Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28521838›Full record

Trial reportTrials2017

Does the use of the Informed Healthcare Choices (IHC) primary school resources improve the ability of grade-5 children in Uganda to assess the trustworthiness of claims about the effects of treatments: protocol for a cluster-randomised trial.

Allen Nsangi, Daniel Semakula, Andrew D Oxman, Matthew Oxman, Sarah Rosenbaum, Astrid Austvoll-Dahlgren, Laetitia Nyirazinyoye, Margaret Kaseje, Iain Chalmers, Atle Fretheim and 1 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Trials, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Allen NsangiMakerere University, College of Health Sciences New Mulago Hospital Complex, PO Box 7072, Kampala, Uganda. nsallen2000@yahoo.com.
Daniel SemakulaMakerere University, College of Health Sciences New Mulago Hospital Complex, PO Box 7072, Kampala, Uganda.
Andrew D OxmanNorwegian Institute of Public Health, PO Box 4404, Nydalen, N-0403, Oslo, Norway.
Matthew OxmanNorwegian Institute of Public Health, PO Box 4404, Nydalen, N-0403, Oslo, Norway.
Sarah RosenbaumNorwegian Institute of Public Health, PO Box 4404, Nydalen, N-0403, Oslo, Norway.
Astrid Austvoll-DahlgrenNorwegian Institute of Public Health, PO Box 4404, Nydalen, N-0403, Oslo, Norway.
Laetitia NyirazinyoyeUniversity of Rwanda, 101, KK 19 Av., University Avenue, PO Box 5229, Kigali, Rwanda.
Margaret KasejeGreat Lakes University of Kisumu, PO Box 2224-40100, Kisumu, Kenya.
Iain ChalmersJames Lind Initiative, Summertown Pavilion, Middle Way, Oxford, OX2 7LG, UK.
Atle FretheimNorwegian Institute of Public Health, PO Box 4404, Nydalen, N-0403, Oslo, Norway.
Nelson K SewankamboMakerere University, College of Health Sciences New Mulago Hospital Complex, PO Box 7072, Kampala, Uganda.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe ability to appraise claims about the benefits and harms of treatments is crucial for informed health care decision-making. This research aims to enable children in East African primary schools (the clusters) to acquire and retain skills that can help them make informed health care choices by improving their ability to obtain, process and understand health information. The trial will evaluate (at the individual participant level) whether specially designed learning resources can teach children some of the key concepts relevant to appraising claims about the benefits and harms of health care interventions (treatments).

methodsThis is a two-arm, cluster-randomised trial with stratified random allocation. We will recruit 120 primary schools (the clusters) between April and May 2016 in the central region of Uganda. We will stratify participating schools by geographical setting (rural, semi-urban, or urban) and ownership (public or private). The Informed Healthcare Choices (IHC) primary school resources consist of a textbook and a teachers' guide. Each of the students in the intervention arm will receive a textbook and attend nine lessons delivered by their teachers during a school term, with each lesson lasting 80 min. The lessons cover 12 key concepts that are relevant to assessing claims about treatments and making informed health care choices. The second arm will carry on with the current primary school curriculum. We have designed the Claim Evaluation Tools to measure people's ability to apply key concepts related to assessing claims about the effects of treatments and making informed health care choices. The Claim Evaluation Tools use multiple choice questions addressing each of the 12 concepts covered by the IHC school resources. Using the Claim Evaluation Tools we will measure two primary outcomes: (1) the proportion of children who 'pass', based on an absolute standard and (2) their average scores. DISCUSSION: As far as we are aware this is the first randomised trial to assess whether key concepts needed to judge claims about the effects of treatment can be taught to primary school children. Whatever the results, they will be relevant to learning how to promote critical thinking about treatment claims. Trial status: the recruitment of study participants was ongoing at the time of manuscript submission.

trial registrationPan African Clinical Trial Registry, trial identifier: PACTR201606001679337 . Registered on 13 June 2016.

Indexed as

Child BehaviorHealth BehaviorHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHealth LiteracySchool Health ServicesChildChoice BehaviorCurriculumDecision Support TechniquesFemaleHealth EducationHumansJudgmentMaleMetacognitionResearch DesignCritical appraisalCritical thinkingEBM teaching resourcesEvidence-based health careHealth literacyHigher-order thinkingMeta-cognitionPrimary school curriculumScience teachingTreatment claims

Identifiers

PMID28521838
PMCPMC5437593

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.