Peer education program to improve fluid consumption in primary schools—lessons learned from an innovative pilot study
Background: Although it is widely recognized that more attention needs to be paid to children's fluid intake, there is little information on how to improve it. Peer education has been suggested as an effective approach to changing health behaviors among school children. As a new approach, our s...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024028007 |
| _version_ | 1797259848603140096 |
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| author | Zs. Soósné Kiss J. Vitrai J. Takács J.Á. Lukács A. Falus H.J. Feith |
| author_facet | Zs. Soósné Kiss J. Vitrai J. Takács J.Á. Lukács A. Falus H.J. Feith |
| author_sort | Zs. Soósné Kiss |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Although it is widely recognized that more attention needs to be paid to children's fluid intake, there is little information on how to improve it. Peer education has been suggested as an effective approach to changing health behaviors among school children. As a new approach, our study piloted a peer education program to improve children's fluid intake in primary schools. Methods: University students were prepared for their role as peer educators in an elective university course, including the concept of peer education and different pedagogical methods. The peer educators evaluated the training process by completing a questionnaire. The intervention took place during a School Health Day led by the peer educators. An anonymous survey with a questionnaire on knowledge of fluid intake was administered two weeks before, at the end of, and 15 weeks after the intervention. Changes in hydration knowledge were tested using repeated measures ANOVA. Results: The pilot program showed increased knowledge about fluid consumption (p < 0.001) in lower and upper primary school children (N = 326) at the end of the School Health Day compared to pre-intervention measures. A positive change was observed after 15 weeks only in upper primary students. Feedback from peer educators was useful for fine-tuning the program. Conclusions: This innovative program induced positive changes in knowledge about fluid intake in primary school children. The persistence of the changes differed between lower and upper primary school children. Based on the results, the intervention should be replicated to adapt the program to the needs of lower primary school children. Because the training of peer educators and the peer education program appeared to be successful, this program is worthy of international replication. This approach may also be suggested for other behavior change issues. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T19:41:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3891beb5df614d11a0366724c4e35454 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:15:57Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-3891beb5df614d11a0366724c4e354542024-03-17T07:56:13ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402024-03-01105e26769Peer education program to improve fluid consumption in primary schools—lessons learned from an innovative pilot studyZs. Soósné Kiss0J. Vitrai1J. Takács2J.Á. Lukács3A. Falus4H.J. Feith5Széchenyi István University, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences Department of Preventive Health Sciences, Győr, HungarySzéchenyi István University, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences Department of Preventive Health Sciences, Győr, Hungary; Corresponding author. Szent Imre str. 26-28., 9024 Győr, Hungary.Semmelweis University, Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Budapest, HungarySemmelweis University, Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Budapest, HungaryDepartment of Genetics, Cell- and Immunobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; EDUVITAL Foundation, Budapest, HungaryDepartment of Genetics, Cell- and Immunobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; EDUVITAL Foundation, Budapest, HungaryBackground: Although it is widely recognized that more attention needs to be paid to children's fluid intake, there is little information on how to improve it. Peer education has been suggested as an effective approach to changing health behaviors among school children. As a new approach, our study piloted a peer education program to improve children's fluid intake in primary schools. Methods: University students were prepared for their role as peer educators in an elective university course, including the concept of peer education and different pedagogical methods. The peer educators evaluated the training process by completing a questionnaire. The intervention took place during a School Health Day led by the peer educators. An anonymous survey with a questionnaire on knowledge of fluid intake was administered two weeks before, at the end of, and 15 weeks after the intervention. Changes in hydration knowledge were tested using repeated measures ANOVA. Results: The pilot program showed increased knowledge about fluid consumption (p < 0.001) in lower and upper primary school children (N = 326) at the end of the School Health Day compared to pre-intervention measures. A positive change was observed after 15 weeks only in upper primary students. Feedback from peer educators was useful for fine-tuning the program. Conclusions: This innovative program induced positive changes in knowledge about fluid intake in primary school children. The persistence of the changes differed between lower and upper primary school children. Based on the results, the intervention should be replicated to adapt the program to the needs of lower primary school children. Because the training of peer educators and the peer education program appeared to be successful, this program is worthy of international replication. This approach may also be suggested for other behavior change issues.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024028007Health promotionPeer educationFluid consumptionPrimary school |
| spellingShingle | Zs. Soósné Kiss J. Vitrai J. Takács J.Á. Lukács A. Falus H.J. Feith Peer education program to improve fluid consumption in primary schools—lessons learned from an innovative pilot study Heliyon Health promotion Peer education Fluid consumption Primary school |
| title | Peer education program to improve fluid consumption in primary schools—lessons learned from an innovative pilot study |
| title_full | Peer education program to improve fluid consumption in primary schools—lessons learned from an innovative pilot study |
| title_fullStr | Peer education program to improve fluid consumption in primary schools—lessons learned from an innovative pilot study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Peer education program to improve fluid consumption in primary schools—lessons learned from an innovative pilot study |
| title_short | Peer education program to improve fluid consumption in primary schools—lessons learned from an innovative pilot study |
| title_sort | peer education program to improve fluid consumption in primary schools lessons learned from an innovative pilot study |
| topic | Health promotion Peer education Fluid consumption Primary school |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024028007 |
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