Evidence for Better Lives Study: a comparative birth-cohort study on child exposure to violence and other adversities in eight low- and middle-income countries - foundational research (study protocol)
Adriana Băban,
Siham Sikander,
Mark Tomlinson,
Susan P Walker,
Claire Hughes,
Sara Valdebenito,
Aja Murray,
Asvini D Fernando,
Bernadette J. Madrid,
Catherine Ward,
Joseph Osafo,
Michael Dunne,
Vo Van Thang,
Pasco Fearon,
Yulia Shenderovich,
Marguerite Marlow,
Deshanie Chathurika,
Diana Taut,
Manuel Eisner
Affiliations
Adriana Băban
Department of Psychology, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Siham Sikander
Department of Public Health, Health Services Academy, Islamabad, Pakistan
Mark Tomlinson
2 Institute for Life Course Health Research, Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Susan P Walker
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Melbourne Medical School, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Claire Hughes
Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
Sara Valdebenito
Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Aja Murray
Department of Psychology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Asvini D Fernando
Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka
Bernadette J. Madrid
Child Protection Unit, University of the Philippines Manila, Manila, Philippines
Catherine Ward
Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
Joseph Osafo
Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, Legon, Greater Accra, Ghana
Michael Dunne
Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Vo Van Thang
Institute for Community Health Research, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hue University, Hue, Thừa Thiên-Huế, Viet Nam
Pasco Fearon
Centre for Family Research, Department of Psychology, University College London, London, UK
Yulia Shenderovich
Centre for the Development, Evaluation, Complexity and Implementation in Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer), School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
Marguerite Marlow
Institute for Life Course Health Research, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa
Deshanie Chathurika
Child Protection Unit, Colombo North Teaching Hospital, Ragama, Sri Lanka
Diana Taut
Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Manuel Eisner
Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Introduction Violence against children is a health, human rights and social problem affecting approximately half of the world’s children. Its effects begin at prenatal stages with long-lasting impacts on later health and well-being. The Evidence for Better Lives Study (EBLS) aims to produce high-quality longitudinal data from cities in eight low- and middle-income countries—Ghana, Jamaica, Pakistan, the Philippines, Romania, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Vietnam—to support effective intervention to reduce violence against children. EBLS-Foundational Research (EBLS-FR) tests critical aspects of the planned EBLS, including participant recruitment and retention, data collection and analysis. Alongside epidemiological estimates of levels and predictors of exposure to violence and adversity during pregnancy, we plan to explore mechanisms that may link exposure to violence to mothers’ biological stress markers and subjective well-being.Methods and analyses EBLS-FR is a short longitudinal study with a sample of 1200 pregnant women. Data are collected during the last trimester of pregnancy and 2 to 6 months after birth. The questionnaire for participating women has been translated into nine languages. Measures obtained from mothers will include, among others, mental and physical health, attitudes to corporal punishment, adverse childhood experiences, prenatal intimate partner violence, substance use and social/community support. Hair and dry blood spot samples are collected from the pregnant women to measure stress markers. To explore research participation among fathers, EBLS-FR is recruiting 300 fathers in the Philippines and Sri Lanka.Ethics and dissemination The study received ethical approvals at all recruiting sites and universities in the project. Results will be disseminated through journal publications, conferences and seminar presentations involving local communities, health services and other stakeholders. Findings from this work will help to adjust the subsequent stages of the EBLS project.
