Dataset Information

A cluster randomised trial of a classroom communication resource program to change peer attitudes towards children who stutter among grade 7 students.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Classroom-based stuttering intervention addressing negative peer attitudes, perceptions, teasing and bullying of children who stutter (CWS) is required as part of holistic stuttering management because of its occurrence in primary school. This study was conducted in 2017, in 10 primary schools in the Western Cape, South Africa within lower (second and third) and higher (fourth and fifth) quintiles. OBJECTIVES:The primary objective of this study was to determine treatment effect at six?months after intervention of grade 7 participants (Classroom Communication Resource [CCR] intervention versus no CCR) using global Stuttering Resource Outcomes Measure (SROM) scores in school clusters. The secondary objective was to determine grade 7 participant treatment effect on the SROM subscales including Positive Social Distance (PSD), Social Pressure (SP) and Verbal Interaction (VI). The subgroup objective was to determine any difference in the primary outcome between schools between and across quintile clusters (lower and higher). METHODS:Once schools were stratified into lower and higher quintile (which are defined according to geographical location, fee per school and resources) subgroup clusters, schools were assigned randomly to control and intervention groups consisting of grade 7 participants who were typically aged ??11?years. Teachers received 1 h of training before administering the single-dose CCR intervention over a 60-90-min session. The CCR intervention included a social story, role-play and discussion. All participants viewed a video of a CWS and stuttering was defined at baseline. The SROM measured peer attitudes at six?months after intervention. Randomisation was stratified by quintile group using a 1:1 allocation ratio. Full blinding was not possible; however, the outcome assessor was partially blinded and the analyst was also blinded. Generalised estimating equations (GEE) was used assuming an exchangeable correlation structure to analyse the data adopting an intention-to-treat principle. Multiple imputation was used to handle missing data. Criterion for statistical significance was set at alpha?=?0.05. RESULTS:Ten schools were randomly allocated to control (k?=?5) and intervention groups (k?=?5), with n?=?223 participants allocated to intervention and n?=?231 to control groups. A total of 454 participants completed the SROMs in control (n?=?231) and intervention (n?=?223) groups and were analysed at baseline and six?months after intervention. There was no statistically significant difference on the global SROM score (mean difference -?0.11; 95% confidence interval [CI] -?1.56-1.34; p?=?0.88). There were also no significant differences on SROM subscales: PSD (mean difference 1.04; 95% CI -?1.02-311; p?=?0.32), SP (mean difference -?0.45; 95% CI -?1.22-0.26; p?=?0.21) and VI (mean difference 0.05; 95% CI -?1.01-1.11; p = 0.93). Additionally, there was no significant subgroup effect on the global SROM score (lower versus higher quintile subgroups) (interaction p value?=?0.52). No harms were noted or reported. CONCLUSION:No statistically significant differences were noted. It is possible that the time frame was too short to note changes in peer attitudes and that further study is required to confirm the findings of this study. TRIAL REGISTRATION:Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03111524 . Registered on 9 March 2017.

SUBMITTER: Mallick R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6267837 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

A cluster randomised trial of a classroom communication resource program to change peer attitudes towards children who stutter among grade 7 students.

Mallick Rizwana R Kathard Harsha H Borhan A S M ASM Pillay Mershen M Thabane Lehana L

Trials 20181129 1

<h4>Background</h4>Classroom-based stuttering intervention addressing negative peer attitudes, perceptions, teasing and bullying of children who stutter (CWS) is required as part of holistic stuttering management because of its occurrence in primary school. This study was conducted in 2017, in 10 primary schools in the Western Cape, South Africa within lower (second and third) and higher (fourth and fifth) quintiles.<h4>Objectives</h4>The primary objective of this study was to determine treatmen ...[more]

PMID: 30497490

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:Children who stutter (CWS) are at a high-risk of being teased and bullied in primary school because of negative peer attitudes and perceptions towards stuttering. There is little evidence to determine if classroom-based interventions are effective in changing peer attitudes towards stuttering. The primary objective is to determine the effect of the Classroom Communication Resource (CCR) intervention versus usual practice, measured using the Stuttering Resource Outcomes Measure (SROM) 6-months post-intervention among grade 7 students. The secondary objective is to investigate attitude changes towards stuttering among grade participants on the SROM subscales. METHODS:A cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted with schools as the unit of randomization. Schools will be stratified into quintile groups, and then randomized to receive the CCR intervention or usual practice. Quintile stratification will be conducted in accordance to the Western Cape Department of Education classification of schools according to geographical location, fee per school and allocation of resources and funding. Participants will include primary schools in the lower (second and third) and higher (fourth and fifth) quintiles and children aged 11 years or older in grade 7 will be included. The study will consist of the CCR intervention program or usual practice as a no-CCR control. The CCR is a classroom-based, teacher led intervention tool including a story, role-play and discussion. The grade 7 teachers allocated to the CCR intervention, will be trained and will administer the intervention. The analysis will follow intention-to-treat (ITT) principle and generalized estimating equations (GEE) to compare groups on the global SROM and its subscales to account for possible clustering within schools. The subgroup hypothesis will be tested by adding an interaction term of quintile group x intervention. DISCUSSION:This study is designed to assess whether the CCR intervention versus usual practice in schools will lead to positive shift in attitudes about stuttering at 6-months post-intervention among grade 7 participants. TRIAL REGISTRATION:The trial number is NCT03111524 . It was registered with clinical trials.gov Protocol registration and results system (PRS) retrospectively on 9 March 2017.

Project description:BackgroundThe Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) is a recognized tool for assessment of attitudes towards communication learning. In the original version, it consists of 26 items divided on theoretical assumptions into two subscales: Positive and Negative Attitudes Scales. However, the evidence for its structure seems unsatisfactory, and a simple division into positive and negative attitudes may be insufficient to describe attitudes of medical students towards communication learning. Moreover, the existing evidence of the test-retest reliability of the CSAS seems limited. Consequently, this study aimed to provide more evidence on its psychometric properties while validating the CSAS questionnaire in a cohort of Polish medical students.MethodsThe CSAS was translated, adapted into Polish, and validated in a cohort of 389 Polish medical students. Statistical analysis involved, among others, parallel analysis to determine the number of factors, confirmatory factor analysis to compare the proposed model with theory-based ones, and test-retest reliability analysis.ResultsConducted analysis revealed that in the examined population, the CSAS should rather consist of four than two subscales. Proposed four subscales addressed perceived outcomes of communication learning, positive and negative attitudes towards it (affective components), and factors motivating students to learn communication (a cognitive component of attitudes). Results of test-retest reliability were satisfactory for individual items and subscales.ConclusionsThis study presented a valid and reliable version of the Communication Skills Attitude Scale for Polish medical students and confirmed previous assumptions that CSAS may also be appropriate for assessment of affective and cognitive components of attitudes. Future research should, based on Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior, make attempts to develop a tool assessing not only attitudes but also subjective norms and perceived behavioral control.

Project description:Background: Communication skills (CS) learning is a core skill in medical and dental education. The comparison of attitudes towards CS between dental and medical students based on the taught curriculum (problem-based learning vs. traditional teaching) in Saudi Arabia awaits investigation. Aims: (1) To assess the attitudes of both undergraduate dental and medical students towards communication skills (CS) learning and (2) to compare the attitudes towards CS between Medical and Dental students in relation to sociodemographic and education-related characteristics. Methods and Materials: A cross-sectional study, using an online survey, invited 260 conveniently sampled Taibah university medical and dental undergraduate students. The survey collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, education-related factors, and CS using Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) that assess positive and negative attitudes (PAS, NAS). Data analysis included descriptive statistics and the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Of the distributed questionnaire 91% responded (145 dental and 91 medical students). There were, overall, non-significant scores' differences between medical and dental students on PAS (Medicine Median 51 vs. Dentistry Median 50, p = 0.059) and NAS (Medicine Median 32 vs. Dentistry Median 32, p = 0.596). Older medical students, those at clinical levels and those who reported they need to improve their communication skills and student whose parents were not doctors, tended to score statistically significantly (p = 0.032, 0.017, 0.034, and 0.004, respectively) on PAS compared with dental students; on the other hand, medical students with doctor parents scored significantly high in NAS compared to dental students (p = 0.015). Conclusion: Demographic and education-related characteristics underpinned medical student positive attitude towards CS compared to dental students. Although medical and dental students showed no differences in self-rating their attitudes towards (CS). Different factors influence medical and dental students' attitudes towards CS learning.

Dataset Information

A cluster randomised trial of a classroom communication resource program to change peer attitudes towards children who stutter among grade 7 students.

Publications

A cluster randomised trial of a classroom communication resource program to change peer attitudes towards children who stutter among grade 7 students.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets