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Can a WhatsApp chatbot help keep children safer?

NCT ID NCT07814261

Prevention Sponsor: University of Cape Town Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing This study
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Sep 10, 2026 · Last updated Sep 11, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

Researchers are testing whether ParentText, a WhatsApp-based parenting programme, can be delivered through government health services in South Africa's Western Cape. The programme has two five-lesson modules: one on improving caregiver-child relationships and one on keeping children safe. The study also runs a randomised controlled trial to see whether the child safety module reduces children's exposure to sexual violence. Caregivers aged 18 and older who care for a child aged 2 to 17 can join.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
ParentText, a WhatsApp-based parenting support programme with two five-lesson modules
What this could lead to
If it works, this could give governments a low-cost way to deliver parenting support through a messaging app and help protect children from sexual violence.
What could go wrong
The programme relies on caregivers choosing to sign up and stay engaged, so many may not complete it. The child safety module is brief, and self-reported answers may not capture real changes in violence.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

4,961 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Feb 2026

Expected to finish

Oct 2026

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 99 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion criteria for clinic staff interview participants are: * Have worked at one of the study site clinics, during the periods of recruitment * Encouraged caregivers during this period Inclusion criteria for this study\* requires that programme users are: * Parents or caregivers of any child aged 2-17 years old * Aged 18 years or older. * Residing in South Africa * Willing to provide informed consent to participate in the study * Sufficiently fluent in English, Afrikaans, or IsiXhosa Participants will be excluded from this research study if they do not meet any one of the inclusion criteria. Interested caregivers who do not meet the criteria will be directed to SAPPIN's ParentLine digital programme. Inclusion criteria for adolescent participants are: * Be an adolescent of a caregiver who has started the 3-month follow-up survey * Aged 12-17 years old for the surveys and qualitative interviews * Have received consent from their parent/caregiver to partake in the study * Are willing to provide informed assent to participate * Residing in South Africa * Sufficiently fluent in English, Afrikaans or IsiXhosa Inclusion criteria for referral interviews are: * Have successfully enrolled in the study, therefore meets the eligibility criteria of the study (\*as mentioned above) * Have accessed at least one referral Inclusion criteria for engagement interviews are: * Have successfully enrolled in the study, therefore meets the eligibility criteria of the study (\*as mentioned above) * Have completed the baseline survey and received access to the programme content Inclusion criteria for child safety interviews are: * Have successfully enrolled in the study, therefore meets the eligibility criteria of the study (\*as mentioned above) * Have been assigned to the intervention group receiving the child safety module * Have completed at least one component of the module

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

psychiatric disorder Psychological Well-Being

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Adolescent behavior problem Caregiver child relationship Caregiver mental health Child behavior problem Child safety Digital education interventions Digital health intervention Implementation Implementation research Implementation science Mental health Parent child relationship Parent education Parent mental health Parenting intervention Positive parenting Program effectiveness Program implementation Risky sexual behavior Sexual abuse Sexual violence Violence against children

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • University of Cape Town (recruitment sites confidential)

    Cape Town, Western Cape, 7700, South Africa

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