Berlin evaluates school tobacco prevention - BEST prevention: study design and methodology

Abstract

BackgroundThe hazardous health effects of smoking are established, but there remains a need to evaluate existing smoking prevention strategies and to increase their effectiveness in adolescents. Strategies focusing on parental attitudes and rule setting have been identified as a potentially effective approach. The present manuscript describes objectives, study design and methodology of the BEST Prevention study.Methods/designBEST Prevention is a three-armed cluster randomized-controlled trial among 7th grade (11–16 years) students in Berlin, Germany. Schools were enrolled between 2010 and 2011 and allocated using a centralized randomization list into 1) a student smoking prevention intervention (visit to an established interactive circuit), 2) the same intervention plus a parent intervention, and 3) a control group (visit to an established exercise and nutrition interactive circuit). Students were assessed at baseline, 12 and 24 months via self-report, as well as via carbon monoxide and cotinine in saliva at the 24 month follow-up. Statistical analyses uses multi-level regression models with cluster effects (school and class within school) based on the intention to treat population. Here we report descriptive baseline characteristics of recruited schools, and schools classes. Two schools from the control group dropped out after allocation. Hence, 47 secondary schools from all 12 districts of the city, including 161 school classes and 3023 students are participating in the study. Of those, 2801 students completed the baseline assessment.DiscussionThe present manuscript provides details on the study design and methodology of a large school-based smoking prevention trial in a metropolitan area in Germany. Findings from this study will yield important insight into the long-term effectiveness of specific smoking prevention strategies, also in disadvantaged population groups.Trial registrationNCT01306552 (January 2011).

Association of individual and neighbourhood socioeconomic status with physical activity and screen time in seventh-grade boys and girls in Berlin, Germany: a cross-sectional study

“…Details of the recruitment are described elsewhere. 34 Briefly, prior to recruitment, permission of the Berlin senate of education, youth and research (Senatsverwaltung für Bildung, Jugend und Wissenschaft) was obtained, and school principals and contact teachers from all 12 districts of Berlin were informed about the project. Students were eligible for the study if they: (1) were in the seventh grade, (2) attended one of the participating schools and (3) showed intellectual and physical ability to make an informed decision about study participation.…”

Long‐term effectiveness of a combined student—parent and a student‐only smoking prevention intervention among 7th grade school children in Berlin, Germany

“…Details of the methodology of our study, called Berlin Evaluates School Tobacco (BEST), have been described previously . Briefly, study participants were 7th grade students from secondary schools in Berlin, more specifically from either high schools (starting with 5th or 7th grade, graduation with high school diploma after 12th grade) or integrated secondary schools (integration of different school types, starting with 7th grade, high school diploma after 13th grade; both types of schools can also be finished with a secondary school certificate after 10th grade).…”

“…Overall, completion takes approximately 2 hours. Further details of the training course are presented elsewhere .…”

Determinants of Physical Activity and Screen Time Trajectories in 7th to 9th Grade Adolescents—A Longitudinal Study

“…The current analyses are based on two intervention groups of the study sample of the "Berlin Evaluates School Tobacco" (BEST)-prevention study, a three armed cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted from 2010 to 2014 in Berlin [32,33]. The RCT's aim was to evaluate a parent-involved smoking prevention for 7th grade students of high schools and integrated secondary schools.…”

“…Data were collected at baseline, after 1 and 2 years during classes using self-report questionnaires that were developed on the basis of the standardised and validated questionnaires for adolescents, such as the ones used in the HBSC survey [34][35][36]. Details of the data assessment and a description of the variables were described previously [28,33].…”