Evaluating the Impact of School-based Health Programs on Children's Well-being and Academic Performance
Overview
- Phase
- N/A
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Acute Disease
- Sponsor
- Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)
- Enrollment
- 614
- Primary Endpoint
- Change in prevalence of acute disease
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 7 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
This study evaluates the impact of a new and comprehensive school-based health program implemented in Lusaka, Zambia.
Detailed Description
While school-aged children in low- and middle-income countries remain highly exposed to acute infections, programs targeting this age group remain limited in scale and scope. In this study, we evaluate the impact of a new and comprehensive primary school-based health intervention program on student health outcomes and academic performance in Lusaka, Zambia. The intervention involved the training of teachers to become school health workers and the provision of vitamin A supplementation and deworming medication on a bi-annual basis. Teachers in intervention schools were trained to deliver health lessons and to refer sick students to care. This study is designed as a prospective matched control study. Students from the seven intervention schools are matched with students from control schools.
Investigators
Günther Fink
Adjunct Associate Professor of Global Health
Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Children attending one of the 14 schools in the study.
Exclusion Criteria
- •Children not attending one of the 14 schools in the study.
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Change in prevalence of acute disease
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 months, and one-year follow-up
Students report on the presence of 14 systemic, genitourinary, respiratory, and gastrointestinal illnesses in the past two week. Acute illnesses are combined into a summary index of morbidity.
Secondary Outcomes
- Change in height(Baseline, 6 months, and one-year follow-up)
- Change in school attendance(Baseline, 6 months, and one-year follow-up)
- Change in academic performance(Baseline, 6 months, and one-year follow-up)
- Change in weight(Baseline, 6 months, and one-year follow-up)
- Change in health knowledge(Baseline, 6 months, and one-year follow-up)