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Introduction We evaluated an intervention designed to teach 10 to 12-year-old primary school children to assess claims about the effects of treatments (any action intended to maintain or improve health). We report here on outcomes measured one year after the intervention. Methods In this cluster-randomised trial, we included primary schools in the central region of Uganda that taught year-five children (aged 10 to 12 years). We randomly allocated a representative sample of eligible schools to either an intervention or control group. Intervention schools received the Informed Health Choices primary school resources (textbooks, exercise books, and a teachers’ guide). The primary outcome, measured at the end of the school term and again after one year, was the mean score on a test with two multiple-choice questions for each of the 12 concepts and the proportion of children with passing scores. Results We assessed 2960 schools for eligibility; 2029 were eligible, and a random sample of 170 were invited to recruitment meetings. After recruitment meetings, 120 eligible schools consented and were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (n=60, 76 teachers and 6383 children) or control group (n=60, 67 teachers and 4430 children). After one year, the mean score in the multiple-choice test for the intervention schools was 68.7% compared to 53.0% for the control schools (adjusted mean difference 16.7%, 95% CI 13.9 to 19.5; p |
