ArticlePloS one2024
Autism Caregiver Coaching in Africa (ACACIA): Protocol for a type 1-hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial.
Article in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05551728 (Autism Caregiver Coaching in Africa), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Autism Caregiver Coaching in Africa
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Detecting change in a caregiver-mediated autism intervention using the Joint Engagement Rating Inventory.The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir Kommunikasieafwykings · 2025Article
- Adapting an early autism caregiver coaching intervention for telehealth delivery in low-resource settings: A South African study of the 'what' and the 'why'.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Update of
Authors and funding
13 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWhile early autism intervention can significantly improve outcomes, gaps in implementation exist globally. These gaps are clearest in Africa, where forty percent of the world's children will live by 2050. Task-sharing early intervention to non-specialists is a key implementation strategy, given the lack of specialists in Africa. Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBI) are a class of early autism intervention that can be delivered by caregivers. As a foundational step to address the early autism intervention gap, we adapted a non-specialist delivered caregiver coaching NDBI for the South African context, and pre-piloted this cascaded task-sharing approach in an existing system of care.
objectivesFirst, we will test the effectiveness of the caregiver coaching NDBI compared to usual care. Second, we will describe coaching implementation factors within the Western Cape Department of Education in South Africa.
methodsThis is a type 1 effectiveness-implementation hybrid design; assessor-blinded, group randomized controlled trial. Participants include 150 autistic children (18-72 months) and their caregivers who live in Cape Town, South Africa, and those involved in intervention implementation. Early Childhood Development practitioners, employed by the Department of Education, will deliver 12, one hour, coaching sessions to the intervention group. The control group will receive usual care. Distal co-primary outcomes include the Communication Domain Standard Score (Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Third Edition) and the Language and Communication Developmental Quotient (Griffiths Scales of Child Development, Third Edition). Proximal secondary outcome include caregiver strategies measured by the sum of five items from the Joint Engagement Rating Inventory. We will describe key implementation determinants.
resultsParticipant enrolment started in April 2023. Estimated primary completion date is March 2027.
conclusionThe ACACIA trial will determine whether a cascaded task-sharing intervention delivered in an educational setting leads to meaningful improvements in communication abilities of autistic children, and identify implementation barriers and facilitators.
trial registrationNCT05551728 in Clinical Trial Registry (https://clinicaltrials.gov).
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.