Promoting Heart Health in Preschool Children

Evaluation of an Intervention to Promote Healthy Heart Habits in Pre-School Children

As part of the Colombian Hearty Health Initiative program led by Mount Sinai Cardiovascular Institute, a multidisciplinary team design and implemented a pedagogic and communication strategies for the promotion of healthy heart habits (PPHH) in preschoolers. This included educational materials, pedagogical activities and the use of Sesame Workshop healthy habits for life materials. For Colombia, the latter were largely developed in collaboration with the Colombian Society of Pediatrics, Colombian Society of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery, Colsubsidio and Fundación Cardioinfantil-Instituto de Cardiología.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cardiovascular Health
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Children-Multicomponent intervention

Detailed Description

Background Increased levels of risk factors during childhood create an important life-long burden that favors the development of cardiovascular (CVD) disease in adulthood. Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated that cardiovascular disease risk factors are identifiable in childhood and persist through to adulthood. It is unknown whether interventions targeting preschoolers may change knowledge, attitudes and habits (KAH) towards healthy lifestyles and, eventually, reduce the burden of CVD.

The goal of the proposed study is to assess over a five month intervention period, the impact of an educational intervention on preschooler's knowledge of, habits and attitudes towards healthy eating and living an active lifestyle. The impact of the intervention will be also assessed in parents and teachers.

Methods The investigators will conduct a cluster, randomized controlled trial in 1216 pre-school children 3 to 5 years of age, 928 parents, and 120 teachers from 14 preschool facilities in Bogotá, Colombia in a low socioeconomic and underprivileged community. Randomization will occur at the facility level. The intervention will include classroom activities and use of printed material (books, posters, teachers' guides, games) and videos. Meanwhile, children in the control facilities will continue with their usual curriculum. A structured survey will be used at baseline and end of study to evaluate changes in KAH and the authors a priori give differential weights (70-20-10, respectively) to the scores to compose a standardized weighted total score (WTS). The primary outcome will be the change in children's WTS and the secondary outcomes will be the changes in parents' and teachers´ WTS.

Potential Impact of the Trial If found to be effective in improving the short-term changes in knowledge, attitudes and habits, the educational intervention may have the potential to influence the children's' diet and physical activity patterns throughout their lifetimes by early interventions when attitudes and habits are formed. The program also targets parents and teachers who contribute to shape children's attitudes and habits and who are often at high risk for health problems associated with unhealthy diet and limited physical activity themselves. The program aims to empower local partners in the health, education, media and government sectors to build up the capacities to ensure sustainability. If proven efficacious in the short term, further evaluative studies should test the hypothesis that this program will serve as an effective and sustainable model to improve children's health worldwide.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 2279
• Phase: Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Colombia
  • Bogota, Colombia
    • Fundación CardioInfantil Instituto de Cardiología

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 3 years to 5 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Children attending one of the 14 H.I. in Usaquén
• Children who are 3, 4, or 5 years of age at the time of the beginning of the intervention

Exclusion Criteria:

• Unwillingness to provide informed consent
• Children who have received formal training in healthy habits in nutrition and / or physical activity in the 6 months prior to the start of the follow-up period of the study.
• Children who plan to receive formal training in healthy habits in nutrition and / or physical activity during the follow-up study period.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Children-Multicomponent intervention; The intervened children were provided classroom educational and playful activities during 5 months, which included Sesame Workshop Healthy Habits storybooks, posters, videos, games, and songs (1 hour daily); a "Healthy family day" workshop (1 hour); and weekly health notes. Parents participated in 3 workshops and weekly notes containing positive health messages about nutrition and active lifestyles to share with their children. Teachers also participated in 3 centralized training sessions, plus personalized working sessions with a research supervisor (2 hours every 15 days), and received a teacher's guide.	Behavioral: Children-Multicomponent intervention; The intervened children were provided classroom educational and playful activities during 5 months, which included Sesame Workshop Healthy Habits storybooks, posters, videos, games, and songs (1 hour daily); a "Healthy family day" workshop (1 hour); and weekly health notes. Parents participated in 3 workshops and weekly notes containing positive health messages about nutrition and active lifestyles to share with their children. Teachers also participated in 3 centralized training sessions, plus personalized working sessions with a research supervisor (2 hours every 15 days), and received a teacher's guide.
No Intervention: children - control group; The control preschool facilities continued with their usual preschool curriculum

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in KAH Score for Children	Change in weighted knowledge, attitude, habit (KAH) (70/20/10) score among children after 5 months of intervention as compared to prior to intervention. The study hypothesized that the mean change in knowledge scores associated with this short intervention period would be larger than the mean changes in scores due to attitudes and habits, differential weights (70, 20, and 10, respectively) were given to the scores a priori to compose a standardized weighted total score (WTS). The developed questionnaires measured knowledge, attitudes, and habits on healthy eating and living an active lifestyle in children, parents, and teachers. Scale range: 0-100 Knowledge scale range: 0-100 Attitude scale range: 0-100 Habit scale range: 0-100 WTS (weighted total score) scale range: 0-100 Higher values represent a better outcome	at baseline and at 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
KAH Score for Parents	Change in Weighted knowledge, attitude, habit (KAH) score (70/20/10) among parents after 5 months of intervention as compared to prior to intervention. Because we hypothesized that the mean change in knowledge scores associated with this short intervention period would be larger than the mean changes in scores due to attitudes and habits, we a priori gave differential weights (70, 20, and 10, respectively) to the scores to compose a standardized weighted total score (WTS). Questionnaires were developedheae to measure knowledge, attitudes, and habits on healthy eating and living an active lifestyle in children, parents, and teachers. Scale range: 0-100 Knowledge scale range: 0-100 Attitude scale range: 0-100 Habit scale range: 0-100 WTS (weighted total score) scale range: 0-100 Higher values represent a better outcome	at baseline and at 6 months
KAH Score for Teachers	Change in Weighted knowledge, attitude, habit (KAH) score (70/20/10) among teachers after 5 months of intervention as compared to prior to intervention. Because we hypothesized that the mean change in knowledge scores associated with this short intervention period would be larger than the mean changes in scores due to attitudes and habits, we a priori gave differential weights (70, 20, and 10, respectively) to the scores to compose a standardized weighted total score (WTS). We developed questionnaires to measure knowledge, attitudes, and habits on healthy eating and living an active lifestyle in children, parents, and teachers. Scale range: 0-100 Knowledge scale range: 0-100 Attitude scale range: 0-100 Habit scale range: 0-100 WTS (weighted total score) scale range: 0-100 Higher values represent a better outcome	at baseline and at 6 months
Body Mass Index - BMI	The body mass index (BMI), or Quetelet index, is a measure of relative weight based on an individual's mass and height = Kg/m²	baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Valentin Fuster
• Collaborators: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Fundación Cardioinfantil Instituto de Cardiología; Sesame Workshop
• Investigators: Study Chair: Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: July 1, 2009
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2011
• Study Completion (Actual): July 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 5, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 7, 2012
• First Posted (Estimate): March 12, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): January 9, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 10, 2016
• Last Verified: November 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: behavioral modification; prevention; health communication
• Other Study ID Numbers: GCO 09-0702