Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40375272›Full record

Trial reportTrials2025

What is the effect of the Informed Health Choices secondary school intervention on the ability of students in Rwanda to think critically about health choices after one-year follow-up? A cluster-randomized trial.

Michael Mugisha, Laetitia Nyirazinyoye, Dieudonne Kayiranga, Clarisse Marie Claudine Simbi, Faith Chesire, Ronald Senyonga, Matt Oxman, Allen Nsangi, Christopher James Rose, Jenny Moberg and 6 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled TrialMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Trial report in Trials, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–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 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  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

16 authors.

Michael MugishaSchool of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, KG 11 Ave Gasabo, Kigali, Rwanda. mmugisha@nursph.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0632-0713
Laetitia NyirazinyoyeSchool of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, KG 11 Ave Gasabo, Kigali, Rwanda.
Dieudonne KayirangaSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.
Clarisse Marie Claudine SimbiSchool of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, KG 11 Ave Gasabo, Kigali, Rwanda.
Faith ChesireDepartment of Community Medicine and Global Health, Institute of Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Ronald SenyongaDepartment of Community Medicine and Global Health, Institute of Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Matt OxmanCentre for Epidemic Intervention Research, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Allen NsangiDepartment of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Christopher James RoseCentre for Epidemic Intervention Research, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Jenny MobergCentre for Epidemic Intervention Research, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Astrid DahlgrenFaculty of Health Sciences, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway.
Margaret KasejeTropical Institute of Community Health and Development, Kisumu, Kenya.
Simon LewinCentre for Epidemic Intervention Research, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Nelson K SewankamboDepartment of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Sarah RosenbaumCentre for Epidemic Intervention Research, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Andrew D OxmanCentre for Epidemic Intervention Research, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the Informed Health Choices secondary school intervention on the ability of students in Rwanda to think critically and make informed health choices after 1 year.

methodsThis was a two-arm cluster-randomized trial conducted in 84 lower secondary schools from 10 districts representing five provinces of Rwanda. We used stratified randomization to allocate schools 1:1 to the intervention or control arm. One class in each intervention school had ten 40-min lessons taught by a trained teacher in addition to the usual curriculum. Control schools followed the usual curriculum. The primary outcome was a passing score (≥ 9 out of 18 questions answered correctly) for students on the Critical Thinking about Health Test completed 1 year after the intervention. We conducted an intention to treat analysis using generalized linear mixed models, accounting for the cluster design using random intercepts.

resultsAfter 1 year, 35 of 42 teachers (83.3%) and 1181 of 1556 students (75.9%) in the control arm completed the test. In the intervention arm, 35 of 42 teachers (83.3%) and 1238 of 1572 students (78.8%) completed the test. The proportion of students who had a passing score in the intervention arm was 625/1238 (50.5%) compared to 230/1181 (19.5%) in the control arm (adjusted odds ratio 7.6 [95% CI: 4.6-12.6], p < 0.0001). The adjusted difference in the proportion of students with a passing score was 32.2% (95% CI 24.5-39.8%).

conclusionsThe IHC secondary school intervention was effective after 1 year. However, the size of the effect was smaller than immediately after the intervention (adjusted difference 32.2% vs 37.2%) due to decay in the proportion of students in intervention schools with a passing score (50.5% vs 58.2%).

trial registrationPan African Clinical Trial Registry (PCTR), trial identifier: PACTR202203880375077. Registered on February 15, 2022.

Indexed as

Adolescent BehaviorChoice BehaviorHealth BehaviorHealth EducationHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeSchool Health ServicesStudentsAdolescentChildCurriculumFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleRwandaSchoolsAdolescentsCritical health literacyHealth literacyInformed health choicesRwanda

Identifiers

PMID40375272
PMCPMC12082997

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.