SafeCare Kenya project is a five-year project whose primary goal is to equip families/guardians with information and skills to provide optimal care and promote parent-child interaction and bonding for children under five years.
Why now: Research has shown child maltreatment significantly increases the risk of non-communicable disease later in life due to toxic stress and biological embedding. Regrettably, over 70 percent of adult Kenyans report experiencing childhood maltreatment primarily due to inadequate parenting skills, misunderstanding of child development, and lack of basic needs and proper medical attention. To address this issue the project will engage Kenya’s Community Health Promoters (CHPs) who are trained to offer basic health care services and information to implement the SafeCare interventions both virtually and in-person.
Expected outcomes: The project intends to disseminate a culturally relevant, evidence-based parenting program to enhance child wellbeing and reduce the risk of NCDs.
Funding support: This project is funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Research Lead: Jenelle R. Shanley, Prof David Ndetei, Dr Victoria Mutiso, Dr Matthew Hunsinger and Annaleise McCullough.
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