Reach Out and Read Arabic to Promote Arabic Literacy in Toddlers

Not Applicable

Terminated

• Conditions: Child Development

• Registration Number: NCT03847675
• Lead Sponsor: American University of Beirut Medical Center

Brief Summary

The goal of this study is to encourage parents to read Arabic books to their children from an early age and by extension children will be more likely to read Arabic books and ultimately improve their Arabic literacy.

The investigators' hypothesis is that an adapted "Reach Out and Read" program will result in an increase in the proportion of parents reading Arabic books to their children after the intervention.

Detailed Description

Early reading for toddlers has been linked to a better grasp of the fundamentals of language as they approach school age, as reading exposes the child to rich language and diverse content. Reach Out and Read program (ROR) is an American non-profit organization that advocates for childhood literacy.

In this study the investigators aim to implement an adapted version of the "Reach Out and Read" program and to encourage parents to read Arabic books to their children in order for this to become a daily habit. The goal of this study is to see an increase in the proportion of parents who read Arabic books to their children and by extension children will grow up loving to read Arabic books and ultimately may have improved Arabic literacy.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2018-11-01
• Study First Submitted: 2019-01-24
• Study First Submitted QC: 2019-02-19
• Study First Posted: 2019-02-20
• Status Verified: 2022-02
• Primary Completion: 2022-05-30
• Study Completion: 2022-07-30
• Last Update Submitted: 2023-02-07
• Last Update Posted: 2023-02-08

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: TERMINATED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 20

Inclusion Criteria

• Parents must identify the study's settings as the usual site for their child regular checkups
• Families are eligible if at least one parent understands, speaks and reads Arabic.
• The child's age between 4 and 6 months at the time of the enrollment

Exclusion Criteria

• Children diagnosed or displaying severe behavioral, cognitive, or physical impairment, that prevents them in meaningfully engaging in a reading activity example: severe autism, profound developmental or intellectual delay.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Proportion of parents reading Arabic books to their children	3 years	Measure the proportion of parents reading Arabic books to their children after 3 intervention visits, when their child is about 15 months of age. Parental reading is defined as reading for a minimum of 10 minutes daily for at least 5 days per week.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Children's vocabulary and language / words'	3 years	The children's vocabulary and language / words' acquisition in the experimental compared to the control group at 2 years and 3 years.
Children's early developmental milestones	3 years	The children's early developmental milestones in the experimental compared to the control group at 2 years and 3 years.
Weekly frequency of parental reading in Arabic before, and after the intervention	3 years	The weekly frequency of parental reading in Arabic before, and after the intervention at each age group (9, 12 and 15 months), then at 2 and 3 years of age as compared between experimental and control group

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

American University of Beirut; 🇱🇧 Beirut, Lebanon