PRO-DIALOG—the effect of a novel dialogue-based parent-teacher conference on mental health in kindergarten children: a cluster randomized controlled trial
Abstract Background Mental health difficulties in preschool children often go unnoticed and may result in delayed access to potentially beneficial services. In Norwegian kindergartens, teachers get to know the children well over time and have parent-teacher conferences once or twice a year. Kinderga...
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2025-08-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-025-08980-x |
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| author | Ingvar Bjelland Gro Janne Wergeland Christopher Gillberg Rolf Gjestad Adrijana Višnjić-Jevtić Veronica Kibbe Lisæth Carmela Miniscalco Amanda Louise Flygel Tufta Ida Lygre Vermeer Alicja Renata Sadownik Philip Wilson Maj-Britt Posserud |
| author_facet | Ingvar Bjelland Gro Janne Wergeland Christopher Gillberg Rolf Gjestad Adrijana Višnjić-Jevtić Veronica Kibbe Lisæth Carmela Miniscalco Amanda Louise Flygel Tufta Ida Lygre Vermeer Alicja Renata Sadownik Philip Wilson Maj-Britt Posserud |
| author_sort | Ingvar Bjelland |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Mental health difficulties in preschool children often go unnoticed and may result in delayed access to potentially beneficial services. In Norwegian kindergartens, teachers get to know the children well over time and have parent-teacher conferences once or twice a year. Kindergarten is thus a well-suited arena for early identification and intervention of mental health difficulties. To address the need for a kindergarten-specific method for secondary prevention, we have developed Dialogue-Based Early Detection (DBED) in close collaboration with educators and parents in eight different kindergartens. Results from a feasibility study indicate that DBED works well as a parent-teacher collaborative screening method and is well accepted by the users. In the PRO-DIALOG project, we will examine the potential of DBED and explore its possible long-term effects in a randomized controlled trial. Methods Ten kindergartens will be randomly selected to implement DBED, while ten will act as controls, offering ordinary parent-teacher conferences. Parents of at least 100 + 100 children will be recruited. The primary outcome will be children’s mental health in the intervention group as assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), during the 5-year follow-up, compared to the control group. Secondary outcomes will be (i) the effect of DBED on parental stress as measured by the Parental Stress Scale (PSS) and (ii) time to activation of support, as measured by the duration from the first parent-teacher conference to activation of any support, comparing the two groups. We will also assess (iii) socio-demographic predictors for mental health development, parent and teacher concern for the child, parental stress, and parent satisfaction with DBED, (iv) screening properties of DBED compared to SDQ, and (v) social validity of DBED as measured by user-satisfaction questionnaires and interviews with both parents and teachers. Discussion This complex intervention study includes a wide range of outcomes beyond the mental health scores of kindergarten children. If the intervention is well accepted and has a positive influence on the children’s mental health, the DBED method has a potential for a wide dissemination. This study will produce new knowledge on kindergarten as an arena for the promotion of mental health among young children. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06471816. Registered on 2024–06-22 16:06. Retrospectively registered. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6efebd904e90480d8dfd1c2a5f7894e3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1745-6215 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
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| series | Trials |
| spelling | doaj-art-6efebd904e90480d8dfd1c2a5f7894e32025-08-24T11:49:04ZengBMCTrials1745-62152025-08-0126111210.1186/s13063-025-08980-xPRO-DIALOG—the effect of a novel dialogue-based parent-teacher conference on mental health in kindergarten children: a cluster randomized controlled trialIngvar Bjelland0Gro Janne Wergeland1Christopher Gillberg2Rolf Gjestad3Adrijana Višnjić-Jevtić4Veronica Kibbe Lisæth5Carmela Miniscalco6Amanda Louise Flygel Tufta7Ida Lygre VermeerAlicja Renata Sadownik8Philip Wilson9Maj-Britt Posserud10Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University HospitalDepartment of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University HospitalGillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of GothenburgDepartment of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University HospitalFaculty of Teacher Education, University of ZagrebDepartment of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University HospitalGillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of GothenburgDepartment of Pediatrics, Haukeland University HospitalKindergarten Knowledge Centre for Systemic Research On Diversity and Sustainable Futures (KINDknow), Western Norway University of Applied ScienceUniversity of AberdeenDepartment of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University HospitalAbstract Background Mental health difficulties in preschool children often go unnoticed and may result in delayed access to potentially beneficial services. In Norwegian kindergartens, teachers get to know the children well over time and have parent-teacher conferences once or twice a year. Kindergarten is thus a well-suited arena for early identification and intervention of mental health difficulties. To address the need for a kindergarten-specific method for secondary prevention, we have developed Dialogue-Based Early Detection (DBED) in close collaboration with educators and parents in eight different kindergartens. Results from a feasibility study indicate that DBED works well as a parent-teacher collaborative screening method and is well accepted by the users. In the PRO-DIALOG project, we will examine the potential of DBED and explore its possible long-term effects in a randomized controlled trial. Methods Ten kindergartens will be randomly selected to implement DBED, while ten will act as controls, offering ordinary parent-teacher conferences. Parents of at least 100 + 100 children will be recruited. The primary outcome will be children’s mental health in the intervention group as assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), during the 5-year follow-up, compared to the control group. Secondary outcomes will be (i) the effect of DBED on parental stress as measured by the Parental Stress Scale (PSS) and (ii) time to activation of support, as measured by the duration from the first parent-teacher conference to activation of any support, comparing the two groups. We will also assess (iii) socio-demographic predictors for mental health development, parent and teacher concern for the child, parental stress, and parent satisfaction with DBED, (iv) screening properties of DBED compared to SDQ, and (v) social validity of DBED as measured by user-satisfaction questionnaires and interviews with both parents and teachers. Discussion This complex intervention study includes a wide range of outcomes beyond the mental health scores of kindergarten children. If the intervention is well accepted and has a positive influence on the children’s mental health, the DBED method has a potential for a wide dissemination. This study will produce new knowledge on kindergarten as an arena for the promotion of mental health among young children. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06471816. Registered on 2024–06-22 16:06. Retrospectively registered.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-025-08980-xMental healthHealth promotionSecondary preventionScreeningShared decision makingChildren |
| spellingShingle | Ingvar Bjelland Gro Janne Wergeland Christopher Gillberg Rolf Gjestad Adrijana Višnjić-Jevtić Veronica Kibbe Lisæth Carmela Miniscalco Amanda Louise Flygel Tufta Ida Lygre Vermeer Alicja Renata Sadownik Philip Wilson Maj-Britt Posserud PRO-DIALOG—the effect of a novel dialogue-based parent-teacher conference on mental health in kindergarten children: a cluster randomized controlled trial Trials Mental health Health promotion Secondary prevention Screening Shared decision making Children |
| title | PRO-DIALOG—the effect of a novel dialogue-based parent-teacher conference on mental health in kindergarten children: a cluster randomized controlled trial |
| title_full | PRO-DIALOG—the effect of a novel dialogue-based parent-teacher conference on mental health in kindergarten children: a cluster randomized controlled trial |
| title_fullStr | PRO-DIALOG—the effect of a novel dialogue-based parent-teacher conference on mental health in kindergarten children: a cluster randomized controlled trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | PRO-DIALOG—the effect of a novel dialogue-based parent-teacher conference on mental health in kindergarten children: a cluster randomized controlled trial |
| title_short | PRO-DIALOG—the effect of a novel dialogue-based parent-teacher conference on mental health in kindergarten children: a cluster randomized controlled trial |
| title_sort | pro dialog the effect of a novel dialogue based parent teacher conference on mental health in kindergarten children a cluster randomized controlled trial |
| topic | Mental health Health promotion Secondary prevention Screening Shared decision making Children |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-025-08980-x |
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