The thriving kids and parents schools project: protocol of an incomplete stepped wedged cluster randomised trial evaluating the effectiveness of a Triple P seminar series.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the normality of daily life for many children, their families, and schools, resulting in heightened levels of anxiety, depression, social isolation, and loneliness among young people. An integrated public health model of interventions is needed to address the problem and to safeguard the mental health and wellbeing of children. The Triple P - Positive Parenting Program is one system of parenting support with a strong evidence-base and wide international reach. When implemented as a public health approach, Triple P has demonstrated population level positive effects on child wellbeing. This study will be the first large-scale, multi-site randomised controlled trial of a newly developed, low-intensity variant of Triple P, a school-based seminar series, as a response to the impacts of the pandemic. METHODS: The evaluation will employ an Incomplete Batched Stepped Wedge Cluster Randomised Trial Design. At least 300 Australian primary schools, from South Australia, Queensland, and Victoria will be recruited and randomised in three batches. Within each batch, schools will be randomly assigned to either start the intervention immediately or start in six weeks. Parents will be recruited from participating schools. The Triple P seminar series includes three seminars titled: "The Power of Positive Parenting", "Helping Your Child to Manage Anxiety", and "Keeping your Child Safe from Bullying". Parents will complete measures about child wellbeing, parenting, parenting self-regulation and other key intervention targets at baseline, six weeks after baseline, and 12 weeks after baseline. Intervention effectiveness will be evaluated with a Multilevel Piecewise Latent Growth Curve Modelling approach. Data collection is currently underway, and the current phase of the project is anticipated to be completed in January 2024. DISCUSSION: The findings from this study will extend the current knowledge of the effects of evidence-based parenting support delivered through brief, universally offered, low intensity, school-based parenting seminars in a post pandemic world. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is registered at the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (Trial Registration Number: ACTRN12623000852651).

Key learnings from COVID-19 to sustain quality of life for families of individuals with IDD.

COVID-19 has very publicly had profound impacts on the health system of every country in the world. Over 4.5 million people have lost their lives. School closures worldwide where up to 1.6 billion of the world's children have been out of school, are also prominent in world news. Behind these public impacts are the families. In this paper, we focus on the experiences of families with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) through analysis of two data sets: the emerging research literature and contributions from our author team who have lived experience of intellectual and developmental disability in the context of COVID-19. From these two data sets, we discern five themes of the impact of the pandemic: on health, on education, on services and supports, on families and finally on relationships beyond the family. We conclude with lessons from those living with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the carers and the individuals themselves to draw implications for supporting families in the context of disability during future pandemics.

The Relationship between Mindful Attention Awareness, Perceived Stress and Subjective Wellbeing.

It has been suggested that mindfulness is a predictive factor in self-reported perceived stress. The present study aimed to investigate the link between mindful attention awareness, perceived stress and subjective wellbeing without the presence of a complementary intervention to promote mindfulness-based strategies. METHODS: The online survey participants (N = 257) were university students enrolled in initial teacher training. Self-report measures included the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI). RESULTS: PWI was negatively correlated with PSS (r = -0.550, p = .001), MAAS was negatively correlated with PSS (r = -0.567, p = .001) and positively correlated with PWI (r = 0.336, p = .001). The mean score for PSS (M = 20.61, SD = 6.62) was above the reported norm (14.2). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that higher levels of mindful attention awareness may be associated with lower levels of perceived stress and higher subjective wellbeing levels and lower levels of perceived stress may be associated with higher subjective wellbeing. The findings confirm that pre-service teachers are a demographic that experiences elevated levels of perceived stress regardless of the stage in initial teacher training programs.

Exploring a Complementary Stress Management and Wellbeing Intervention Model for Teachers: Participant Experience.

BACKGROUND: work-related stress can have alarming physiological and psychological health impacts, which may permeate into personal and professional contexts. Teachers need to be supported to develop the skills and strategies to effectively identify how stress manifests and how to use simple, practical techniques to manage and reduce the impact of stress. Complementary interventions (CIs) for educators may provide stress management and assist with supporting wellbeing at the individual level. METHODS: the convergent mixed-methods study included participant reflections, self-report measures for perceived stress, mindful attention awareness, and subjective wellbeing and biological measures (salivary cortisol levels). DATA ANALYSIS: inductive thematic analysis and mixed-methods case study design. RESULTS: the participants shared that they experienced benefits in personal and professional contexts, behavioural changes, increased awareness of the impact of stress, and a decrease in the stress response. The participant reflections provided contextual information surrounding the self-report and biological measures. The inferences generated were reflected in both datasets. The findings supported the proposed model linking the mechanisms present in the techniques from the system of yoga and the dimensions of wellbeing. CONCLUSIONS: the findings suggest that a CI for educators may provide strategies for supporting wellbeing and assisting with stress management.

A Complementary Intervention to Promote Wellbeing and Stress Management for Early Career Teachers.

The educational climate and culture in our schools present a variety of environmental (contextual) factors that influence teacher wellbeing, job satisfaction, and work-related stress. The magnitude of contextual factors cannot be ignored, and directing attention towards the environment teachers face daily is essential. Primary (organisational)-level interventions are documented in organisational health and wellbeing literature; however, to provide teachers with stress management strategies for promoting wellbeing, attention must also be directed towards secondary (individual)-level interventions. The present study addressed the issue of stress management techniques for early career teachers (n = 24) and aimed to contribute to the research surrounding complementary interventions (CIs) for educators. The intervention was designed to include strategies that operated through cognitive and physiological mechanisms that regulated the stress response and increased awareness of behaviours, emotions, and reactivity. The self-report measures included perceived stress, attention awareness, subjective wellbeing, burnout, and job-related affective wellbeing. The results indicated a statistically significant decrease in perceived stress and increases in attention awareness and subjective wellbeing. The salivary cortisol levels (waking and resting) decreased from baseline to week 6, and the pre- and post-session salivary cortisol levels indicated an immediate decrease in cortisol for weeks 4 to 6.