Papass clinical trial protocol: a multi-component school-based intervention study to increase acceptance and...

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Public Health
• Educational Interventions

Background:

• Brazil's National School Feeding Program has low student participation (22.8% of 9th graders).
• Limited research exists on effective school-based interventions to promote healthy eating.
• Previous intervention studies yielded inconclusive results regarding food consumption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a protocol for a clinical trial evaluating multi-component school-level interventions.
• To assess the effectiveness of these interventions in increasing adherence and acceptance of school meals.
• To provide evidence for scalable interventions in school feeding programs.

Main Methods:

• A parallel-group, school-based clinical trial involving 4th-9th grade students in Sumidouro, Rio de Janeiro.
• Three arms: Control, Intervention 1 (environmental changes), and Intervention 2 (menu and environmental changes).
• Interventions incorporate choice architecture principles and menu modifications based on focus group findings; adherence and acceptance are measured via questionnaires and acceptability tests.

Main Results:

• This section will report on the statistical analysis using generalized linear models.
• The study will assess the impact of intervention, time, and their interaction on school meal consumption.
• Results will indicate whether interventions significantly increased adherence and acceptance.

Conclusions:

• The study will determine if environmental and menu interventions enhance school meal adherence and acceptance.
• Positive outcomes could support nationwide implementation in Brazil's school system.
• This research aims to improve school meal consumption and student nutrition.