Development of the Training Program on Child Abuse Prevention for Citizens (TCAP-C) and Its Effects and Acceptability: Community-Based Participatory Research

Aim: We developed the Training Program on Child Abuse Prevention for Citizens (TCAP-C) and tested its effects and acceptability among citizen leaders (CLs). Methods: Community-based participatory research using a pretest–posttest follow-up design was conducted in Tokyo, Japan from September 2021 to March 2022. Participants completed questionnaires before, upon completion, and one month and three months after TCAP-C. Recognition, knowledge, and behaviors regarding child abuse and community consciousness were collected and compared before and one and three months after TCAP-C, and the degree of satisfaction, understanding, and meaningfulness were collected upon completion. We analyzed data using repeated-measures ANCOVA. Results: A total of 111, 98, 101, and 94 participants completed the questionnaires before, upon completion, and one and three months after TCAP-C, respectively. Overall, the recognition, knowledge, and community consciousness scores significantly improved from before to one month and three months after TCAP-C. Regarding the behaviors, only the behaviors of learning and watching over were significantly improved from before to one month after TCAP-C; however, those behaviors were not different between before and three months after TCAP-C. Furthermore, 95% participants reported being entirely satisfied with TCAP-C, and 85% and 91% reported good understanding and meaningfulness of the program. Conclusions: TCAP-C is acceptable and can improve CL recognition, knowledge, and community consciousness.