Evaluating a parent skills training for caregivers of children with developmental disorders in Ethiopia: Impact on cargivers

Developmental disorders (DD; including autism and intellectual disability) are common worldwide. In Ethiopia services for children with DD are restricted to the capital Addis Ababa and inaccessible to 85% of the population living rurally. Most children with DD receive no formal help and have no access to interventions.

To address this gap the World Health Organization has developed a low-cost, scalable Parent Skills Training (PST) for caregivers of children with DD. The PST teaches caregivers strategies to support their child's learning and to address challenging behaviours. Our research team is currently conducting a study to examine how the PST programme can be adapted for use in Ethiopia.

The aim of this PhD project is to evaluate the impact of the PST programme on the participating caregivers, including exploration of caregiver mental health, stress, experienced stigma and parenting confidence. Under supervision of Dr Hoekstra (an expert in DD based in London) and Dr Hanlon (a global mental health expert based in Addis Ababa) the candidate will gain experience in both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The efficacy of the PST will be tested in a randomised controlled trial; the experience of caregivers will be further explored through in-depth interviews.

In the first six months of study (one year in the 0+3.5 programme) the candidate will acquire essential skills in qualitative and quantitative research methodology and prepare the fieldwork. Fieldwork activities in Ethiopia will be undertaken over the subsequent eighteen months; the final year will focus on data analyses and write-up.