NCT01261182

Brief Summary

School feeding programs provide students meals conditional on school attendance, which can have impacts on school participation, cognition and learning, and nutritional outcomes. Although the literature on impacts of school feeding programs is substantial, high quality studies with evaluation designs that provide causal impact estimates are relatively few. Thus program impacts on educational, cognitive and nutritional outcomes are not well-understood, particularly in a field setting. Nutritional impacts in particular are questionable, which may be a result program design. Most studies provide only small transfers to children and examine average macro-nutrient effects of the transfer on the treated children, thus it is not surprising that detection of nutritional gains has been minimal. This study is a cluster-randomized evaluation of a school feeding program administered by the World Food Programme in the Northern Ugandan Districts of Lira and Pader. The program provides substantially larger food rations than most programs (representing 1/3 of children's daily caloric needs and 99% of iron intake requirements). The key research objectives are:

  1. 1.Impact on the treated: Assess the effectiveness of the program at improving nutritional status, education and cognitive and learning outcomes for school-age children, with particular attention to the anemia status of older school-age girls .
  2. 2.Impact on untreated but nutritionally vulnerable sub-groups: Assess the effectiveness of the program at reducing anemia prevalence in mothers and younger siblings.
  3. 3.Optimal program design: Assess the differential impacts of a program in which children are fed at school compared with one in which they are given dry rations to bring home.

Trial Health

80
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
2,083

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

2 active sites

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

December 14, 2010

Completed
2 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

December 16, 2010

Completed
Last Updated

December 16, 2010

Status Verified

December 1, 2010

First QC Date

December 14, 2010

Last Update Submit

December 14, 2010

Conditions

MalnutritionCognition

Keywords

MalnutritionSchool feedingInfant nutritionMother's nutritionFortified foodAnemiaCluster randomized controlled trialsEffectivenessImpact evaluation studiesUganda

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Mothers' and Children's Nutritional Status

    15 months

Secondary Outcomes (3)

  • Cognitive Performance

    15 months

  • School achievement

    15 months

  • School Participation

    15 months

Study Arms (3)

In School Feeding

EXPERIMENTAL
Other: In School Feeding

Take Home Rations

EXPERIMENTAL
Other: Take Home Rations

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Interventions

In School FeedingOTHER

The intervention provides meals consisting of 1049 kcals of energy, 32.6 gm protein, and 24.9 gm fat per child per school day and meet at least two thirds of the child's daily vitamin and mineral requirements, including 99 percent of iron requirements. SFP delivers these nutrients in the form of a fortified corn-soy porridge around mid-morning and beans and maize meal or rice at lunch.

In School Feeding
Take Home RationsOTHER

The rations provided in the intervention are equal in size and composition to the food received in the in-school feeding intervention, but are provided to households once per month.

Take Home Rations

Eligibility Criteria

Age6 Years - 13 Years
Sexall
Age GroupsChild (0-17)

You may qualify if:

  • School age children

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (2)

Lira District

Lira, Uganda

Location

Pader District

Pader, Uganda

Location

Related Publications (1)

  • Adelman S, Gilligan DO, Konde-Lule J, Alderman H. School Feeding Reduces Anemia Prevalence in Adolescent Girls and Other Vulnerable Household Members in a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in Uganda. J Nutr. 2019 Apr 1;149(4):659-666. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxy305.

    PMID: 30926996DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

MalnutritionAnemia

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Nutrition DisordersNutritional and Metabolic DiseasesHematologic DiseasesHemic and Lymphatic Diseases

Study Officials

  • Marie Ruel, PhD

    IFPRI

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
PREVENTION
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

December 14, 2010

First Posted

December 16, 2010

Last Updated

December 16, 2010

Record last verified: 2010-12

Locations

UG(2)