Evaluating the Impact of a Comprehensive School Health Program

While many health programs focus on early childhood, the health needs of older children often go overlooked.

Schoolchildren have the fewest touch points with the healthcare system of any age group, yet face serious health challenges; for example, children aged five to 17 experience the highest prevalence of malaria.

To help bridge the gap between schooling and health, Zambian nonprofit Healthy Learners works with the Ministries of Health and Education to train teachers as school health workers (SHWs) and connect children to care.

SHWs deliver health education in classrooms, use the ThinkMD clinical decision support system to assess students and make preliminary diagnoses, provide preventative care (such as deworming medication and vitamin supplementation) and care for mild conditions in Healthy Learners specially-constructed school health rooms, and make fast-track referrals to local clinics where students receive priority care.

With support from Development Innovation Ventures and the London School of Economics, Healthy Learners will conduct a cluster randomized controlled trial to evaluate the programs impact on health and education outcomes compared to a simple deworming program and no intervention.

The trial results will inform the continued scaling of the program, potential long-term Government of Zambia funding, and expansion to other countries.