[Design of and involvement in an interventional study on health education in basic schools: the Pforzheim Study]

We report the design and the determinants of participation in a controlled, randomized trial evaluating the efficiency of a school-based health education and promotion program. The health education program "Gesund leben macht Spass" ("Healthy living is fun") was developed by the AOK Pforzheim, a statutory health insurance organization in South West Germany. In this 7 week program, the body structure is presented systematically, and the children themselves are asked to correlate structure with function. During the fall of 1988, 490 pupils in 22 third grade level classes at 11 primary schools in Pforzheim and vicinity were invited to participate in a health survey (378 consenting parents = 77.1%). Ten schools with 19 classes and 413 students were admitted to the study (333 participating students = 80.6%). One year later, 290 children (70.2%) were available for follow up. Both examinations covered body weight and height, blood pressure level, total cholesterol, and the assessment of health related knowledge, attitudes and behavior by a repeat questionnaire. Parental consent rates in participating schools varied between 66.7% and 100%. Initial student participation was distinctly higher in schools in a rural (85.2%) as compared to an urban environment (73.2%), and among children of German nationals (83.2%) as compared to children of other nationalities (70.9%). After one year, participation rates in these groups approached each other. Schools in the intervention and control groups were similar in sociodemographic characteristics.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)