An Exploratory Trial of a Health Education Programme Based on the Social and Emotional Competence in Children

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether an intervention based on the social and emotional competence development improves the healthy lifestyles adoption in young children.

Detailed Description
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This study has designed, implemented and evaluated an intervention to promote healthy lifestyles in children addressing the development of the social and emotional competence. This research followed the first three stages of the Medical Research Council framework for complex interventions: the theoretical, modeling phase and the exploratory trial. A randomised control trial with 37 children (5 y 6 years old) was conducted at the exploratory trial. The first unit was implemented in 8 sessions. A multi-method and multi-informant approach was used to assess the preliminary efficacy, acceptability and feasibility of the programme.

Official Title
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Pilot Study of CRECES Programme: Promoting Healthy Life Styles in Children Through the Social and Emotional Competence

Conditions
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Health Behavior, Emotional Intelligence

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: CRECES programme


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Children aged 5 and 6 enrolled in a public school in the north of Spain Exclusion Criteria: Children with severe cognitive or language special needs

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 5 Years
Maximum Age: 6 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Intervention group<br>Received CRECES programme during 5 weeks as part of the extracurricular plan | Behavioral: CRECES programme<br>* The first unit of CRECES programme was implemented in 8 sessions. Each session was 40-50 minutes long and delivered during four weeks. Parents were provided with home-extension activities.<br>|
| No Intervention: Control group<br>Continued with their habitual school routine | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Changes on children's emotional knowledge | Directly measured on children by PERCEVAL test (Mestre, J. M., Guil, R., Martínez-Cabañas, F., Escandón, C. L., y Gonzalez de la Torre, G. (2011). | Baseline; Post-test (1 month), 7 months follow-up | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Changes on the total and parcial dimensions (cooperation, independence and interaction) of children's basic social skills | Reported by parents by Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS-II; Merrell, 2003). | Baseline, post-test (1 month) and 7 months follow-up | 
| Changes on the total and parcial dimensions (comfort, satisfaction, resilience, risk avoidance and achievement) of children's health profile | Reported by children and parents by Child Health and Illness Profile-CHILDREN Edition (CHIP-CE; Rajmil, L., Serra-Sutton, V., Alonso, J., Herdman, M., Riley, A., y Starfield, B. (2003) | Baseline, post-test (1 month) and 7 months follow-up | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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social and emotional competence, healthy lifestyles, children, educational programme