Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, Italy.
Medical Direction, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy.
Ann Ig. 2024 Mar-Apr;36(2):144-152. doi: 10.7416/ai.2024.2604. Epub 2024 Feb 1.
The "Leo&Giulia standing for public health" project is an innovative digital health education model targeting primary school children. The project, developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, aims to educate primary school-aged children about public health issues through an animated cartoon series. It highlights the importance of early-life health promotion and the potential role of educational settings in shaping health behaviours.
A 2-year school-based cluster-randomized controlled community trial will be conducted among 8-10-year-old pupils in the province of Pavia, Northern Italy.
The intervention group will receive an educational programme via a new episode of "Leo&Giulia" animated series, focusing on smoking prevention. The study will assess changes in knowledge, attitudes towards smoking, and communication about smoking risks among peers and parents. The trial involves baseline and follow-up assessments through questionnaires targeting both children and parents.
RESULTS (EXPECTED): We assume that children in the intervention group will demonstrate increased knowledge and awareness of smoking-related health risks and develop negative attitudes towards tobacco use compared to the control group. Enhanced communication about tobacco harms among peers and between children and parents, as well as increased parental involvement in anti-smoking socialization practices, are expected secondary outcomes.
"Leo&Giulia" integrates health education into the school curriculum, leveraging the appeal of animated content to engage children in public health topics. The project is expected to contribute to the field of health education by demonstrating the effectiveness of digital health interventions in childhood, foreseeing potential long-term impacts on health behaviors and in shaping future public health strategies.
“Leo&Giulia 为公众健康代言”项目是一个针对小学生的创新数字健康教育模式。该项目在 COVID-19 大流行期间开发，旨在通过动画系列向小学生传授有关公共卫生问题的知识。它强调了促进生命早期健康的重要性，以及教育环境在塑造健康行为方面的潜在作用。
一项为期 2 年的基于学校的整群随机对照社区试验将在意大利北部帕维亚省的 8-10 岁小学生中进行。
干预组将通过“Leo&Giulia”动画系列的新剧集接受一项教育计划，重点是预防吸烟。该研究将评估知识、对吸烟态度以及与同伴和父母交流吸烟风险的变化。该试验通过针对儿童和父母的问卷调查进行基线和随访评估。
结果（预期）：我们假设干预组的儿童将表现出对与吸烟相关的健康风险的更多知识和认识，并对烟草使用产生负面态度，与对照组相比。预计二级结果是同伴之间以及儿童与父母之间关于烟草危害的沟通增强，以及父母更多地参与反吸烟社会化实践。
“Leo&Giulia”将健康教育融入学校课程，利用动画内容的吸引力让儿童参与公共卫生主题。该项目有望通过展示数字健康干预在儿童中的有效性，为健康教育领域做出贡献，预计对健康行为和未来公共卫生策略产生潜在的长期影响。
