A School-Based, Peer Led Intervention for Diabetes Awareness and Prevention Among Adolescents in Chennai, India (2016)
Undergraduates: Pranati Panuganti, Mehreen Begum Anjana Mohan, Vishwanath Mohan, Ranjani Harish
Faculty Advisor: Barry Popkin
Department: Nutrition
The goal of this pilot study was to qualitatively analyze the effectiveness of a school-based, co-curriculum intervention in educating 6th and 7th grade students of a metropolitan city in south India about healthy lifestyle practices to prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The pilot intervention was composed of five classroom learning sessions, delivered at monthly intervals to all 6th and 7th grade students in select schools in Chennai. Each session engaged students in a specific topic related to diabetes awareness, prevention, and lifestyle management. The session ended with an activity that reflected the skills learned that day. Analyses of these activities elucidated student knowledge regarding diabetes prevention and lifestyle management post-intervention, and differences in this knowledge among government and private schools. Three prominent themes emerged from the data, including: (1) Difficulty in distinguishing between lifestyle management for NCDs and infectious disease (2) Consideration of expensive activities or meals as healthy lifestyle modifications to prevent NCDs, and (3) Lack of awareness regarding physical activity in relation to health. Overall, the findings from this study support scaling up of such an intervention, as it empowered young participants to learn how to reduce the risk of diabetes through healthy dietary behaviors and physical activity.