Piloting the informed health choices resources in Barcelona primary schools: A mixed methods study.

INTRODUCTION: The main objective of the Informed Health Choices (IHC) project is to teach people to assess treatment claims and make informed health choices. For this purpose, the IHC learning resources were developed for primary school children. The aim of this study is to explore students' and teachers' experience when using the IHC resources in primary schools in Barcelona (Spain). METHODS: We conducted a mixed methods study for piloting the IHC resources in a convenience sample of primary schools in Barcelona. The intervention included a workshop with teachers, and nine lessons with students. We collected data using multiple approaches. We performed quantitative and qualitative analyses, and integrated the findings in a joint display. Finally, we formulated recommendations for using the IHC resources in this setting. RESULTS: Two schools, with a total of 143 students in 4th and 5th grade and six teachers, participated in the study. One school followed the suggested IHC teaching plan and competed all the lessons; the other school modified the plan substantially and did not complete all the lessons. Overall, students and teachers from both schools understood, were interested in, and were able to apply the content of the lessons. During the lessons, the textbook was useful for students; nevertheless, for the teachers, the usefulness of the IHC resources was variable. Teachers adapted the IHC resources to increase student participation and used Information and Communications Technologies tools. We observed more facilitators than barriers to teach the lessons. The teachers suggested some ideas to improve the lessons based on activities they developed and implemented. The integration analysis showed great convergence of the quantitative and qualitative findings. We propose seven recommendations for using the IHC resources in this setting. CONCLUSIONS: Students and teachers from primary schools in Barcelona showed a positive experience when using IHC resources; however, these resources should be adapted to promote classroom participation.

Teaching and learning how to make informed health choices: Protocol for a context analysis in Spanish primary schools.

Introduction The Informed Health Choices (IHC) project developed learning resources to teach primary school children (10 to 12-year-olds) to assess treatment claims and make informed health choices. The aim of our study is to explore the educational context for teaching and learning critical thinking about health in Spanish primary schools. Methods During the 2020-2021 school year, we will conduct 1) a systematic assessment of educational documents and resources, and 2) semi-structured interviews with key education and health stakeholders. In the systematic assessment of educational documents and resources, we will include state and autonomous communities' curriculums, school educational projects, and commonly used textbooks and other health teaching materials. In the semi-structured interviews, we will involve education and health policy makers, developers of learning resources, developers of health promotion and educational interventions, head teachers, teachers, families, and paediatric primary care providers. We will design and pilot a data extraction form and a semi-structured interview guide to collect the data. We will perform a quantitative and a qualitative analysis of the data to explore how critical thinking about health is being taught and learned in Spanish primary schools. Conclusion We will identify opportunities for and barriers to teaching and learning critical thinking about health in Spanish primary schools. We will formulate recommendations-for both practice and research purposes-on how to use, adapt (if needed), and implement the IHC resources in this context.

Learning to make informed health choices: Protocol for a pilot study in schools in Barcelona.

Introduction: The Informed Health Choices (IHC) project has developed learning resources to teach primary school children (10 to 12-year-olds) to assess treatment claims and make informed health choices. The aim of our study is to explore both the students' and teachers' experience when using these resources in the context of Barcelona (Spain). Methods: During the 2019-2020 school year, we will conduct a pilot study with 4 th and 5 th-year primary school students (9 to 11-year-olds) from three schools in Barcelona. The intervention in the schools will include: 1) a workshop with the teachers, and 2) lessons to the students. The data collection will include: 1) assessment of the IHC resources by the teachers before the lessons, 2) non-participatory observations during the lessons, 3) semi-structured interviews with the students after a lesson, 4) assessment of the lessons by the teachers after a lesson, 5) treatment claim assessment by the students at the end of the lessons, and 6) assessment of the IHC resources by the teachers at the end of the lessons. We will use ad hoc questionnaires and guides to register the data. We will perform a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data to explore understandability, desirability, suitability, usefulness, facilitators and barriers of the resources. The most relevant results will be discussed and some recommendations on how to use, how to adapt (if needed), and how to implement the IHC resources to this context will be agreed. The findings of the contextualization activities could inform the design of a cluster-randomised trial, to determine the effectiveness of the IHC resources in this context prior to scaling-up its use. Ethical considerations: The study protocol has obtained an approval exemption from the Ethics Committee of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (Barcelona, Spain).