Caregivers’ knowledge and schoolchildren’s nutritional status after a virtual nutrition intervention: a pre–post study in Pachacámac, Peru

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate pre-post changes in caregivers’ knowledge of healthy eating and in the nutritional status of second-grade elementary school children, following a virtual nutrition education intervention in two educational institutions (public and private) in the district of Pachacámac, Lima, Peru (2022). Materials and methods: A quantitative, pre-experimental, before-after study without a control group was conducted in two schools in Pachacámac, Lima, Peru, in 2022. The study included 90 mother/caregiver-schoolchild dyads from the second grade (47 from a public school, 43 from a private one). The intervention consisted of seven synchronous virtual sessions on healthy eating over four months. Knowledge was assessed using a 22-item questionnaire validated by expert judgment (Aiken’s V = 0.917; α = 0.76). Nutritional status was assessed using BMI-for-age, height-for-age, and waist circumference. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for the knowledge score, and paired Student’s t test for anthropometric variables. Results: Significant increases in knowledge scores were observed in both schools: public, median from 15.0 to 18.0 (z = -5.533; p < 0.001; rrb = -0.986); private, from 17.0 to 18.0 (z = -4.812; p < 0.001; rrb = -1.000). No statistically significant changes were found in BMI or waist circumference. Height increased significantly in both schools (p<0.001), consistent with expected growth during follow-up. Conclusions: The virtual education intervention was associated with significant improvements in mothers/caregivers’ knowledge, but not with short-term changes in BMI or waist circumference.