Virtual Delivery of A School-Based Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program: A Pilot Study

ABSTRACT

Universal child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention is a public health priority. The prevailing prevention strategy is school-based CSA prevention programming. School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for flexible modes of delivery, including virtual programs. This pilot examined the virtual delivery of an evidence-based, school-based CSA prevention program, Safe Touches, designed to teach CSA-related knowledge and concepts. Using mixed methods, the pilot sought to determine the feasibility of the virtually delivered CSA prevention program. One school district that had previously received Safe Touches in-person participated. A total of 176 second grade students participated in the virtual workshop. Post-workshop survey responses from virtual (N = 37) and in-person workshops (N = 60) were compared descriptively. Mean item scores and response patterns from students who received the virtual workshop were nominally comparable to the student scores from the in-person workshop. Following the virtual workshop, one teacher notified the research team of a disclosure of CSA. Qualitative input from the facilitator and school staff was positive, indicating high student engagement. Results suggest the viability and feasibility of virtual school-based CSA preventive programs. Investment in virtual modes of delivery would ensure all students have access to CSA prevention programming in the future.

KEYWORDS:

• Child sexual abuse (CSA)
• virtual delivery
• prevention
• implementation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical Standards and Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation at The Pennsylvania State University and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.”

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [P50 HD089922]; National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences [UL1 TR00045,UL1 TR002014].

Notes on contributors

Kate Guastaferro

Kate Guastaferro MPH, PhD is Assistant Professor at New York University in New York.

Jacqueline L. Holloway

Jacqueline L. Holloway PhD is Director of Research and Evaluation at the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, New York, NY.

Jessica Trudeau

Jessica Trudeau MPH is Director of the Training Institute at the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, New York, NY.

Lauren B. Lipson

Lauren B. Lipson B.S. is a graduate of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.

S. Sunshine

S. Sunshine B.A. is a graduate student in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.

Jennie G. Noll

Jennie G. Noll PhD is Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and Director of the Center for Healthy Children at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.

Mary L. Pulido

Mary L. Pulido, PhD is Executive Director of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, New York, NY.