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Trial details imported from ClinicalTrials.gov

For full trial details, please see the original record at https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07126379




Registration number
NCT07126379
Ethics application status
Date submitted
8/08/2025
Date registered
17/08/2025
Date last updated
17/08/2025

Titles & IDs
Public title
The Family Foundations Trial
Scientific title
The Family Foundations Trial: Promoting Family Wellbeing in Regional and Rural Communities Affected by Environmental Threats
Secondary ID [1] 0 0
117878
Universal Trial Number (UTN)
Trial acronym
Linked study record

Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
Mental Health Outcomes 0 0
Condition category
Condition code

Intervention/exposure
Study type
Interventional
Description of intervention(s) / exposure
BEHAVIORAL - Family Foundations
BEHAVIORAL - Family Life Check-In

Experimental: Family Foundations - Families allocated to FF will receive the program via one of the trial satellite sites within 2 weeks of randomisation.

Active comparator: Family Life Check In - Families allocated to the Family Life Check-In will receive this condition from a Clinical Research Nurse, employed through the primary site (Deakin University) within 2 weeks of randomisation.


BEHAVIORAL: Family Foundations
FF is an 8-session program for families of children aged 0-12 years targeting parent mental health and family conflict. It will be delivered via telehealth by an allied health professional (i.e., social work, psychology, counselling qualification) trained in FF. The 8 sessions can be delivered flexibly (1 or 2 sessions per week). The duration between sessions can vary as per the needs of the family. We are allowing up to 11 weeks from randomisation for FF to be completed. FF is a manualised program which provides instruction on discussion activities, skills practice, video and workbook exercises for every session. Sessions are based around the content areas of: emotion regulation, stress management, healthy communication, coparenting, conflict resolution, and problem solving.

BEHAVIORAL: Family Life Check-In
Families allocated to Family Life Check In will receive this condition from a Clinical Research Nurse, employed at the Primary site (deakin University) with 2 weeks of randomisation. This brief intervention will be comparable to care typically provided to parents/caregivers seeking support for mental health difficulties and/or family/parent relationships issues from a community health service at intake. Family Life Check-In involves a brief (\~30 minute) telephone consultation involving: a) an assessment of the families' needs with one or all parents, b) referral to local services including GP to discuss a mental health care plan, c) provision of reputable Australian web-based resources about supporting children during crises (Raising Children Network, Phoenix Disaster Recovery), and (d) telephone and online support services (BeyondBlue; Lifeline, PANDA, MensLine, KidsLine, Parentline).

Intervention code [1] 0 0
BEHAVIORAL
Comparator / control treatment
Control group

Outcomes
Primary outcome [1] 0 0
Mental Health Difficulties. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), mean difference in total scale scores between FF and Usual Care arms
Timepoint [1] 0 0
24-weeks post-randomisation
Secondary outcome [1] 0 0
Mental Health Difficulties. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), mean difference in total scale and subscale scores between FF and Usual Care arms
Timepoint [1] 0 0
12-weeks post-randomisation
Secondary outcome [2] 0 0
Mental Health Difficulties. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), mean difference in subscale scores between FF and Usual Care arms
Timepoint [2] 0 0
24-weeks post-randomisation
Secondary outcome [3] 0 0
Kessler Psychological Distress Scale - 6, mean difference in total score between the Family Foundations and Usual Care arms.
Timepoint [3] 0 0
12-weeks post-randomisation
Secondary outcome [4] 0 0
Kessler Psychological Distress Scale- 6, mean difference in total score between the Family Foundations and Usual Care arms.
Timepoint [4] 0 0
24-weeks post-randomisation
Secondary outcome [5] 0 0
Parental conflict. The Communication and Problem Solving Scale, mean difference in subscale scores between the Family Foundations and the Usual Care arms.
Timepoint [5] 0 0
12 weeks post-randomisation
Secondary outcome [6] 0 0
Parental conflict. The Communication and Problem Solving Scale , mean difference in subscale scores between the Family Foundations and the Usual Care arms.
Timepoint [6] 0 0
24 weeks post-randomisation
Secondary outcome [7] 0 0
Co-parenting. The Coparenting Relationship Scale, mean difference in subscale scores between FF and the brief intervention arms.
Timepoint [7] 0 0
12-weeks post randomisation
Secondary outcome [8] 0 0
Co-parenting. The Coparenting Relationship Scale, mean difference in subscale scores between FF and the brief intervention arms.
Timepoint [8] 0 0
24-weeks post randomisation
Secondary outcome [9] 0 0
Anger. Dimensions of Anger Reactions (DAR-5), The mean difference in DAR-5 between FF and brief intervention arms.
Timepoint [9] 0 0
24-weeks post randomisation
Secondary outcome [10] 0 0
Wellbeing. Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale Short form (SWEMWBS), mean difference in wellbeing between the FF and brief intervention arms.
Timepoint [10] 0 0
12-weeks post randomisation
Secondary outcome [11] 0 0
Wellbeing. Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale Short form (SWEMWBS), mean difference in wellbeing between the FF and brief intervention arms.
Timepoint [11] 0 0
24-weeks post randomisation
Secondary outcome [12] 0 0
Child-Parent Relationship. Child-Parent Relationship Scale-short form (CPRS), mean difference in the conflict and closeness subscale scores between the FF and brief intervention arms.
Timepoint [12] 0 0
24-weeks post randomisation
Secondary outcome [13] 0 0
Parenting hostility. The Brief Co-parental Communication Scale , The mean difference in parenting hostility scores between the FF and brief intervention arms.
Timepoint [13] 0 0
24-weeks post randomisation
Secondary outcome [14] 0 0
Quality of life. The Assessment of Quality of Life 8 dimension (AQoL-8D), mean difference in quality of life subscales scores between the FF and brief intervention arms.
Timepoint [14] 0 0
24-weeks post randomisation
Secondary outcome [15] 0 0
Traumatic Stress Symptoms. The Brief PTSD Checklist, the difference in proportion of participants meeting the clinical cut off between the FF and usual care will be assessed.
Timepoint [15] 0 0
24-weeks post randomisation
Secondary outcome [16] 0 0
Suicidal Ideation. The Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale (SIAS), risk difference between FF and the brief intervention arms.
Timepoint [16] 0 0
12-weeks post randomisation
Secondary outcome [17] 0 0
Suicidal Ideation. The Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale (SIAS), risk difference between FF and the brief intervention arms.
Timepoint [17] 0 0
24-weeks post randomisation
Secondary outcome [18] 0 0
Suicidal Ideation. The Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale (SIAS), mean difference in total scale score between FF and the brief intervention arms.
Timepoint [18] 0 0
12-weeks post randomisation
Secondary outcome [19] 0 0
Suicidal Ideation. The Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale (SIAS), mean difference in total scale score between FF and the brief intervention arms.
Timepoint [19] 0 0
24-weeks post randomisation
Secondary outcome [20] 0 0
Health Service Use cost, mean difference in cost of healthcare use between the FF and Usual Care arms
Timepoint [20] 0 0
24-Weeks post randomisation
Secondary outcome [21] 0 0
Health Service Use, mean difference in number of healthcare use between the FF and Usual Care arms
Timepoint [21] 0 0
24-Weeks post randomisation
Secondary outcome [22] 0 0
Productivity. The Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire: General Health (WPAI), mean difference in total scores between the FF and Usual Care arms
Timepoint [22] 0 0
24-weeks post randomisation

Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
* Family must be living in a regional or rural area
* Family must have at least one child aged 0-12 years
* At least 2 parents/caregivers in the family must agree to participate in evaluation, and FF, if allocated. (Please note: A family member or someone else involved in raising children in the family may participate in FF. Families are not required to be in a couple relationship or living together).
* At least one parent/caregiver within the family reports mental health difficulties and/or two or more risk factors for poor mental health in the last 5 years including (a) experienced a recent or past natural disaster (i.e., drought, flood, fire, severe storm), (b) living with the threat of a natural disaster (i.e., bushfires during summer), (c) self-reported history of poor mental health, (d) financial hardship, (e) young parental age at time of first baby (18-25yrs), (f) relationship conflict, or (g) social isolation.
Minimum age
18 Years
Maximum age
No limit
Sex
Both males and females
Can healthy volunteers participate?
Yes
Key exclusion criteria
* At least one parent has a severe mental health disorder - self reported psychosis, substance use dependency, prescribed anti-psychotic medication that may interfere with their ability to take part in the trial and in the FF intervention if allocated. They may require more intensive mental health interventions and treatment than what can be provided by the trial interventions.
* The family has an overt indicator of family violence - self-reported intervention order or court case for family violence.
* The family has child protection service involvement - self-reported.

Study design
Purpose of the study
Treatment
Allocation to intervention
Randomised controlled trial
Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)
Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)
Masking / blinding
Open (masking not used)
Who is / are masked / blinded?



Intervention assignment
Parallel
Other design features
Phase
Not applicable
Type of endpoint/s
Statistical methods / analysis

Recruitment
Recruitment status
Not yet recruiting
Data analysis
Reason for early stopping/withdrawal
Other reasons
Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
Actual
Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
Actual
Date of last data collection
Anticipated
Actual
Sample size
Target
Accrual to date
Final
Recruitment in Australia
Recruitment state(s)
VIC
Recruitment hospital [1] 0 0
Deakin University - Burwood
Recruitment hospital [2] 0 0
Colac Area Health - Colac
Recruitment hospital [3] 0 0
Holstep Health - Melbourne
Recruitment hospital [4] 0 0
The Bridge Youth Service - Shepparton
Recruitment hospital [5] 0 0
Kids First - Wallan
Recruitment hospital [6] 0 0
Brophy Family & Youth Services - Warrnambool
Recruitment postcode(s) [1] 0 0
3125 - Burwood
Recruitment postcode(s) [2] 0 0
3250 - Colac
Recruitment postcode(s) [3] 0 0
3058 - Melbourne
Recruitment postcode(s) [4] 0 0
3632 - Shepparton
Recruitment postcode(s) [5] 0 0
3756 - Wallan
Recruitment postcode(s) [6] 0 0
3280 - Warrnambool

Funding & Sponsors
Primary sponsor type
Other
Name
Deakin University
Address
Country
Other collaborator category [1] 0 0
Other
Name [1] 0 0
La Trobe University
Address [1] 0 0
Country [1] 0 0
Other collaborator category [2] 0 0
Other
Name [2] 0 0
Holstep Health
Address [2] 0 0
Country [2] 0 0
Other collaborator category [3] 0 0
Other
Name [3] 0 0
Colac Area Health
Address [3] 0 0
Country [3] 0 0
Other collaborator category [4] 0 0
Other
Name [4] 0 0
Brophy Family & Youth Service
Address [4] 0 0
Country [4] 0 0
Other collaborator category [5] 0 0
Other
Name [5] 0 0
The Bridge
Address [5] 0 0
Country [5] 0 0
Other collaborator category [6] 0 0
Other
Name [6] 0 0
Kids First
Address [6] 0 0
Country [6] 0 0
Other collaborator category [7] 0 0
Other
Name [7] 0 0
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
Address [7] 0 0
Country [7] 0 0

Ethics approval
Ethics application status

Summary
Brief summary
Trial website
Trial related presentations / publications
Public notes

Contacts
Principal investigator
Name 0 0
Rebecca Giallo
Address 0 0
Deakin University
Country 0 0
Phone 0 0
Fax 0 0
Email 0 0
Contact person for public queries
Name 0 0
Rebecca L Giallo, PhD
Address 0 0
Country 0 0
Phone 0 0
+61431101643
Fax 0 0
Email 0 0
Contact person for scientific queries

Data sharing statement
Will individual participant data (IPD) for this trial be available (including data dictionaries)?
No
No/undecided IPD sharing reason/comment
We will not seek consent from participants to share their data, and we do not have ethics approval to share individual participant data.


What supporting documents are/will be available?

No Supporting Document Provided


Results publications and other study-related documents

No documents have been uploaded by study researchers.