Parenting for Lifelong Health SUPER (Scale-Up of Parenting Evaluation Research) Study
Principal investigator: Professor Lucie Cluver, Professor Jamie M. Lachman, Professor Frances Gardner, Dr Yulia Shenderovich and Dr Inge Vallance
Funded by: European Research Council, Research England, UKRI GCRF Accelerating Achievement for Africa’s Adolescents Hub, and the National Research Foundation of South Africa
Start date: May 2019
End date: 2024
Project outline
The Scale-Up of Parenting Evaluation Research (SUPER) study examined what happens when evidence-based parenting programmes move from controlled trials into routine delivery at scale.
The study focused on two Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) interventions: PLH for Young Children, for caregivers of children aged 2 to 9, and PLH for Teens, for caregivers of adolescents.
SUPER examined programme delivery across eight African countries: Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It explored how evidence-based parenting programmes performed when delivered through routine government and NGO services, and how implementation partners could evaluate outcomes as programmes expanded.
Significance
Parenting programmes can reduce violence against children and support family wellbeing, but evidence from controlled trials does not automatically show what happens when programmes are delivered at scale through routine services. Governments and implementing organisations need to understand not only whether programmes remain effective, but also how they can be delivered, monitored and improved in real-world settings.
SUPER addressed this evidence gap. It studied programme uptake, adaptation, quality of delivery, implementation conditions, costs and outcomes across varied service systems.
Implementation
The study combined quantitative outcome monitoring across eight African countries with in-depth qualitative implementation research in four case-study countries. It examined how Parenting for Lifelong Health programmes were adapted, delivered and sustained when implemented through routine government and NGO services.
Working alongside governments and implementing organisations, the project embedded outcome monitoring within routine programme delivery while strengthening partners' capacity to collect, analyse and use evaluation data. Together, the quantitative and qualitative research provided evidence on both programme outcomes and the conditions needed to support successful scale-up.
Findings
A meta-analysis of more than 120,000 caregivers and adolescents across eight African countries found consistent associations between programme participation and reduced violence against children, improved parenting practices, and improved caregiver and adolescent mental health under routine implementation conditions.
Qualitative research with governments and implementing organisations identified the practical conditions needed for successful scale-up. Stakeholders highlighted cultural acceptability, local ownership, careful programme design, and active collaboration between researchers, governments and delivery partners as important enablers of implementation. Barriers included COVID-19 disruption, administrative pressures and the cost of implementation.
Together, these findings show that successful scale-up depends not only on effective programmes, but also on strong partnerships and delivery systems that support high-quality implementation in routine services.
Cluver, L., Ward, C., Little, F., Vallance, I., Haupt Ronnie, G., Shenderovich, Y., and colleagues. (2026). Are parenting programmes effective at scale? Associations with violence against adolescent girls, parenting, and mental health in real-world delivery across eight African countries: A meta-analysis of pre-post survey. BMJ Global Health.
Shenderovich, Y., Martin, M., Blackwell, A., Calderon, F., Wamoyi, J., Gwebu, H., and colleagues. (2026). Reflections on monitoring parenting programmes during dissemination and scale-up. Child Protection and Practice.
Gwebu, H., Mutembedza, T. E., Kilby, J., Rieff, J., Jamu, S., Jamu, L., and colleagues. (2024). A stakeholder perspective on the necessary conditions for successfully implementing parenting interventions in Botswana. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1355652.
Shenderovich, Y., Lachman, J. M., Ward, C. L., Wessels, I., Gardner, F., Tomlinson, M., and colleagues. (2021). The science of scale for violence prevention: A new agenda for family strengthening in low- and middle-income countries. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, 581440.
Shenderovich, Y., Ward, C. L., Lachman, J. M., Wessels, I., Sacolo-Gwebu, H., Okop, K., and colleagues. (2020). Evaluating the dissemination and scale-up of two evidence-based parenting interventions to reduce violence against children: Study protocol. Implementation Science Communications, 1, 86.
Janowski, R. K., Wessels, I., Bojo, S., Monday, F., Maloney, K., Achut, V., Oliver, D., Lachman, J. M., Cluver, L., and Ward, C. L. (2020). Transferability of evidence-based parenting programs to routine implementation in postconflict South Sudan. Research on Social Work Practice, 30(8), 858-869.