km 12 ½, Cumbayá, Quito, Ecuador. Electronic address: cmikesell@usfq.edu.ec. 4. Universidad San Francisco de Quito-School of Medicine, Edificio de Especialidades Médicas, Hospital de los Valles, Av. Interoceánica Km 12 ½, Cumbayá, Quito, Ecuador. Electronic address: cmcullen@umich.edu. 5. Universidad San Francisco de Quito-School of Medicine, Edificio de Especialidades Médicas, Hospital de los Valles, Av. Interoceánica Km 12 ½, Cumbayá, Quito, Ecuador. Electronic address: pendara@usfq.edu.ec. 6. Universidad San Francisco de Quito-School of Medicine, Edificio de Especialidades Médicas, Hospital de los Valles, Av. Interoceánica Km 12 ½, Cumbayá, Quito, Ecuador. Electronic address: mburneor@estud.usfq.edu.ec. 7. Universidad San Francisco de Quito-School of Medicine, Edificio de Especialidades Médicas, Hospital de los Valles, Av. Interoceánica Km 12 ½, Cumbayá, Quito, Ecuador. Electronic address: pao.y.1993@gmail.com. 8. Fundación Azulado, Río San Pedro E4-226 y Río Chiche, El Arenal - Tumbaco, Quito, Ecuador. Electronic address: soledad.avila@fundacionazulado.org. 9. Fundación Azulado, Río San Pedro E4-226 y Río Chiche, El Arenal - Tumbaco, Quito, Ecuador. Electronic address: paulina.ponce@fundacionazulado.org. 10. Universidad San Francisco de Quito-School of Medicine, Edificio de Especialidades Médicas, Hospital de los Valles, Av. Interoceánica Km 12 ½, Cumbayá, Quito, Ecuador; Fundación Azulado, Río San Pedro E4-226 y Río Chiche, El Arenal - Tumbaco, Quito, Ecuador. Electronic address: mgrunauer@usfq.edu.ec.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a complex public health problem that has lifelong implications for children's wellbeing. Interventions may provide children strategies to protect themselves against CSA, but few have been studied in Latin America. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the immediate and medium-term impact of a 10-week educational program on children's knowledge of CSA self-protection strategies in Ecuador. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTINGS: Children aged 7-12 years from six public elementary schools in Ecuador were cluster-randomized to either receive the intervention between October and November 2016 (Group 1, k = 4) or between March and April 2017 (Group 2, k = 2). METHODS: To assess CSA knowledge, a random sample of students completed a questionnaire at three time points: 1) initial: before any group received the intervention, 2) intermediate: immediately after Group 1 completed the program but before Group 2 started it, and 3) final: after Group 2 completed the program. We evaluated changes in scores using mixed linear regression models with school as a clustering variable and adjusted degrees of freedom (df = 4). RESULTS: Pre-post effect estimates at program completion adjusted for age, sex and clustering by school were 6.5% (95% CI: 2.9, 10.0) and 6.8% (95% CI 3.0, 10.7) for Groups 1 and 2, respectively. Scores did not change among children who had not yet received the intervention at intermediate evaluation (0.94%, 95%CI: -6.0, 7.9). Children in Group 1 maintained the scores six months after the program ended. CONCLUSIONS: The self-protection program increased and maintained CSA knowledge six months after the intervention finished.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND:Childsexual abuse (CSA) is a complex public health problem that has lifelong implications for children's wellbeing. Interventions may provide children strategies to protect themselves against CSA, but few have been studied in Latin America. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the immediate and medium-term impact of a 10-week educational program on children's knowledge of CSA self-protection strategies in Ecuador. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTINGS: Children aged 7-12 years from six public elementary schools in Ecuador were cluster-randomized to either receive the intervention between October and November 2016 (Group 1, k = 4) or between March and April 2017 (Group 2, k = 2). METHODS: To assess CSA knowledge, a random sample of students completed a questionnaire at three time points: 1) initial: before any group received the intervention, 2) intermediate: immediately after Group 1 completed the program but before Group 2 started it, and 3) final: after Group 2 completed the program. We evaluated changes in scores using mixed linear regression models with school as a clustering variable and adjusted degrees of freedom (df = 4). RESULTS: Pre-post effect estimates at program completion adjusted for age, sex and clustering by school were 6.5% (95% CI: 2.9, 10.0) and 6.8% (95% CI 3.0, 10.7) for Groups 1 and 2, respectively. Scores did not change among children who had not yet received the intervention at intermediate evaluation (0.94%, 95%CI: -6.0, 7.9). Children in Group 1 maintained the scores six months after the program ended. CONCLUSIONS: The self-protection program increased and maintained CSA knowledge six months after the intervention finished.
Authors: Elsa Lucia Escalante-Barrios; Sergi Fàbregues; Julio Meneses; María Del Mar García-Vita; Daladier Jabba; Carmen Ricardo-Barreto; Sandra Patricia Ferreira Pérez Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-11-08 Impact factor: 3.390