Attention Test Improvements from a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of Caregiver Training for HIV-Exposed/Uninfected Ugandan Preschool Children.

Objective: To report vigilance attention outcomes from a cluster randomized controlled trial of early childhood development caregiver training for perinatally HIV-exposed/uninfected preschool-age children in rural Uganda. The Early Childhood Vigilance Test (ECVT) provides a webcam recording of proportion of time a child views an animation periodically moving across a computer screen.

Study Design: Sixty mothers/caregivers received biweekly year-long training sessions of the Mediational Intervention for Sensitizing Caregivers (MISC), and 59 mothers received biweekly training about nutrition, hygiene, and health care.

Mediational Intervention for Sensitizing Caregivers to Improve Mental Health Outcomes in Orphaned and Vulnerable Children.

Objective: There is an urgent need to equip community-based careworkers with the skills to address the mental health needs of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) as an essential response to shortages in human resources for mental health in Sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted a quasi-experimental feasibility trial in South Africa to adapt and evaluate an established year-long semi-structured, manualized video-feedback caregiver intervention (the Mediational Intervention for Sensitizing Caregivers; MISC) for community-based organizations (CBOs).

Methods: Following a year-long iterative cross-cultural adaptation of MISC, we recruited 88 OVC (ages 7-11; 45.

Community-Based Caregiver and Family Interventions to Support the Mental Health of Orphans and Vulnerable Children: Review and Future Directions.

The goal of this paper was to conduct a review of studies from 2008 to 2019 that evaluated community-based caregiver or family interventions to support the mental health of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in sub-Saharan Africa, across four domains: (a) study methodology, (b) cultural adaptation and community participation, (c) intervention strategies, and (d) effects on child mental health. Ten interventions were identified. Findings revealed that the majority of studies used a randomized controlled trial or quasi-experimental design, but few conducted long-term follow-up; that all programs undertook cultural adaptation of the intervention using community participatory methods, or were locally developed; that the majority of interventions targeted caregiving behavior and/or caregiver-child relationships using behavioral and cognitive-behavioral strategies, or were home visiting interventions; and that interventions had mixed effects on OVC mental health.

Effect of Caregiver Training on the Neurodevelopment of HIV-Exposed Uninfected Children and Caregiver Mental Health: A Ugandan Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: Early childhood development programs typically combine healthy nutrition and cognitive stimulation in an integrated model. We separately delivered these 2 components in a cluster-randomized controlled trial to evaluate their comparative effectiveness in promoting healthy child development and caregiver mental health. This is the first study to do so for HIV-affected children and their infected mothers.

Randomized controlled trial of caregiver training for HIV-infected child neurodevelopment and caregiver well being.

Objectives: HIV infection places children at neurodevelopmental risk; for young children in poverty, risk is compounded by compromised caregiving quality. The mediational intervention for sensitizing caregivers (MISC) program trained caregivers on fostering daily interactions with young children. We hypothesized that MISC could enhance neurodevelopment of rural Ugandan HIV-infected children and improve mental health outcomes of their caregivers, which might mediate improved caregiving quality.

A year-long caregiver training program improves cognition in preschool Ugandan children with human immunodeficiency virus.

Objective: To evaluate mediational intervention for sensitizing caregivers (MISC). MISC biweekly caregiver training significantly enhanced child development compared with biweekly training on health and nutrition (active control) and to evaluate whether MISC training improved the emotional well-being of the caregivers compared with controls.

Study Design: Sixty of 120 rural Ugandan preschool child/caregiver dyads with HIV were assigned by randomized clusters to biweekly MISC training, alternating between home and clinic for 1 year.

A year-long caregiver training program to improve neurocognition in preschool Ugandan HIV-exposed children.

Objective: Mediational intervention for sensitizing caregivers (MISC) is a structured program enabling caregivers to enhance their child's cognitive and emotional development through daily interactions. The principal aim was to evaluate if a year-long MISC caregiver training program produced greater improvement in child cognitive and emotional development compared with a control program.

Methods: One hundred and nineteen uninfected HIV-exposed preschool children and their caregivers were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatment arms: biweekly MISC training alternating between home and clinic for 1 year or a health and nutrition curriculum.