scholarly journals Animal source foods have a positive impact on the primary school test scores of Kenyan schoolchildren in a cluster-randomised, controlled feeding intervention trial

2013 ◽  
Vol 111 (5) ◽  
pp. 875-886 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judie L. Hulett ◽  
Robert E. Weiss ◽  
Nimrod O. Bwibo ◽  
Osman M. Galal ◽  
Natalie Drorbaugh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Intake ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Average Energy ◽  
Child Growth ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Animal Source Foods ◽  
Cluster Randomised ◽  
Animal Source ◽  
The Impact

Micronutrient deficiencies and suboptimal energy intake are widespread in rural Kenya, with detrimental effects on child growth and development. Sporadic school feeding programmes rarely include animal source foods (ASF). In the present study, a cluster-randomised feeding trial was undertaken to determine the impact of snacks containing ASF on district-wide, end-term standardised school test scores and nutrient intake. A total of twelve primary schools were randomly assigned to one of three isoenergetic feeding groups (a local plant-based stew (githeri) with meat, githeri plus whole milk or githeri with added oil) or a control group receiving no intervention feeding. After the initial term that served as baseline, children were fed at school for five consecutive terms over two school years from 1999 to 2001. Longitudinal analysis was used controlling for average energy intake, school attendance, and baseline socio-economic status, age, sex and maternal literacy. Children in the Meat group showed significantly greater improvements in test scores than those in all the other groups, and the Milk group showed significantly greater improvements in test scores than the Plain Githeri (githeri+oil) and Control groups. Compared with the Control group, the Meat group showed significant improvements in test scores in Arithmetic, English, Kiembu, Kiswahili and Geography. The Milk group showed significant improvements compared with the Control group in test scores in English, Kiswahili, Geography and Science. Folate, Fe, available Fe, energy per body weight, vitamin B12, Zn and riboflavin intake were significant contributors to the change in test scores. The greater improvements in test scores of children receiving ASF indicate improved academic performance, which can result in greater academic achievement.

scholarly journals Cash transfers and child nutritional outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. e003621
Author(s):  
James Manley ◽  
Yarlini Balarajan ◽  
Shahira Malm ◽  
Luke Harman ◽  
Jessica Owens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Nutrition ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Animal Source Foods ◽  
Animal Source ◽  
Z Scores ◽  
Households With Children ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundCash transfer (CT) programmes are implemented widely to alleviate poverty and provide safety nets to vulnerable households with children. However, evidence on the effects of CTs on child health and nutrition outcomes has been mixed. We systematically reviewed evidence of the impact of CTs on child nutritional status and selected proximate determinants.MethodsWe searched articles published between January 1997 and September 2018 using Agris, Econlit, Eldis, IBSS, IDEAS, IFPRI, Google Scholar, PubMed and World Bank databases. We included studies using quantitative impact evaluation methods of CTs with sample sizes over 300, targeted to households with children under 5 years old conducted in countries with gross domestic product per capita below US$10 000 at baseline. We conducted meta-analysis using random-effects models to assess the impact of CT programmes on selected child nutrition outcomes and meta-regression analysis to examine the association of programme characteristics with effect sizes.ResultsOut of 2862 articles identified, 74 articles were eligible for inclusion. We find that CTs have significant effects of 0.03±0.03 on height-for-age z-scores (p<0.03) and a decrease of 2.1% in stunting (95% CI −3.5% to −0.7%); consumption of animal-source foods (4.5%, 95% CI 2.9% to 6.0%); dietary diversity (0.73, 95% CI 0.28 to 1.19) and diarrhoea incidence (−2.7%, 95% CI −5.4% to −0.0%; p<0.05). The effects of CTs on weight-for-age z-scores and wasting were not significant (0.02, 95% CI −0.03 to 0.08; p<0.42) and (1.2%, 95% CI: −0.1% to 2.5%; p<0.07), respectively. We found that specific programme characteristics differentially modified the effect on the nutrition outcomes studied.ConclusionWe found that CT programmes targeted to households with young children improved linear growth and contributed to reduced stunting. We found that the likely pathways were through increased dietary diversity, including through the increased consumption of animal-source foods and reduced incidence of diarrhoea. With heightened interest in nutrition-responsive social protection programmes to improve child nutrition, we make recommendations to inform the design and implementation of future programmes.

scholarly journals The Impact of The Strategy Analog Thinking in acquiring Social Content Material Concepts of Fourth Primary Class Pupils

2019 ◽  
pp. 375-396
Author(s):  
Manal Taha Yaseen Al-Taʼie
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Partial Control ◽  
Control Group Design ◽  
Social Content ◽  
Group Design ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Academic Year ◽  
Experimental Group

The present study aims the experimental design adopted in the present study is the partial control experimental design of a pre-post control group design. The present study has been limited to the fifth primary class pupils included with in the state primary schools in Baghdad during the academic year (2017-2018), The sample consists of 63 male and female 4th primary class pupils , distributed into 31 ones as an experimental group from Al-Mutanbi Primary school and 32 students as a control group Equalization. The instrument is constructing test measuring concepts acquisition consisted of (8) concepts which consists of (24) items. Experimental group pupils, who have been exposed to Strategy Analog Thinking, have been superior to those at the control group in social content material acquisition.

scholarly journals Effects of the Informed Health Choices primary school intervention on the ability of children in Uganda to assess the reliability of claims about treatment effects, one-year follow-up: a cluster-randomised trial

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen Nsangi ◽  
Daniel Semakula ◽  
Andrew David Oxman ◽  
Astrid Austvoll- Dalghren ◽  
Matt Oxman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Randomised Trial ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Cluster Randomised Trial ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Cluster Randomised ◽  
Health Choices ◽  
The Mean ◽  
One Year

Abstract Introduction We evaluated an intervention designed to teach 10 to 12-year-old primary school children to assess claims about the effects of treatments (any action intended to maintain or improve health). We report here on outcomes measured one year after the intervention. Methods In this cluster-randomised trial, we included primary schools in the central region of Uganda that taught year-five children (aged 10 to 12 years). We randomly allocated a representative sample of eligible schools to either an intervention or control group. Intervention schools received the Informed Health Choices primary school resources (textbooks, exercise books, and a teachers’ guide). The primary outcome, measured at the end of the school term and again after one year, was the mean score on a test with two multiple-choice questions for each of the 12 concepts and the proportion of children with passing scores. Results We assessed 2960 schools for eligibility; 2029 were eligible, and a random sample of 170 were invited to recruitment meetings. After recruitment meetings, 120 eligible schools consented and were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (n=60, 76 teachers and 6383 children) or control group (n=60, 67 teachers and 4430 children). After one year, the mean score in the multiple-choice test for the intervention schools was 68.7% compared to 53.0% for the control schools (adjusted mean difference 16.7%, 95% CI 13.9 to 19.5; p<0·00001). In the intervention schools, 3160 (80.1%) of 3943 children that completed the test after one year achieved a predetermined passing score (≥13 of 24 correct answers) compared with 1464 (51.5%) of 2844 children in the control schools (adjusted difference 39.5%, 95% CI 29.9 to 47.5). Conclusion Use of the learning-resources led to a large improvement in the ability of children to assess claims, which was sustained for at least one year.

scholarly journals Urban–Rural Disparities in Energy Intake and Contribution of Fat and Animal Source Foods in Chinese Children Aged 4–17 Years

Nutrients ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji Zhang ◽  
Dantong Wang ◽  
Alison Eldridge ◽  
Feifei Huang ◽  
Yifei Ouyang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Intake ◽  
Chinese Children ◽  
Animal Source Foods ◽  
Animal Source ◽  
Urban Rural

scholarly journals How to evaluate the effect of seven years of the Norwegian School Fruit Scheme (2007–2014) on fruit, vegetable and snack consumption and weight status: A natural experiment

2019 ◽  
pp. 140349481987592
Author(s):  
Ingrid Marie Hovdenak ◽  
Tonje Holte Stea ◽  
Per Magnus ◽  
Steinar Krokstad ◽  
Oddrun Samdal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Schools ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Child Growth ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Norwegian School ◽  
The Impact

Aim: From August 2007 to June 2014, the Norwegian School Fruit Scheme (NSFS) legally established that all pupils in junior high and combined schools (275,000 pupils every year), but not those in primary schools (343,000 pupils every year), were entitled to a free piece of fruit or vegetable every school day. The NSFS is a natural experiment, unique in terms of scope and lengthiness. Such governmental efforts to improve the diet of the public are rarely evaluated. Thus, an evaluation of the comprehensive, well-designed NSFS is warranted. The aim was to describe how the NSFS can be evaluated using existing data sets. Methods: Four data sets have been identified for the evaluation of the NSFS: (a) the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study, (b) the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, (c) the Norwegian Child Growth Study/Growth in Teenagers and (d) Health Behaviour in School Aged Children. These comprehensive studies have collected cross-sectional or longitudinal data providing information about children’s dietary consumption and/or weight status, which can be utilised in the evaluation of the NSFS. Both short- and long-term effects of the NSFS related to dietary habits and weight status and the potential effect of moderators such as socio-economic status, sex, ethnicity and the age of children and adolescents can be studied. Conclusions: Worldwide, there is a lack of well-designed, long-term studies evaluating the impact of governmental efforts to improve public diet. The present study describes how the NSFS can be evaluated using data from four large data sets on eating habits and weight status.

scholarly journals Effects of the Informed Health Choices primary school intervention on the ability of children in Uganda to assess the reliability of claims about treatment effects, one-year follow-up: a cluster-randomised trial

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen Nsangi ◽  
Daniel Semakula ◽  
Andrew David Oxman ◽  
Astrid Austvoll- Dalghren ◽  
Matt Oxman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Randomised Trial ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Cluster Randomised Trial ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Cluster Randomised ◽  
Health Choices ◽  
The Mean ◽  
One Year

Abstract Introduction We evaluated an intervention designed to teach 10 to 12-year-old primary school children to assess claims about the effects of treatments (any action intended to maintain or improve health). We report here on outcomes measured one year after the intervention. Methods In this cluster-randomised trial, we included primary schools in the central region of Uganda that taught year-five children (aged 10 to 12 years). We randomly allocated a representative sample of eligible schools to either an intervention or control group. Intervention schools received the Informed Health Choices primary school resources (textbooks, exercise books, and a teachers’ guide). The primary outcome, measured at the end of the school term and again after one year, was the mean score on a test with two multiple-choice questions for each of the 12 concepts and the proportion of children with passing scores. Results We assessed 2960 schools for eligibility; 2029 were eligible, and a random sample of 170 were invited to recruitment meetings. After recruitment meetings, 120 eligible schools consented and were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (n=60, 76 teachers and 6383 children) or control group (n=60, 67 teachers and 4430 children). After one year, the mean score in the multiple-choice test for the intervention schools was 68.7% compared to 53.0% for the control schools (adjusted mean difference 16.7%, 95% CI 13.9 to 19.5; p<0·00001). In the intervention schools, 3160 (80.1%) of 3943 children that completed the test after one year achieved a predetermined passing score (≥13 of 24 correct answers) compared with 1464 (51.5%) of 2844 children in the control schools (adjusted difference 39.5%, 95% CI 29.9 to 47.5). Conclusion Use of the learning-resources led to a large improvement in the ability of children to assess claims, which was sustained for at least one year.

scholarly journals Increasing the Proportion of Plant-Based Foods Available to Shift Social Consumption Norms and Food Choice among Non-Vegetarians

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (13) ◽  
pp. 5371
Author(s):  
Sanne Raghoebar ◽  
Ellen Van Kleef ◽  
Emely De Vet
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Food Choice ◽  
Food Item ◽  
Social Norm ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
Injunctive Norms ◽  
Animal Source Foods ◽  
Animal Source ◽  
The Impact

Increasing the relative availability of plant-based (versus animal source) foods seems promising in shifting consumption, but it remains unknown how and under what circumstances this happens. We performed two availability manipulations including different foods. The impact on food choice, social norm perceptions about what others do (descriptive) or approve of (injunctive), and salience was assessed. Non-vegetarian participants were visually (Study 1, n = 184) or physically (Study 2, n = 276) exposed to (a) four plant-based and two animal source foods or (b) vice versa. Participants chose one food item, either hypothetically (Study 1) or actually (Study 2), and reported the perceived social norms and salience of plant-based and animal source foods. The results showed no direct effects on food choice, injunctive norms, or salience. An increased proportion of plant-based (versus animal source) foods was interpreted in Study 1 as plant-based foods being less often chosen by others, whereas in Study 2, these foods were interpreted as being more often chosen (marginally significant), while animal source foods were interpreted as being less often chosen. The results suggest that a higher availability of plant-based foods influences descriptive norms, but future research should examine aspects potentially contributing to the contradictory normative interpretations (e.g., norm salience).

scholarly journals Assessing the impact of nutrition education on growth indices of Iranian nomadic children: an application of a modified beliefs, attitudes, subjective-norms and enabling-factors model

2004 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 779-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mousa Salehi ◽  
S. M. Kimiagar ◽  
M. Shahbazi ◽  
Y. Mehrabi ◽  
A. A. Kolahi
Keyword(s):  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Child Growth ◽  
Subjective Norms ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Study Group ◽  
Z Score ◽  
Intervention Programme ◽  
Enabling Factors ◽  
The Impact

In order to teach suitable feeding and hygiene practices to a group of randomly selected Qashqa'i tribe families with 406 children aged 0–59 months, a culturally appropriate community-based education intervention approach was used. To assess the impact of the intervention on the study group, another group of families with 405 children were randomly selected to serve as the controls. At the beginning of the intervention programme both groups of children had access to a similar diet, consisting of cereals, beans, oil, sugar, milk and yoghurt. Baseline data, age, gender, weight, height and mean arm circumference (MAC), were obtained before the intervention. Using Hubley's behavioural change model, the components of which deal with beliefs, attitudes, subjective norms and enabling factors, the research team studied the behaviour of the family members and tried to change their nutritional behaviour. This was achieved by designing a suitable education programme to be carried out for 12 months. During the programme, families were instructed to follow different methods of food preparation and cooking practices. The final data were collected 3 months after the end of the intervention programme. The results indicated that the children in the study group gained: 1·16 (SD 1·2) kg body weight, 0·033 (SD 0·05) m in height, 0·0067 (SD 0·015) m in MAC, 0·8 (SD 1) in weight-for-age Z-score, 0·97 (SD 1·7) in height-for-age Z-score and 0·28 (SD 1·8) in weight-for-height Z-score by the end of the study. The corresponding values for the control group were 0·42 (SD 1·0), 0·0167 (SD 0·047), 0·0017 (SD 0·012), 0·35 (SD 1·1), 0·56 (SD 1·5) and 0·014 (SD 1·6) respectively and the differences were statistically significant (P<0·05). These findings suggest that educational interventions involving parents and/or other family members who might play a role in the care behaviour and care resources are important in feeding the children energy- and protein-enriched, hygienic, simple and cheap foods. Such practices could improve child growth even under conditions of poverty.

scholarly journals Cluster randomised controlled trial of an online intervention to prevent ecstasy and new psychoactive substance use among adolescents: final results and implications for implementation

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. e020433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina E Champion ◽  
Nicola Clare Newton ◽  
Lexine Stapinski ◽  
Maree Teesson
Keyword(s):  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Online Intervention ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Full Dose ◽  
Cluster Randomised ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
The Impact

ObjectivesTo evaluate the effectiveness of the onlineClimate Schools: Ecstasy and Emerging Drugs moduleover 2 years, and examine the impact of intervention dose on outcomes.DesignCluster randomised controlled trial.SettingSecondary schools in Australia.Participants1126 students (aged 14.9 years) from 11 schools.InterventionFive schools were randomly allocated to the four-lesson internet-basedClimate Schools: Ecstasy and Emerging Drugsmodule. This universal intervention uses cartoon storylines to deliver harm-minimisation information about ecstasy and new psychoactive substances (NPS). It was delivered during health education classes over 4 weeks. Six schools were randomised to the control group (health education as usual). Participants were not blinded to intervention allocation.Outcomes measuresStudents completed self-report surveys at baseline, post-test, 6, 12 and 24 months post-baseline. Intentions to use ecstasy and NPS (including synthetic cannabis and synthetic stimulants), knowledge about ecstasy and NPS and lifetime use of ecstasy and NPS were assessed. This paper reports the results at 24 months post-baseline.AnalysisMixed effects regressions were conducted to analyse intervention effects from baseline to 24 months. Post hoc analyses using Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting compared controls with students who: i) completed all four lessons (‘full dose’) and ii) partially completed the intervention (≤three lessons, ‘incomplete dose’).ResultsPrimary analyses found that controls were significantly more likely to intend on using synthetic cannabis compared with intervention group students (OR=3.56, p=0.01). Results from the weighted analyses indicated that controls reported significantly lower knowledge about ecstasy (p=0.001) and NPS (p=0.04) compared with the full-dose group. No significant differences were observed between the incomplete dose and control groups.ConclusionsThe online intervention was effective in modifying students’ intentions to use synthetic cannabis up to 24 months; however, this study highlights the importance of delivering prevention programmes in full to maximise student outcomes.Trial registration numberACTRN12613000708752.

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