Community Galleries - Art and Children in Action: Study Protocol

NCT07165704 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: ESPACOT1220425
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 172
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 10

Brief Summary

The goal of this trial is to evaluate whether a community-based visual arts intervention can improve self-concept, psychological adjustment, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children aged between 6 and 12, from socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Does the intervention improve children's psychological adjustment, as the primary outcome?
• Does the intervention improve self-concept and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) as the secondary outcomes?
• Is the intervention cost-effective compared to the waitlist control? Researchers will compare children receiving the visual arts intervention (intervention group) with children not receiving the intervention (waiting list control group) to see if the program leads to measurable improvements in psychological adjustment, self-concept, and health-related quality of life. Participants will:
• Take part in one-hour weekly visual arts sessions for nine months, led by professional artists;
• Participate in community art exhibitions at the end of the program;
• Complete questionnaires on psychological adjustment, self-concept, HRQoL, and societal resource use at baseline and post-intervention;
• Teachers/technicians will complete questionnaires on children's psychological adjustment.

Conditions

Self-concept; Psychological Adjustment; Health Related Quality of Life

Keywords

Self-concept; Health-related quality of life; Quality-adjusted life years; Psychological adjustment; Arts-based intervention; Visual arts; Cost-utility

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change from baseline in the total difficulties as assessed by The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.

  The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) produces a total difficulties score ranging from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater difficulties. It also comprises five subscales, each scored from 0 to 10: Emotional Symptoms, Conduct Problems, Hyperactivity/Inattention, Peer Relationship Problems, and Prosocial Behaviour (for which higher scores indicate more prosocial behaviours).

  Baseline and 9 months

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Change from baseline of Self-concept as assed by The Self-Perception Profile for Children and the The Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children.

  Baseline and 9 months

• Quality-adjusted life years (QALY) gains from baseline as assed by the Child Health Utility 9 Dimensions.

  Baseline and 9 months.

Other Outcomes (1)

• Change from baseline on children´s use of societal resources

  Baseline and 9 Months

Study Arms (2)

Visual Art Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

The arts intervention will consist of two parts: (a) implementation of one-hour session of Visual Arts (e.g., painting, drawing, printing techniques exercises). (b) Children's final artistic products will be displayed in Community Galleries in their neighbourhood in an opening ceremony.

Other: Visual arts

Waitlist Control

NO INTERVENTION

Interventions

Visual arts OTHER

The arts intervention will consist of two parts: (a) implementation of one-hour session of Visual Arts (e.g., painting, drawing, printing techniques exercises). The activities will be guided through a theme (Emotions), by a professional artist, to obtain a final individual artistic product. Peer contact, shared learning, and a feeling of community are all made possible by the group-based approach. This facilitator will offer assistance, motivation, and technical training as they lead participants through the creative process. Using narrative-building and dialogue-based methods, the artist will encourage children to share their stories, experiences, and perspectives, through art. (b) Children's final artistic products will be displayed in Community Galleries in their neighbourhood in an opening ceremony.

Also known as: Community Galleries

Visual Art Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 6 Years - 12 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• To be enrolled in elementary school and registered as a participant or student in one of the 10 schools or institutions, partners of the Community Galleries project.

You may not qualify if:

• Cognitive deficit, neurological disease or global developmental disorder

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Associação para o Apoio à Integração Social e Comunitária: lead
• Fundação Caloust Gulbenkian: collaborator
• Uppsala University: collaborator
• Lusofona University: collaborator

Study Sites (10)

Associação de Solidariedade da Zona das Fontainhas

Porto, 4000-527, Portugal

Location

Espaço Raíz

Porto, 4100-029, Portugal

Location

Escola do Parque Centro de Bem-estar Social Nossa Senhora do Socorro

Porto, 4100-033, Portugal

Location

A Associação de Promoção Social da População do Bairro do Aleixo

Porto, 4150-193, Portugal

Location

ASAS (Associação de Solidariedade e Ação Social de Ramalde)

Porto, 4250-323, Portugal

Location

Paróquia de Nossa Senhora da Ajuda - Pasteleira

Porto, 4300-004, Portugal

Location

Escola Básica do Falcão

Porto, 4300-178, Portugal

Location

Centro Social do Lagarteiro

Porto, 4300-282, Portugal

Location

Escola Básica de Montebello

Porto, 4350-280, Portugal

Location

Escola Básica de São Roque da Lameira

Porto, 4350-297, Portugal

Location

Study Officials

• Sandra P Henriques, Mastre

  Associação Para o Apoio e Integração Social e Comunitária

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 3, 2025
• First Posted: September 10, 2025
• Study Start: February 26, 2024
• Primary Completion: February 28, 2025
• Study Completion: July 2, 2025
• Last Updated: September 15, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Locations

PT (10)