Dataset Information

Protocol for the Open Sky School: a two-arm clustered randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a nature-based intervention on mental health of elementary school children.

ABSTRACT:

Background

This article outlines the protocol for a trial to test the effectiveness of a nature-based intervention called Open Sky School to reduce mental health problems among elementary school children. Experimental studies show that contact with nature (e.g. walks in parks) improve mental health. A growing number of teachers have been applying outdoor education within the regular school curriculum and evidence suggests that such teaching methods could improve students' mental health but a randomized controlled trial has never been conducted.

Methods

A two-arm clustered randomized controlled trial will be conducted in elementary schools across Québec, Canada. Following informed consent by teachers, parents and students, schools will be randomly assigned 1:1 to the intervention or the control group with a total of 2500 5-6^th grade students and 100 teachers expected to participate. The intervention will take place outdoors in a green-space (2 h per week for 12 weeks) and include a toolkit of 30 activities to foster well-being (e.g. mindfulness) and academic competencies (e.g. mathematics). Questionnaires will be administered to teachers and students before, immediately after and 3 months after the intervention. The primary outcome will be reductions of mental health problems in children from pre-to-post test (Social Behavior Questionnaire: self and teacher reports). Secondary outcomes include depression, positive and negative affect, nature connectedness, and pro-environmental behaviors among children. We will explore, immediate benefits on teacher's well-being and positive and negative affect and sustained benefits among students at 3 months follow-up. For the primary outcome, we will explore moderators including child's sex, child's disability status, the green-space of neighbourhoods, the school's socio-economic position and teacher's experience.

Discussion

In conducting the first randomized controlled trial of the Open Sky School, our results could provide empirical evidence on the effectiveness of nature-based interventions in reducing mental health problems among elementary school children.

Trial registration

This study was registered with clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05662436 on December 22, 2022.

SUBMITTER: Loose T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9896439 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Protocol for the Open Sky School: a two-arm clustered randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a nature-based intervention on mental health of elementary school children.

Loose Tianna T Côté Sylvana S Malboeuf-Hurtubise Catherine C Beaudet Jean-Philippe Ayotte JA Lessard Geneviève G Chadi Nicholas N Gauvin Lise L Morin Isabelle Ouellet IO Geoffroy Marie-Claude MC

BMC public health 20230203 1

<h4>Background</h4>This article outlines the protocol for a trial to test the effectiveness of a nature-based intervention called Open Sky School to reduce mental health problems among elementary school children. Experimental studies show that contact with nature (e.g. walks in parks) improve mental health. A growing number of teachers have been applying outdoor education within the regular school curriculum and evidence suggests that such teaching methods could improve students' mental health b ...[more]

PMID: 36737725

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Dataset Information

Protocol for the Open Sky School: a two-arm clustered randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a nature-based intervention on mental health of elementary school children.

Background

Methods

Discussion

Trial registration

Publications

Protocol for the Open Sky School: a two-arm clustered randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a nature-based intervention on mental health of elementary school children.

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