#  Afinidata 

 



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Despite rapid role-out of early childhood services in Latin America, many populations of children and their caregivers remain under-served. **Digital technology** may be one means for reaching families on a large-scale, providing them access to content and support related to their children's well-being. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of digital parenting programs remains understudied, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

The SEED Lab is currently working on two separate evaluations of [Afini](https://afinidata.com/en/home/), an artificial intelligence-based "virtual tutor" that uses a phone-based chatbot to provide parents with customized activity recommendations to support their children's development. In collaboration with the [World Bank](https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/sief-trust-fund) and the Government of Ceará, the first study uses a multifactorial design to examine the impact of adding Afini to Brazil's [national home visiting program](https://nurturing-care.org/2019-wise-awards/) for low-income famililes (Programa Criança Feliz), as well as to consider the specific design elements (e.g., customization approaches) that optimize its effectiveness. With support from Botnar Foundation, the [second study](https://brc.ch/research/digital-support-systems/) examines the effects of Afini as a stand-alone intervention in high Andean Peru.

Check back soon for results of these studies!

## For More Information

To learn more about Afinidata, visit their [website](https://afinidata.com/en/home/).

To read the preregistration for the Brazil study, visit the [AEA website](https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/8419).

## Recent Publications

Jaggi, L., Aguilar, L., Alvarado Llatance, M., Castellanos, A., Fink, G., Hinckley, K., ... & Hartinger Pena, S. M. (2023). [Digital tools to improve parenting behaviour in low-income settings: a mixed-methods feasibility study](https://hwmaint.adc.bmj.com/cgi/rapidpdf/archdischild-2022-324964v1.pdf). *Archives of Disease in Childhood.*

Jäggi, L., Hartinger, S. M., Fink, G., McCoy, D. C., Llatance, M. A., Hinckley, K., ... & Mäusezahl, D. (2025). [Parenting in the digital age: A scoping review of digital early childhood parenting interventions in Low-and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11790347/). *Public Health Reviews*, *45*, 1607651.