Education and Literacy for an Active Life (Educação e Literacia Para Uma Vida Ativa)

Education and Literacy for an Active Life

Health literacy is essential for children to develop healthy behaviors that persist into adulthood. It enables the access, understanding, evaluation, and application of health-related information, being a key component of health education.

This study was designed as a randomized controlled study, aiming to analyze the effectiveness and feasibility of a school intervention to improve health literacy of 5th and 6th grade students on nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and mental health. Intervention will be delivered in two phases. Phase 1 will involve a pilot intervention comprising four sessions conducted over a three-month period in two schools representing distinct socioeconomic contexts. Phase 2 will scale the intervention nationally, expanding to include additional schools across Portugal. This phase will include eight sessions conducted over one entire school-year (September-June), and will integrate adjustments based on the limitations and insights identified during the pilot study. Phase 2 will additionally include 20-month follow-up assessments to be performed at the end of the following school-year (20-month).

Inclusion Criteria:

• Enrolled in the classes of the included schools
• Agreed to participate
• Informed consent/assent signature

Exclusion Criteria:

• Severe cognitive or learning disabilities (significant impairment of the ability to engage with the intervention content or complete assessment tools)
• Absenteeism (missing ≥30% of the scheduled sessions)
• Concurrent participation in similar interventions (concurrent enrolment in other structured health, nutrition, or mental health programs that could confound study results)

Note: students with medical conditions that limit their ability to participate in physical activities will not be excluded. The presence of such conditions will be further considered in the analysis.