Effectiveness of a School Based Health Promotion Intervention for Prevention of Non-Communicable diseases among Adolescents of Lucknow-A Quasi Experimental Study

Introduction

The global burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is a growing public health crisis that requires attention and action from the international community. As the leading cause of mortality, this class of diseases is responsible for 38 million of 57 million annual deaths globally, with 85% of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, the discussion on efforts to address NCDs to-date has focused on the adult population, with adolescents largely overlooked who have a substantial share in the global NCD burden [1].

At present, 1.2 billion adolescents aged 10–19 years represent over 18% of the global population. [2] Adolescence is a critical life stage of transition between childhood and adulthood during which adolescents are vulnerable for developing high risk behaviours for NCDs like alcohol or tobacco consumption, unhealthy diet, sedentary lifestyle etc which puts them at high risk of NCDs like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers, stroke etc [3,4]. The period of transition is dominated by peer pressure or affinity towards social media platforms and poor decision making for what is right or wrong. Timely and appropriate interventions can prevent or cause cessation of these risky behaviours among adolescents and break the vicious cycle of transmitting it to their future generations as well as adulthood. The Covid-19 pandemic further worsened this agonizing situation of the youth of tomorrow. In the Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health Report (2016), it was clearly recommended that investment in dominant NCD-related health behaviours among adolescents is needed to prevent future NCD development in adulthood [5].

Rationale of the Research

Addressing NCDs has emerged as a global priority in the Sustainable Development Goals (target 3.4) and the focus includes the establishment and promotion of cost-effective interventions to prevent and address NCDs [6]. However, existing literature provides patchy insight into the current state of NCD-related lifestyle and behavioural risk factors among young people.[1]. Various studies have seen significant implications in behaviour modifications of adolescents if educational interventions are implemented at an early age [7,8]. Hence this study has been planned with the aim to design an educational intervention for prevention of NCDs among school going adolescents attending government schools of Lucknow. This will help in sensitization of the adolescents for prevention of NCDs thereby reducing the burden of disease.

Aim: To design and investigate the effectiveness of a School Based Health Promotion Intervention Package to enhance the knowledge, change attitudes and reduce behavioural practices for non-Communicable diseases (NCDs) among the school going adolescents of Lucknow.

Primary Objective

1.     To conduct a baseline survey to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and behavioural practices such as unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, stress among the school going adolescents of Lucknow for NCDs (like Diabetes, Hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, breast and cervical cancers and mental disorders).

2.     To develop a School Based Health Promotion Intervention Package to enhance the knowledge, change attitudes and reduce behavioural practices for NCDs among the adolescents.

3.     To implement the school-based health promotion intervention package on the target population.

4.     To assess the effectiveness of the School Based Health Promotion Intervention Package in enhancing knowledge, changing attitudes, and reducing behavioural practices for NCDs among the school going adolescents.

Secondary Objectives

1.     To evaluate the utility, feasibility, and acceptability of the developed intervention in enhancing the knowledge, changing attitudes, and risk behaviour cessation.