State-wide dissemination of a school-based nutrition education programme: a re-aim (reach, efficacy, adoption, implementation, maintenance) analysis.

OBJECTIVE:

The current study evaluated the overall public health impact of the ‘Shaping Up My Choices’ (SMC) programme, a 10-week school-based nutrition education curriculum developed for third-grade students, using the RE-AIM (Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) framework.

DESIGN:

Randomized controlled trial to evaluate the programme and secondary analysis of archival data to describe dissemination. Data were collected from programme records, teacher surveys and student pre-, post- and 3-month follow-up surveys.

SETTING:

Public elementary schools in California.

SUBJECTS:

An evaluation sample (938 students and nineteen teachers) and a dissemination sample (195 245 students and 7359 teachers).

RESULTS:

In the evaluation sample, differences between the control and intervention groups were observed for nutrition knowledge, self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, and intakes of vegetables, fruit (girls only), soda, and low-nutrient high-energy foods from pre- to post-survey. Group differences in change in knowledge, outcome expectancies and vegetable intake were sustained through the 3-month follow-up (efficacy). One hundred per cent of intervention teachers in the evaluation sample implemented all of the lessons (implementation). The dissemination sample represented 42 % of third-grade students (reach) and 39 % of third-grade classrooms in public elementary schools in California during 2010-2011 (adoption). Thirty-seven per cent of third-grade teachers in the dissemination sample reordered SMC materials during the subsequent school year (2011-2012; maintenance).

CONCLUSIONS:

The SMC programme demonstrates the potential for moderate to high public health impact.