WASH App Kids: A cluster randomized controlled trial of a mobile application to improve the links between STH infection rate, nutritional status, and school performance of schoolchildren in Cagayan Valley, Philippines

Last registered on July 26, 2020
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
WASH App Kids: A cluster randomized controlled trial of a mobile application to improve the links between STH infection rate, nutritional status, and school performance of schoolchildren in Cagayan Valley, Philippines
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0006162
Initial registration date
July 16, 2020

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
July 17, 2020, 9:45 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
July 26, 2020, 3:53 AM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
Philippines
Region
Cagayan Valley

Primary Investigator

Name
Ryan Labana
Affiliation
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2018-11-25
End date
2021-04-15
Keywords
Education, Health
Additional Keywords
Intestinal worm, Public health, Schoolchildren, Soil-transmitted helminthiasis
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Aim: to evaluate the effectiveness of a mobile application to improve the links between STH infection rate, nutritional status, and school performance of schoolchildren in Cagayan Valley, Philippines
Hypothesis: A mobile application will improve the status of STH infection rate, nutritional status, and school performance of schoolchildren in Cagayan Valley, Philippines
Background: An assessment was done to determine the gaps and barriers in interventions for the control of soil-transmitted helminthiasis among schoolchildren in 20 schools in Cagayan Valley, Philippines. We found out that there was no structured health education program among these schools that focus on the elimination of STH infections. Despite of annual immunization with albendazole, the cumulative STH infection rate (of at least one STH species) has reached more than 20% threshold set by the WHO. We measured the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the schoolchildren to determine the needed contents of the mobile application as an intervention.
Study Design: Cluster randomized controlled trial
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Labana, Ryan. 2020. "WASH App Kids: A cluster randomized controlled trial of a mobile application to improve the links between STH infection rate, nutritional status, and school performance of schoolchildren in Cagayan Valley, Philippines." AEA RCT Registry. July 26. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.6162-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2020-09-15
Intervention End Date
2021-01-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
To avoid STH infection among schoolchildren in Cagayan Valley, Philippines
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Schoolchildren improved self-care management. It will be operationalized using the information, motivation, and behavioral skills (IMB) model. In this model, “information” consists of basic knowledge about STH infection, symptoms of the infection, transmission of the infection, and how to avoid the infection. “Motivation” covers intrinsic motivation of personal attitude toward beliefs on the value of proper hygiene and sanitation. “Behavioral skills” include ensuring that the schoolchildren are equipped with behavioral tools necessary to perform behaviors such as proper hand washing, proper use of toilet, and habitual wearing of footwear.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Nutritional status of schoolchildren, school performance of schoolchildren
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Group B will be exposed to the mobile application or the content of the mobile application. If accessing mobile application is not possible, the content of the mobile application will be flashed on the classroom TV of the schoolchildren. The use of the mobile application will be monitored through web-based admin system. If the usage of the mobile application is declining, we will contact the teacher to follow-up the children to visit the mobile application. OR the teacher will be given a schedule to instruct the children to regularly visit the mobile application once a week.

With various theories that we reviewed and with practicality considerations, we created a coherent program leading to the development of the mobile application we called “WASHAppKids!”. WASHAppKids is an easy-to-use, noninvasive, nonpharmacological mobile application developed with four main features: (1) Kwentong Pambata (Short Stories for Children), (2) Bidyong Pambata (Storytelling Videos), (3) Bulate Knowledge Quiz (Worm Knowledge Quiz), and (4) WASH App Kids Information.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Random team generator by a computer
Randomization Unit
Clusters
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
20 schools
Sample size: planned number of observations
450 pupils
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
10 schools control, 10 schools experimental
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
PUP University Ethics Board
IRB Approval Date
2020-01-29
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials