Increased health and well-being in preschools (DAGIS): rationale and design for a randomized controlled trial

BMC Public Health

Study Protocol

Maijaliisa Erkkola¹  Nina Sajaniemi²  Mari Nislin²  Carola Ray³  Suvi Määttä³  Reetta Lehto³  Eva Roos⁴ 

[1] Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland;Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland;Folkhälsan Research Center, Topeliuksenkatu 20, 00250, Helsinki, Finland;Folkhälsan Research Center, Topeliuksenkatu 20, 00250, Helsinki, Finland;Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland;

关键词: Health behavior;    Preschool;    Family;    Stress;    Socioecological model;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-015-1744-z

 received in 2015-02-27, accepted in 2015-04-10,  发布年份 2015

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundEffective interventions that target socioeconomic status (SES) differences to avoid the potential widening of inequalities in health are needed. Children at preschool age is a valuable intervention target since sedentary behaviors, physical activity (PA), dietary behaviors, and sleep habits, jointly called the energy balance-related behaviors (EBRBs), are established in early childhood and tend to persist later in life. The interventions are most effective, when they focus on evidence-based factors. One potential factor associated with EBRBs and SES is children’s stress regulation, which receives special attention in this study. Based on the socioecological approach, the combinations of multiple levels (e.g. individual, environmental, societal) of analysis and diverse methodologies (e.g. surveys, observations, biological measurements) are used to assess the healthfulness of environments (e.g. social, physical, learning, policy) in preschool and family settings. The intervention aimed to diminish SES differences in EBRBs is then conducted in the preschool setting.Methods/designThe DAGIS study is divided into two phases. The first phase comprises focus group interviews and a cross-sectional survey. Parents and preschool personnel in low SES neighborhoods participated in interviews about children’s sedentary behaviors, dietary behaviors, and PA in 2014. In the cross-sectional survey beginning in autumn 2015, preschools will be recruited from a random sample of preschools in 3–5 municipalities in Southern Finland. A total of 800 children will wear an accelerometer for seven days. Children’s hair and saliva samples will be taken. Parents and preschool personnel will complete questionnaires on EBRBs, social and physical environments and SES factors. The quality of preschool environment is also observed. In the second phase, an intervention targeting to narrowing SES differences in EBRBs is conducted. The effects of the intervention will be evaluated in randomised controlled trial. The implementation of the intervention will also be evaluated.ConclusionIf effective, this unique preschool-based study will be able to narrow the SES differences in preschool children’s EBRBs. This study is anticipated to identify the most important modifiable factors in preschool and family environmental settings associated with children’s EBRBs, especially in children from low SES backgrounds.Trial registrationISRCTN57165350 (January, 8th, 2015).

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Määttä et al.; licensee BioMed Central. 2015