Rodríguez-Prieto Pablo, Simpson Ian Craig, Gomez-Baya Diego, García de la Cadena Claudia, Ruiz-Aranda Desirée, Ibáñez-Alfonso Joaquín A
Human Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, Universidad Loyola Andalucía, Avda. de las Universidades s/n, 41704 Dos Hermanas, Spain.
ETEA Foundation, Development Institute of Universidad Loyola Andalucía, Calle Escritor Castilla Aguayo n°4, 14004 Córdoba, Spain.
Healthcare (Basel). 2024 Mar 6;12(5):596. doi: 10.3390/healthcare12050596.
Guatemala remains one of the poorest countries in Central America and suffers from high rates of social inequality and violence. In addition to the negative impact that two years without attending school has had on Guatemalan children due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, this unfavourable socioeconomic context poses a risk to children's emotional and cognitive development. This work presents a protocol for implementing a cognitive and emotional stimulation program aimed at increasing the academic performance of these children and consequently improving their quality of life.
The protocol proposes the implementation of a randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of a 24-session-long stimulation program. It targets the cognitive functions of attention, language, executive functions, and social cognition, using the digital neurorehabilitation platform NeuronUP. The participants ( = 480) will be randomly assigned to an Experimental or Control group. Pre- and post-intervention assessments will be carried out, together with a follow-up in the next academic year, in which both groups will change roles. Results will be compared for the first and second years, looking for differences in academic and cognitive performance between groups.
Mid- and long-term outcomes are still unknown, but effective interventions based on this protocol are expected to facilitate the following benefits for participants: (1) improved cognitive and emotional development; (2) improved academic performance; (3) improved well-being. We expect to create a validated neuropsychological stimulation program that could be applied in similar socioeconomically disadvantaged contexts around the world to help these children improve their life chances.
危地马拉仍然是中美洲最贫穷的国家之一，面临着高度的社会不平等和暴力问题。除了因新冠疫情导致两年未上学对危地马拉儿童产生的负面影响外，这种不利的社会经济环境还对儿童的情感和认知发展构成风险。本研究提出了一项实施认知和情感刺激计划的方案，旨在提高这些儿童的学业成绩，从而改善他们的生活质量。
该方案提议开展一项随机对照试验，以评估一个为期24节的刺激计划的效果。该计划以注意力、语言、执行功能和社会认知等认知功能为目标，使用数字神经康复平台NeuronUP。参与者（n = 480）将被随机分配到实验组或对照组。在干预前后进行评估，并在下一学年进行随访，届时两组将互换角色。将比较第一年和第二年的结果，寻找两组在学业和认知表现上的差异。
中长期结果仍然未知，但基于该方案的有效干预措施预计将为参与者带来以下益处：（1）改善认知和情感发展；（2）提高学业成绩；（3）改善幸福感。我们期望创建一个经过验证的神经心理刺激计划，该计划可应用于世界各地类似的社会经济弱势环境，以帮助这些儿童改善他们的生活机遇。
