TY - JOUR
T1 - Link for Equity, a community-engaged waitlist randomized controlled trial of a culturally responsive trauma-informed care program for BIPOC students
T2 - Design features and characteristics of baseline sample
AU - Ramirez, Marizen R.
AU - Ryan, Andrew
AU - Harding, Alyson B.
AU - Renfro, Tiffaney
AU - Church, Timothy R.
AU - Rosebush, Christina
AU - Trotter, Alexis Grimes
AU - Xiong, Bao Nhia
AU - Gonzalez, John
AU - Woods-Jaeger, Briana
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities [grant # R01MD013801 ].
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023
PY - 2023/3
Y1 - 2023/3
N2 - Background: Link for Equity is a multi-tiered, school-based program of trauma-informed care and cultural humility designed to reduce the impact of Adverse Child Experiences among Black Indigenous and other children of color (BIPOC). This report describes the program, its trial design, and the study participants' baseline characteristics. Methods: We designed a nested waitlist-controlled trial to evaluate Link for Equity's effectiveness in reducing school violence among BIPOC students. Three pairs of school districts, matched on suspension rates and enrollment of Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, and American Indian/Alaska Native children, were randomized into either an intervention or delayed intervention (waitlist control) group. A community-engaged approach guided the development of protocols. Within intervention sites, BIPOC students who screened positive for ACEs or posttraumatic stress were also randomized into an immediate and waitlist control group to receive additional one-on-one support from trained school staff. Results: The trial was implemented from 2019 to 2021, which overlapped with the pandemic and civil unrest in Minnesota. At baseline, 444 staff and 188 students enrolled in the study. Over a quarter of American Indian/Alaska Native students, 18% of multiple race, 12% of Black/African American, 14% of Hispanic/Latinx students reported 4+ ACEs. Between 44 and 53% of all the BIPOC students in the study were symptomatic for PTSD. Of the enrolled students, 78.7% qualified for one-on-one Link support. Conclusion: We implemented a multilevel waitlist-controlled trial of Link for Equity using community-engaged methods. Despite school closures during the pandemic, the study persisted with its methods now being employed in an expanded cohort of middle schools. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04026477, NCT04026490).
AB - Background: Link for Equity is a multi-tiered, school-based program of trauma-informed care and cultural humility designed to reduce the impact of Adverse Child Experiences among Black Indigenous and other children of color (BIPOC). This report describes the program, its trial design, and the study participants' baseline characteristics. Methods: We designed a nested waitlist-controlled trial to evaluate Link for Equity's effectiveness in reducing school violence among BIPOC students. Three pairs of school districts, matched on suspension rates and enrollment of Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, and American Indian/Alaska Native children, were randomized into either an intervention or delayed intervention (waitlist control) group. A community-engaged approach guided the development of protocols. Within intervention sites, BIPOC students who screened positive for ACEs or posttraumatic stress were also randomized into an immediate and waitlist control group to receive additional one-on-one support from trained school staff. Results: The trial was implemented from 2019 to 2021, which overlapped with the pandemic and civil unrest in Minnesota. At baseline, 444 staff and 188 students enrolled in the study. Over a quarter of American Indian/Alaska Native students, 18% of multiple race, 12% of Black/African American, 14% of Hispanic/Latinx students reported 4+ ACEs. Between 44 and 53% of all the BIPOC students in the study were symptomatic for PTSD. Of the enrolled students, 78.7% qualified for one-on-one Link support. Conclusion: We implemented a multilevel waitlist-controlled trial of Link for Equity using community-engaged methods. Despite school closures during the pandemic, the study persisted with its methods now being employed in an expanded cohort of middle schools. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04026477, NCT04026490).
KW - Community-based psychosocial intervention
KW - Methods
KW - Schools
KW - Violence
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85146958864&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85146958864&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.cct.2023.107090
DO - 10.1016/j.cct.2023.107090
M3 - Article
C2 - 36681238
AN - SCOPUS:85146958864
SN - 1551-7144
VL - 126
JO - Contemporary Clinical Trials
JF - Contemporary Clinical Trials
M1 - 107090
ER -
