TY - JOUR
T1 - A cluster randomized trial to evaluate the efficacy of a school-based behavioral intervention for health promotion among children aged 3 to 5
AU - Peñalvo, José L.
AU - Santos-Beneit, Gloria
AU - Sotos-Prieto, Mercedes
AU - Martínez, Ramona
AU - Rodríguez, Carla
AU - Franco, Manuel
AU - López-Romero, Pedro
AU - Pocock, Stuart
AU - Redondo, Juliana
AU - Fuster, Valentín
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the International SHE Foundation, intellectual owner of the Program SI!. We also thank the ALICIA Foundation, and Sesame Workshop for providing the materials needed for the intervention. This work is supported by the research grant FIS-PI11/01885 (Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria del Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid).
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Background: The onset of inadequate behaviors leading to the development of risk factors for chronic diseases is known to occur early in life. An effective program for health promotion should therefore focus on children and their environment, as the starting point for behavior development. The overarching objective of the Program SI! (Salud Integral - Comprehensive Health) is to intervene at the school level, to establish and develop life-lasting habits that will help preserving health during adulthood. The Program SI! comprises five consecutive subprograms according to the five stages of education in Spain, the first being in preschoolers. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of Program SI! to establish and improve lifestyle behaviors in children (preschoolers aged 3-5 years), their parents, and teachers, and also improving the school environment. A secondary objective is to evaluate improvements in cardiovascular health-related markers (anthropometric parameters, blood pressure, and dietary and physical activity patterns) in these same children. Methods/design. 24 public schools from the city of Madrid (Spain) were allocated through stratified randomization to intervention or control. The intervention schools follow the Program SI!, which provides didactic units, emotions cards, healthy tips, and online resources. The intervention schools integrate the Program SI! into their scholar curriculum organized in four complete weeks during each academic year during the 3 years of preschool education. Control schools follow their normal curriculum. Primary outcomes are 1-year, and 3-year changes from baseline of scores for knowledge, attitudes, and habits (KAH) of children, their parents and teachers in regards to a healthy lifestyle. Secondary outcomes are 1-year, and 3-year changes from baseline in clinical and anthropometric parameters of children. Discussion. The Program SI! is a long-term health promotion program starting in 3 years old. It incorporates the traditional areas of intervention (diet and physical activity), introducing additional components such as knowledge of the human body and management of emotions to achieve a comprehensive intervention. The Program SI! is designed to be an effective, sustainable health promotion program for the adoption of healthy behaviors from early in life. Trial registration. Trial registration number: NCT01579708.
AB - Background: The onset of inadequate behaviors leading to the development of risk factors for chronic diseases is known to occur early in life. An effective program for health promotion should therefore focus on children and their environment, as the starting point for behavior development. The overarching objective of the Program SI! (Salud Integral - Comprehensive Health) is to intervene at the school level, to establish and develop life-lasting habits that will help preserving health during adulthood. The Program SI! comprises five consecutive subprograms according to the five stages of education in Spain, the first being in preschoolers. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of Program SI! to establish and improve lifestyle behaviors in children (preschoolers aged 3-5 years), their parents, and teachers, and also improving the school environment. A secondary objective is to evaluate improvements in cardiovascular health-related markers (anthropometric parameters, blood pressure, and dietary and physical activity patterns) in these same children. Methods/design. 24 public schools from the city of Madrid (Spain) were allocated through stratified randomization to intervention or control. The intervention schools follow the Program SI!, which provides didactic units, emotions cards, healthy tips, and online resources. The intervention schools integrate the Program SI! into their scholar curriculum organized in four complete weeks during each academic year during the 3 years of preschool education. Control schools follow their normal curriculum. Primary outcomes are 1-year, and 3-year changes from baseline of scores for knowledge, attitudes, and habits (KAH) of children, their parents and teachers in regards to a healthy lifestyle. Secondary outcomes are 1-year, and 3-year changes from baseline in clinical and anthropometric parameters of children. Discussion. The Program SI! is a long-term health promotion program starting in 3 years old. It incorporates the traditional areas of intervention (diet and physical activity), introducing additional components such as knowledge of the human body and management of emotions to achieve a comprehensive intervention. The Program SI! is designed to be an effective, sustainable health promotion program for the adoption of healthy behaviors from early in life. Trial registration. Trial registration number: NCT01579708.
KW - Behavior
KW - Comprehensive health
KW - Lifestyle
KW - School-based intervention
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84880094949&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/1471-2458-13-656
DO - 10.1186/1471-2458-13-656
M3 - Article
C2 - 23855415
AN - SCOPUS:84880094949
SN - 1472-698X
VL - 13
JO - BMC Public Health
JF - BMC Public Health
IS - 1
M1 - 656
ER -