Japi: Cognitive, Emotional and Social Stimulation for Preschool Children
Japi
1 other identifier
interventional
120
1 country
2
Brief Summary
Mental health disorders are one of the leading causes of illness globally, and their relevance is expected to increase. Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC), already facing psychological and behavioral issues due to chronic adversity, were further impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. A study showed that symptoms of depression and anxiety in youth doubled during the first year of the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period. A study in China found that the prevalence of the total difficulties was (8.2%), with conduct problems (7.0%), peer problems (6.6%), and hyperactivity-inattention (6.3%) among the most prevalent. In this study emotional problems reached 4.7%. Finally, recent evidence has revealed that students' psychosocial and behavioral problems have increased in the early stage of schools reopened. Several international agencies have calls on governments, and public and private sector partners, to commit, communicate and act to promote mental health for all children, protect those in need of help, and care for the most vulnerable. The importance of psychosocial skills acquired in early childhood, such as emotional regulation and social problem-solving, for preventing mental disorders was highlighted. Studies indicate that the development of executive functions and non-cognitive skills in early childhood has a positive impact on long-term health and economic productivity. However, the treatment gap for mental disorders in LMIC is significant, with only one in ten affected receiving treatment. Preventive interventions are needed, particularly in early childhood, to improve cognitive and socio-emotional skills. Objective: The research proposal aims to develop a gaming platform aiming to improve cognitive and non-cognitive skills in early childhood at schools with high socio-economic vulnerability, supported by Early Years Educators and Parents using a dashboard integrated in a whole system housed in local server, and to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of this gaming platform and dashboards, with the ultimate goal of reducing behavioral problems, and improving functional and performance outcomes later in life. Outcomes: Acceptability; Feasibility; Cognitive and non-cognitive skills; Working Memory; Inhibitory control; Emotion recognition; Social competence; Behavioral problems and psychological assessment.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable
Started Jun 2024
Shorter than P25 for not_applicable
2 active sites
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
May 14, 2024
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
May 20, 2024
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
June 1, 2024
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
December 31, 2024
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
December 31, 2024
CompletedJune 14, 2024
June 1, 2024
7 months
May 14, 2024
June 12, 2024
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (5)
Acceptability: Early Year Educators
Acceptability will be evaluated using one questionnaire that will be answered every week by the Early Year Educators (EYE). It will include questions regarding the fidelity of the implementation (e.g. "How many sessions children were able to play during the week?" "Be the panel to know the progress of the children?" "How many minutes were used to support each child during the week?", "Was the activity in this session interesting/relevant?" They also ask about the things they liked about the sessions and what they would change; and specifically, for EYE: "was feedback given to parents to promote the use of the gaming platform?"). The team will also solicit feedback on possible changes to be included in the future (e.g. "Is there anything that would be changed/replaced/included?").
through study completion, an average of 6 month
Acceptability: Students
A brief assisted survey will also be carried out on the students, carried out in the middle and at the end of the intervention to assess if a children liked the intervention.
through study completion, an average of 6 month
Feasibility of the intervention: Recruitment
Data will be collected on the number of schools that are eligible, those that are contacted, and those that agree to participate. Data will also be collected on the number of students, parents, and Educators contacted and those who consent and agree to participate.
through study completion, an average of 6 month
Feasibility of the intervention: Assesment parameters
Data will also be collected on the time needed to complete the questionnaires and student assessment tests, and the loss of participants during follow-up.
through study completion, an average of 6 month
Feasibility of the intervention: Progress on the videogame
Automated data on the use of the game (number of sessions played, activities completed and level reached) will be captured via a server in those 3 schools with intense EYE support.
through study completion, an average of 6 month
Secondary Outcomes (10)
Working Memory: Corsi Block Test
through study completion, an average of 6 month
Working Memory: Auditive Working Memory test
through study completion, an average of 6 month
Inhibitory control: The Hearts and Flowers task
through study completion, an average of 6 month
Emotion recognition: Assessment of Children's Emotions Skills
through study completion, an average of 6 month
Social competence: Challenging Situations Task
through study completion, an average of 6 month
- +5 more secondary outcomes
Study Arms (2)
Intervention group
EXPERIMENTALThe whole intervention has 24 sessions. Children will play with the game two times a week, each lasting 15 minutes, over a period of 12 weeks. Each session stimulates two skills (one cognitive and one non-cognitive skills) and has eight activities with increasing levels of difficulty.
Control group
NO INTERVENTIONThe control group receives standard school curricula, which is not a manualized intervention. The standard curriculum is provided by the Ministry of Education with a guideline called "Curricular Bases for Kindergarten Education" which includes pre-kindergarten directions to Early Year Educators regarding emotion regulation and planification to implement in class.
Interventions
Those children in the intervention group will play with the gaming platform "Japi" using a tablet device in a designated time given from schools' authorities. Early Year Educators will be present to help with the discipline and motivation of the students and Research Assistants will be there as well to provide technical support for the use of the equipment. The intervention has 24 sessions, and the dosage will be two sessions of 15 minutes each per week for 12 weeks. Sessions number 1 to number 8 are focused on emotional regulation and inhibitory control. Sessions number 9 to 16 work on working memory and problem-solving. Sessions number 17 to 24 promote empathy and planification skills. Each session will have eight activities with increasing levels of difficulty.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Schools located in Santiago (Chile).
- Schools with Preschool Education.
- Mixed-sex schools.
- Schools with vulnerability (≥75%), measured with the School Vulnerability Index - National System of Equality Allocation (IVE-SINAE). This index is the proportion of students in a given school with high vulnerability. This index considers the following socioeconomic variables to group the schools: mother's educational level, father's educational level, and total monthly household income, among others.
You may not qualify if:
- Three or more classes in Preschool. This criterion was considered for economic and practical reasons.
- Implementing a manualized program to promote cognitive or social-emotional skills.
- Participating in a similar study.
- For students:
- \) Children attending pre-kindergarten
- Children with intellectual disability
- Children unable to understand and speak Spanish
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- Universidad de los Andes, Chilelead
- University of Talcacollaborator
Study Sites (2)
Universidad de los Andes
Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan, 7620086, Chile
Universidad de los Andes
Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan, Chile
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PMID: 39799357DERIVED
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Jorge Gaete, MD, PhD
Universidad de Los Andes
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- DOUBLE
- Who Masked
- INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
- Purpose
- PREVENTION
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Principal Investigator
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
May 14, 2024
First Posted
May 20, 2024
Study Start
June 1, 2024
Primary Completion
December 31, 2024
Study Completion
December 31, 2024
Last Updated
June 14, 2024
Record last verified: 2024-06
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will share
- Shared Documents
- STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, CSR
- Time Frame
- At the end of the study and until five years after the end of the study.
- Access Criteria
- Any researchers who ask the principal investigator fot secondary analysis, data anonymized.
Data about primary and secondary outcomes without identifiable variables such as name, date of birth, or others.