Celiac Disease: Nutrition Education in Primary School
Condition: Celiac Disease
MeSH terms: Celiac Disease
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Celiac disease is a chronic immune-based intestinal pathology. Its prevalence is 1% and its
      incidence has increased in recent years. This disease usually causes gastrointestinal and/or
      extraintestinal symptoms, which can only be reduced by following a strict, lifelong
      gluten-free diet. In addition, the social life of people with celiac disease is impaired due
      to the impact of the gluten-free diet on daily activities.

      An adequate Nutrition Education program can improve the physical and social health of these
      people. Moreover, considering the high impact this disease has on the people close to the
      celiac patient, and due to the important role that general population has in the care and
      inclusion of persons with celiac disease, education should be directed to general population.

      Therefore, the purpose of ZELIAKIDE program is to promote Nutrition Education in general
      population. In particular, the specific aims are 1) to promote the social inclusion of people
      with celiac disease by raising awareness among the general population, and 2) to promote a
      balanced diet and an interest in science and research among children.

      ZELIAKIDE is an intervention aimed at children and focused on the school environment, and is
      based on Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) methodology. Inquiry-based Teaching-Learning Sequence
      (TLS) has been created to internalize and integrate competences related to celiac disease,
      gluten, gluten-free diet, balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.

      In addition, this TLS aims to develop scientific competence through activities that promote
      science and the research process.

      Although nutrition education programs for children have proven to be effective, it has been
      observed that children's interest in science has decreased. The investigators therefore aim
      to implement a nutrition education programme based on previous experiences that promotes
      science skills and stimulates children's interest in science.
    


Intervention name(s): ZELIAKIDE
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): The nutrition education program will be adapted to the curriculum of the schools. The intervention will consist of 8 sessions and the main topics will be: (1) to understand the balanced diet and to apply it to one´s own diet, (2) to learn what celiac disease and gluten are, (3) to promote social inclusion.
Each session will last 60 minutes and they will take place during school hours. The whole intervention will last 4 weeks, 2 sessions per week. Teaching-learning process will be developed through games and experiments.
Designed activities are based on IBL methodology, which has proven to be very effective in science teaching-learning processes. As a result, inquiry-oriented TLS has been developed, focused on facilitating children's understanding of the research process.
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Supportive Care
Keywords: celiac disease; nutrition education; children; gluten-free diet; balanced diet