Effects of School-Based Interventions Implemented by Nurses for Children Aged 3-6 Years: A Systematic Review of Experimental Evidence

Abstract

Objectives: The 3-6 age period, which includes the pre-school, is when the child acquires essential habits, develops skills, and socializes. This systematic review was planned to examine the available evidence on the effectiveness of school-based interventions implemented by nurses and administered to preschool children. Material and Method: The systematic review used a search to identify studies published between 2015 and 2024 from PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Library, ProQuest, Science Direct, and Web of Science databases. Results: When the findings were examined, fifteen studies, including six randomized controlled trials and nine quasi-experimental studies, met the inclusion criteria. In the studies conducted, it was determined that the duration of the interventions applied only to children was between 2 and 16 sessions, the intervention periods of the studies that included parents along with children were between 8 and 30 sessions, and only 4 studies used theory or models. It was determined that the programs applied by nurses to children between the ages of 3-6 in the school environment provided children with knowledge and skills and had positive effects on the development of their physical, social, and emotional health. Conclusions: Nurses are responsible for increasing children's knowledge and skills in schools and promoting healthy lifestyles. Nurses must collaborate with parents to ensure that children's health education at home and school complement each other. The results of the studies included in the systematic review should be cautiously interpreted due to the limited number of studies and small sample size. To obtain the best evidence on the effectiveness of interventions, randomised controlled trials aiming to improve social and emotional competencies are needed to evaluate comprehensive, high-quality, and long-term effects. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO registration number was CRD42023467297

Keywords

• School Based Intervention
• PRESCHOOL
• Nursing
• Child

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