Workshop Schedules for Adult Family Skills

Overseen By Jennifer M Leveille, MPH

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Midwest Evaluation & Research

Disqualifiers: Minors, Reside outside Harris County

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 7

1682 Participants Needed

Trial Summary

Do I need to stop my current medications to join the trial?

The trial protocol does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

How does the Workshop Schedules for Adult Family Skills treatment differ from other treatments for family skills training?

The Workshop Schedules for Adult Family Skills treatment is unique because it offers flexibility in delivery methods, including a home-use DVD series that allows families to learn together at their own pace, reducing logistical burdens and costs compared to traditional group settings. This approach also includes additional content on topics like healthy brain development and mindfulness, which are not typically covered in standard family skills programs. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

What is the purpose of this trial?

AVANCE-Houston seeks to understand whether a standard or compressed schedule format for delivering the Survival Skills for Healthy Families curriculum better meets the needs of low-income adults to improve skill retention and, ultimately, to promote better outcomes for healthy family relationships and economic stability.

Research Team

Matt D Shepherd, PhD

Principal Investigator

Midwest Evaluation & Research

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for adults over the age of 18 living in Harris County (Houston area), TX. It's designed to help low-income individuals improve family relationships and economic stability. Those under 18 or living outside Harris County cannot participate.

Inclusion Criteria

Reside in Harris County (Houston area), TX

Exclusion Criteria

I am under 18 years old.

Reside outside of Harris County (Houston area), TX

Timeline

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Program Participation

Participants engage in the Survival Skills for Healthy Families curriculum through weekly workshops or intensive weekend retreats

7 weeks

7 visits (in-person or virtual)

Program Completion

Participants complete the program and initial outcomes are measured

Immediately after program completion

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for changes in parenting, partner relationships, and financial readiness one year after enrollment

12 months

Treatment Details

Interventions

• AVANCE-Houston FRAMEWorks Program Weekend Workshops in 16-Hour Retreat (compressed format)
• AVANCE-Houston FRAMEWorks Program Weekly Workshops Spread Across 7 Weeks (spaced out format)

Trial Overview The AVANCE-Houston FRAMEWorks Program is testing two formats of delivering its curriculum: weekly workshops spread across seven weeks, versus a compressed weekend retreat lasting 16 hours. The goal is to see which format better helps with skill retention.

Participant Groups

Group I: AVANCE-Houston FRAMEWorks Program Weekly Workshop Format Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

A trained facilitator, supported by Career and Family Coaches, leads every HMRE parenting workshop for adults via multiple delivery models: in recurring weekly workshops (2 hours each workshop for 7 weeks) and intensive weekend retreats (totaling 16 hours). Additionally, AVANCE offers the weekly workshops either virtually via Zoom or in-person. All workshop models were offered to program participants who were able to choose whether the weekly (either in-person or virtually) or the weekend (in-person only) format worked best for them. Curriculum content is consistent across all delivery methods and target hours for all participants is 14 hours.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Midwest Evaluation & Research

Lead Sponsor

Trials

11

Recruited

11,700+

AVANCE-Houston

Collaborator

Trials

2

Recruited

2,400+

Avance Clinical Pty Ltd.

Industry Sponsor

Trials

23

Recruited

3,700+

Findings from Research

The home-use DVD version of the Strengthening Families Program (SFP) demonstrated a significant improvement in program outcomes, outperforming traditional group norms in 13 out of 15 comparisons, with an average effect size increase of 28%.

This study suggests that delivering family-based interventions through affordable technology like DVDs can be as effective as traditional group classes, highlighting a potential cost-effective alternative for families and agencies.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A Parenting Behavior Intervention (the Strengthening Families Program) for Families: Noninferiority Trial of Different Program Delivery Methods. Kumpfer, KL., Brown, JL.[2020]

The Strengthening Families Program (SFP) was successfully implemented in three cities in France, showing positive results in family retention rates and immediate efficacy among four groups of families.

Cultural adaptations, including local partnerships and training, were essential for the successful implementation of SFP, indicating that standardized programs can be effectively tailored for different contexts.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

[Strengthening Families Program: key points for the French adaptation]. Roehrig, C., Pradier, C.[2018]

References

1. Canada pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A Parenting Behavior Intervention (the Strengthening Families Program) for Families: Noninferiority Trial of Different Program Delivery Methods. [2020]

2. France pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

[Strengthening Families Program: key points for the French adaptation]. [2018]

3. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Resident, faculty, and residency program development. An integrated approach through annual retreats. [2019]

4. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Teambuilding and leadership training in an internal medicine residency training program. [2022]

5. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Family constellation seminars improve psychological functioning in a general population sample: results of a randomized controlled trial. [2015]