Feasibility of an emotional health curriculum for elementary school students in an underserved Hispanic community.
Yuqing Guo, Julie Rousseau, Patricia Renno and 7 others
PMID 29504643WHAT IT FOUND
A culturally adapted school emotional health curriculum delivered by a nursing team was feasible and well accepted.
Depression and anxiety symptoms improved mainly in children rated at risk; those in the normal range did not change.
Key findings
01Children who rated themselves at risk showed significant decreases in self-reported depression and anxiety; children in the normal range did not change significantly.
02Teacher-rated depression decreased in children teachers rated at risk, while teacher-rated anxiety showed only a marginal interaction and no follow-up tests.
03The curriculum was feasible and acceptable: 100 children remained, 94 completed both pre- and post-questionnaires, fidelity was 99.13%, and 89.7% of children enjoyed it.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
A one-group design without an attention control group means the change cannot be attributed to the curriculum alone. The sample was a convenience sample from one dual-immersion Spanish-English school, so it may not apply to other schools or populations. Only depression and anxiety symptoms were measured, not social, academic or broader emotional adjustment outcomes. There was no follow-up, so it is unknown whether any changes lasted. Children were not clinically diagnosed by mental health providers. Teacher-reported anxiety was only a marginal interaction and was not followed by paired tests. At-risk status was based on children's and teachers' ratings, not clinician assessment.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. The publication types list NIH and other U.S. and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the curriculum as proven treatment for anxiety or depression. It had no control group, and the authors say they cannot conclude the curriculum caused the changes; improvements were mainly in children rated at risk.