Implementing the Good Participatory Practice Guidelines in the Girls Achieve Power Trial in South Africa

The Good Participatory Practice (GPP) guidelines provide a framework for stakeholder engagement within clinical trials, to ensure a study’s acceptability, feasibility, and improving the overall research quality; however, they have rarely been applied beyond this setting, and no literature exists on its application in adolescent research. A review of the 2011 GPP guidelines was undertaken to identify which 16 GPP topic areas could be applied and adapted for implementing an ecological asset building intervention, that is, the Girls Achieve Power (GAP Year) cluster randomized controlled trial for reducing school dropout and increasing reporting of gender-based violence in Gauteng and Western Cape province in South Africa. The 16 GPP topic areas were adapted and implemented to guide stakeholder engagement for GAP Year. We show the usability and adaptability of the GPP framework for guiding stakeholder engagement in non-clinical trials like GAP Year; however it requires adapting to respond to the unique needs of the beneficiaries.