Can a phone-based parenting program boost child development as well as in-person visits?
NCT ID NCT06140017
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether a parenting program that combines mobile health (mHealth) messages with some in-person group meetings can improve early child development as effectively as a fully in-person program. Around 1,200 mothers or primary caregivers of children aged 6-18 months in rural Kenya will take part. The program, called Msingi Bora, covers responsive parenting, talk, play, hygiene, and nutrition. Researchers will compare child cognitive, language, and social development, as well as parenting behaviors, between the two delivery methods to find the most cost-effective approach.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Msingi Bora responsive parenting and family wellbeing program
- What this could lead to
- If the hybrid approach works as well as in-person meetings, it could offer a lower-cost way to support early childhood development at scale in low-resource settings.
- What could go wrong
- Remote delivery may be less effective than in-person visits, and the study is testing this in a specific rural Kenyan context, so results may not apply elsewhere.
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
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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
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About 1,200 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2023
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
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4 months and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * mothers or other primary caretakers aged 18 years or older * able to read English or Swahili at a level sufficient to understand the SMS messages * with a child aged 6-18 months at recruitment without signs of severe mental or physical impairments (youngest child if more than one eligible for a given mother) Exclusion Criteria: * mothers/households without children * households with children that are outside the age range of 6-18 months at baseline * mothers who lack basic literacy so as not to understand SMS messages
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Safe Water and AIDS Project
Kisumu, 40100, Kenya
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