Direct instruction and Workshop educational approaches are equally effective in increasing dengue knowledge in 10 years old children

Abstract

Education about dengue disease is fundamental to fostering the behavioral changes needed for its prevention. However, the most effective methods for delivering this knowledge in schools remain unclear, as few studies have compared different interventions to assess their efficacy. In this study, we compared the most used educational interventions (direct instruction and workshop format) in terms of their effectiveness in increasing the dengue knowledge of 10-year-old children from low-socioeconomic-status endemic areas. In a cluster randomized controlled trial, 390 children were assigned to one of three groups (short workshop, long workshop, and direct instruction). Knowledge of dengue was assessed with a questionnaire before, immediately after the intervention, and one month later. We controlled for teacher effect, concepts taught, duration of intervention, and baseline knowledge. The results of a GLMM indicated that the three interventions were equally effective in improving dengue knowledge, both immediately after the intervention (children learned 3 dengue concepts) and one month later (children retained 2 dengue concepts). However, each intervention is more effective in teaching some concepts in particular. Our results contribute to improving interventions to enhance dengue knowledge in children.