Impact of cocreation training capsules for preschool teachers on children\u2019s healthy habits: a pilot study conducted in Barcelona, Spain

Verónica Violant-Holz,Manuel J Rodríguez,Carlota Rodríguez-Silva,María Carol

doi:10.1186/s12889-021-12160-2

Abstract

BackgroundHealthy habits are essential for preschoolers to have a healthy lifestyle. The promotion of these healthy habits from a holistic approach by preschool teachers guarantees a better quality of life and a healthier society. Using cocreation, we designed training for healthy habit promotion for preschool teachers (all@once). Then, we implemented the training and evaluated its impact on classroom teaching strategies.MethodsThis study presents the all@once training design and its implementation and evaluation during 2019. The cocreation process involved 8 parents, 9 preschool teachers and 9 health professionals (selected by a nonprobabilistic sampling system according to quotas) to design training from a holistic perspective. To evaluate the all@once impact in classroom practice, a pilot study was undertaken in four public schools in Barcelona (Spain). All@once was implemented with 16 volunteer teachers selected by convenience sampling and 328 children. A mixed methods approach was chosen to collect data based on direct nonparticipating naturalist systematic observations in June and October 2019. After qualitative data categorization, changes in health routines and actions at school were assessed by either contingency table analysis of frequency distributions or nonparametric comparisons of two related samples.ResultsThe cocreation process provided training organized into online capsules with a holistic view of health in four main dimensions (nutrition, hygiene, physical activity and emotional health). Of these dimensions, the emotional health dimension comprised half of the training content. Pilot testing of the impact of all@once on classroom health-related activities evidenced an increase in the likelihood of observing fruit consumption by children, healthy habit promotion and hand washing. The most significant all@once-induced changes that we observed were related to teaching strategies concerning the emotional health dimension of the training.ConclusionsThis pilot study provides evidence of cocreation being a productive way to design training for preschool teachers regarding inclusive education in integral health. This approach collects the needs of the school community, provides training with a holistic concept of health and effectively impacts classroom routines and family health habits in the short term.

Highlights

Healthy habits are essential for preschoolers to have a healthy lifestyle
To triangulate the quantitative and qualitative data, the four phases related to the field format [49] were followed, namely, establishment of the criteria, elaboration of a catalog for each criterion, assignment of a decimal coding system and elaboration of the coding list
The cocreation session with teachers identified a total of 31 needs to improve their health competence. Teachers categorized these needs into 10 groups and prioritized the category they called emotional health as their most important need, followed by the items of autonomy and physical activity, while the hygiene and nutrition items only appeared at the third prioritization level (Fig. 2)

Summary

Introduction

Healthy habits are essential for preschoolers to have a healthy lifestyle. The promotion of these healthy habits from a holistic approach by preschool teachers guarantees a better quality of life and a healthier society. The concept of health currently focuses on the ability of people to adapt and self-manage in the face of social, physical, and emotional challenges [1] This modern concept proposes six dimensions of health, namely, bodily functions, mental functions and perceptions, spiritual dimension, quality of life, social and societal participation, and daily functioning [2]. These dimensions are related to three domains, namely, social, mental, and physical health, and they include the characteristics of wellbeing and resilience [3] All of these aspects of health can be promoted at early ages, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 [4] and the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model [5]. School-based interventions have been considered useful and pertinent for this issue by addressing healthy eating, increasing physical activity, and improving body image [9]

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Conclusion