Are Early School-Based Interventions Effective in Preventing Later Conduct Problems?

AbstractThis paper contains a narrative review of the literature in the field of school-based mind–body interventions (MBIs). The aim of the current review is to verify whether the school-based MBI programs implemented in primary and secondary schools over the past 5 years are effective in helping schoolchildren cope with stress-related, behavioral, and affective issues, as well as improve stress response and school performance. All articles were retrieved using a number of databases. Inclusion criteria comprised qualitative and quantitative, English language, and peer-reviewed studies among third graders (8–9 years old) to twelfth graders (17–18 years old), including special needs pupils. Qualitative studies were limited to pupils’ experience only. Ten studies meeting the criteria for this review were assessed. The school-based interventions included yoga-based programs and mindfulness training. Evidence was evaluated and summarized. Across the reviewed studies, we found support for MBIs as part of school curricula to reduce negative effects of stress and promote overall well-being with caveats to consider in choosing specific programs. The practical implications of the current review include considerations related to the incorporation of MBIs in school curricula, which would likely benefit schoolchildren.

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Preventing and controlling water pipe smoking: a systematic review of management interventions

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10306-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Javad Babaie ◽

Ayat Ahmadi ◽

Gholamreza Abdollahi ◽

Leila Doshmangir

Keyword(s):

Data Extraction ◽

Water Pipe ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Adverse Health Effects ◽

Analysis Process ◽

School Based ◽

Management Interventions ◽

School Based Interventions ◽

Global Arena ◽

And Control

Abstract Background Water pipe smoking (WPS) is re-gaining widespread use and popularity among various groups of people, especially adolescents. Despite different adverse health effects of WPS, many of the WPS interventions have failed to control this type of tobacco smoking. This study was conducted to identify experienced management interventions in preventing and controlling WPS worldwide. Methods A systematic literature review was conducted. Electronic databases were searched for recordes which were published from beginning 1990 to August 2018. Studies aiming at evaluating, at least, one intervention in preventing and controlling WPS were included in this review, followed by performing the quality assessment and data extraction of eligible studies by two independent investigators. Finally, interventions that were identified from the content analysis process were discussed and classified into relevant categories. Results After deleting duplications, 2228 out of 4343 retrieved records remained and 38 studies were selected as the main corpus of the present study. Then, the identified 27 interventions were grouped into four main categories including preventive (5, 18.51%) and control (8, 29.62%) interventions, as well as the enactment and implementation of legislations and policies for controlling WPS at national (7, 25.92%) and international (7, 25.92%) levels. Conclusion The current enforced legislations for preventing and controlling WPS are not supported by rigorous evidence. Informed school-based interventions, especially among adolescents can lead to promising results in preventing and controlling WPS and decreasing the effects of this important social and health crisis in the global arena.

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School-based interventions for the treatment of childhood obesity: a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of cluster randomised controlled trials

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980021001117 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-28

Author(s):

Tarcisus Ho ◽

Ling Jie Cheng ◽

Ying Lau

Keyword(s):

Childhood Obesity ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Risk Of Bias ◽

Medium Effect ◽

School Based ◽

Cluster Randomised ◽

School Based Interventions ◽

Meta Regression

Abstract Objective Schools offer an ideal setting for childhood obesity interventions due to their access to children and adolescents. This review aimed to systematically review the impact of school-based intervention for the treatment of childhood obesity. Design Eight databases were searched from inception till May 30, 2020. A revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations criteria were used to evaluate the risk of bias and overall evidence. Meta-analysis and meta-regression were performed on Stata software using the random-effects model. Overall effect was evaluated using Hedges’ g, and heterogeneity was assessed using Cochran’s Q and I2. Setting Cluster randomised trials (cluster-RCTs) delivered in school. Participants Children and adolescents (6-18 years of age) with overweight and obesity. Results Twelve cluster-RCTs from seven countries with 1,755 participants were included in the meta-analysis. School-based interventions for the treatment of childhood obesity reduced body mass index (BMI) and BMI z-scores with a medium effect (g=0·52). Subgroup analyses showed the greater effectiveness of brief school-based interventions and the interventions conducted in lower-middle to upper-middle economies. Meta-regression assessed the heterogeneity and the final model, with covariates of the type of economies and trial duration, accounted for 41.2% of the variability. The overall quality of evidence was rated low because of the high risk of bias and inconsistency. Conclusions School-based interventions is a possible approach to provide universal healthcare for the treatment of childhood obesity, and further well-designed cluster-RCTs with longer follow-up are needed. This study is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020160735).

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School-Based Interventions for Posttraumatic Stress Among Children (Ages 5–11): Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

School Mental Health ◽

10.1007/s12310-021-09451-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jessica R. Bagneris ◽

La Tonya Noël ◽

Rachel Harris ◽

Edward Bennett

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Posttraumatic Stress ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

School Based ◽

School Based Interventions

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Long-Term Dietary and Physical Activity Interventions in the School Setting and Their Effects on BMI in Children Aged 6–12 Years: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare9040396 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 396

Author(s):

Purificación Cerrato-Carretero ◽

Raúl Roncero-Martín ◽

Juan D. Pedrera-Zamorano ◽

Fidel López-Espuela ◽

Luis M. Puerto-Parejo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Dietary Habits ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Controlled Clinical Trials ◽

Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

School Based ◽

School Based Interventions

Preventive actions and potential obesity interventions for children are mainly researched throughout the school period, either as part of the school curricula or after regular school hours, via interventions mostly lasting less than 12 months. We aimed to perform a meta-analysis on randomized controlled clinical trials to evaluate the evidence of the efficacy of long-term school-based interventions in the management of childhood obesity in terms of BMI from a dietary and physical activity-based approach. Eleven randomized controlled clinical trials were examined using the random effects model, and the results showed that there were no significant effects associated with physical activity + nutrition intervention in school children aged 6–12 years, with a pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) (95% CI) of −0.00 (−0.05, 0.04). No effects were observed after subgroup analysis based on the intervention length. The findings from our study indicate that long-term school-based interventions on physical activity and dietary habits received by children aged 6–12 years seem to have no effect on BMI. However, the promotion of such interventions should not be discouraged, as they promote additional positive health outcomes for other domains of children’s health.

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