School-based Health Programs on Children's Wellbeing in Lusaka, Zambia

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Acute Disease; Morbidity
• Interventions: Behavioral: School Health Worker Program

• Registration Number: NCT03607084
• Lead Sponsor: Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)

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.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2015-06-17
• Primary Completion: 2016-07-28
• Study Completion: 2016-07-28
• Status Verified: 2018-07
• Study First Submitted: 2018-07-11
• Study First Submitted QC: 2018-07-30
• Last Update Submitted: 2018-07-30
• Study First Posted: 2018-07-31
• Last Update Posted: 2018-07-31

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 614

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.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Intervention	School Health Worker Program	The intervention group receives a school health program that has two components: the training of selected teachers to become school Health Workers and bi-annual health screenings of all students.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in prevalence of acute disease	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 Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in height	Baseline, 6 months, and one-year follow-up	Calculate standardized height-for-age (HAZ) z-scores using the World Health Organization AnthroPlus Software macro for Stata. Stunting was defined as HAZ below -2 standard deviation.
Change in school attendance	Baseline, 6 months, and one-year follow-up	Calculate percentage of students who missed one or more days from school in the past two weeks.
Change in academic performance	Baseline, 6 months, and one-year follow-up	Students report on their own school performance and academic performance is verified by term marks.
Change in weight	Baseline, 6 months, and one-year follow-up	Calculate body mass index (BMI)-for-age z-scores using the World Health Organization AnthroPlus Software macro for Stata. Thinness and overweightness are defined respectively as: BMI-for-age below -2 SD and as BMI-for-age above 1 standard deviation.
Change in health knowledge	Baseline, 6 months, and one-year follow-up	Calculate the percentage of correct answers on 11-question quiz on various health topics.