Quality of Home Packed School Lunch Among Children Attending Kindergarten School in Jimma Zone, South West Ethiopia, 2026

NCT07506772 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: RP0038/13
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 840
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

A balanced diet is critical for preschool aged children; meals must be sufficiently diverse to provide the essential nutrients required for rapid physical and cognitive development. Because dietary habits established in early childhood often persist into adulthood, prioritizing this age group is a cost-effective investment in long-term national health and productivity. However, the National Food Consumption Survey in Ethiopia indicates a significant gap in dietary quality, with only 20% of households across all age groups consuming five or more food groups. Implementing multi-component nutrition interventions is essential, as these strategies significantly influence both the eating habits and dietary preferences of preschool children.

Conditions

Diet Quality; Diet Quality of Home Packed School Lunch

Keywords

Deit Quality; Preschool children; Kindergarten; Cluster Randomised control trial; Nutrition education

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Mean School-Lunch Dietary Diversity Score (mDDS)

  The nutritional quality of home-packed school meals (including snacks and lunches) will be assessed using a structured parent reported lunchbox inventory over two non-consecutive school days. The score is calculated based on the presence of 9 distinct food groups adapted from the FAO(Food and Agriculture Organization)/WHO(World Health Organization) dietary diversity indicators: Starchy staples (grains, roots, tubers) Legumes and nuts Dairy products Flesh foods (meat, poultry, fish) Eggs Vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables Dark green leafy vegetables Other vegetables Other fruits. For each observation day, a score is calculated (Range: 0-9). The final primary outcome is the mean score across the two data collection days. A higher score represents a more diverse and higher-quality school meal.

  Baseline and 6 months post-intervention

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Child's Healthy Dietary Preference Score

  Baseline and 6 months post-intervention.

Study Arms (2)

Parental Nutrition education

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: Nutrition education

Standard care

NO INTERVENTION

Interventions

Nutrition education BEHAVIORAL

Parent-Focused Component: The intervention group will receive weekly nutrition education delivered through a multi-modal approach involving mHealth (Telegram) and printed materials. Educational content is derived from the Ethiopian Food-Based Dietary Guidelines and evidence-based literature, culturally tailored to the local context. Printed leaflets will be provided in both Amharic and Afan Oromo and will incorporate pictorial aids to ensure accessibility for parents and caregivers with limited literacy levels. Child-Focused Component: Simultaneously, students will participate in bi-weekly nutrition education sessions led by trained nutritionists or health professionals. These sessions are designed based on WHO age-appropriate nutrition education recommendations and will be conducted throughout the duration of the intervention period.

Parental Nutrition education

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 4 Years - 7 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Children aged 4-7 years attending kindergarten schools in the selected clusters.
• Parents or caregivers willing to provide written informed consent.

You may not qualify if:

• Students who will not finish the school year/intervention semister in the selected cluster/school.
• Mothers/caregivers who will not give consent for the participation in the study will be excluded.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Jimma University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Jimma University

Jimma, Oromiya, Ethiopia

RECRUITING

Related Publications (2)

• De Bock F, Breitenstein L, Fischer JE. Positive impact of a pre-school-based nutritional intervention on children's fruit and vegetable intake: results of a cluster-randomized trial. Public Health Nutr. 2012 Mar;15(3):466-75.

  BACKGROUND

• Hu C, Ye D, Li Y, Huang Y, Li L, Gao Y, et al. Evaluation of a kindergarten-based nutrition education intervention for pre-school children in China. Public Health Nutr. 2010 Feb;13(2):253-60.

  BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Nutrition Assessment

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Data Collection; Epidemiologic Methods; Investigative Techniques; Health Care Evaluation Mechanisms; Quality of Health Care; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation; Epidemiologic Measurements; Public Health; Environment and Public Health

Study Officials

• Yordanos Bekele Tadesse, MSc

  Jimma University, Mizan Tepi University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Desalegn Tamiru, PhD

  Jimma University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Melese Sinaga, PhD

  Jimma University, 2Rehabilitation Research Centre (REVAL), Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Hasselt University, Wetenschapspark 7, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium.

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Yordanos Bekele, MSc

CONTACT

+251917106192; yordybeke@gmail.com

Desalegn Tamiru, PhD

CONTACT

+251912373397; dessalegn97@gmail.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator and PhD Candidate, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 4, 2026
• First Posted: April 2, 2026
• Study Start: January 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 24, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2026
• Last Updated: April 2, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

ET (1)