An educational intervention to promote healthy lifestyles in preschool children: a cluster-RCT.

OBJECTIVE: Promoting four healthy behaviours among preschool children:⩾4 servings of fruit and vegetables/day, ⩾2 h/day of active play, ⩽1 h per day of TV-watching and 0 sugar sweetened beverages/day. METHODS: We conducted a c-RCT on 425 3-year-old children at 16 childcare centres based in Cesena, Italy. We randomly allocated eight childcare centres (199 children) to the intervention group and eight childcare centres (226 children) to the control group. All the randomized childcare centres completed our study protocol. Parents recorded their children's target behaviours at home over 3 Saturdays, at baseline and at follow-up. Then trained nurses measured children's weight and height. We conducted a 6-month-long intervention trial in local health care centres where nurses and primary care pediatricians, respectively, conducted two subsequent motivational interviews with parents to encourage children's healthy behaviours at home. At the same time, teachers involved children in learning experiences about healthy behaviours. Our primary outcome is a children's combined health behaviour score (CHBS) at home. Our secondary outcomes measure the BMI z-score and the percentage of children that show a BMI trajectory crossing upward. After collecting the CHBS and BMI data at baseline as well as at 1- and 2-year follow-ups, we performed an Intent-to-Treat (ITT) analysis. RESULTS: After 2 years from baseline, 48.4% of intervention group children showed a low-risk CHBS in comparison with 28.0% of control group children. A multilevel analysis showed that they were by far more likely to achieve low-risk scores (adjusted OR: 3.41; 95% CI: 1.48-7.88; P=0.004). Our BMI outcomes showed no significant difference between groups. CONCLUSIONS: A multidimensional educational intervention, which consists of motivational interviews with parents and teacher-led learning experiences for children, improved preschool children's CHBS in the long term without influencing the outcomes of BMI z-score and BMI increase.

[Epidemiology and etiopathogenesis of school accidents]. / Epidemiologia ed eziopatogenesi degli incidenti nella scuola.

The study purpose to take a contribution to the Knowledge of circumstance and of consequences in which happen the scholastic incidents. Have been taken into consideration 92 scholastic incidents happened during the school year 83/84 at nursery, primary and secondary schools of the Municipality of Cesena, for a total of 11,856 children and have been compared with 1,185 incidents not scholastic of children with same age, happened in Municipality of Cesena and registered at first aid of the "Bufalini" Hospital of Cesena in months of November-December '83 and March, April, July, August 1984. The frequency of such scholastic and not scholastic incidents results superior at male child and of age more low. The seat of damage of scholastic and not scholastic is prevalently the head for children in age 3-6 years and the limbs for those in age 7-11 and 12-14 years. The type of damage of scholastic and not scholastic incidents are prevalently the wounds-abrasions for children in age 3-6 years and the bruises-luxations-stretchings-distortions for those in age 7-11 and 12-14 years. The 77% of scholastic incidents applies to treatment of first aid, the prognostic opinions of which are not significantly different from those emitted for not scholastic incidents. The scholastic incidents at nursery school happen prevalently in court on the occasion of recreation activities for falling from a play equipment, at primary school in schoolroom or in corridor on the occasion of recreation for push of schoolfellow, at secondary school in palaestra during time of physical education for falling or traumatic contact with the ball.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)