RT Journal Article
T1 Neuropsychological Stimulation Program for Children from Low Socioeconomic Backgrounds: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial
A1 Rodríguez Prieto, Pablo
A1 Simpson, Ian Craig
A1 Gómez Baya, Diego
A1 García de la Cadena, Claudia
A1 Ruiz Aranda, Desirée
A1 Ibáñez Alfonso, Joaquín A.
AB Background: Guatemala remains one of the poorest countries in Central America and suffers from high rates of social inequality and violence. In addition to the negative impact that two years without attending school has had on Guatemalan children due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, this unfavourable socioeconomic context poses a risk to children’s emotional and cognitive development. This work presents a protocol for implementing a cognitive and emotional stimulation program aimed at increasing the academic performance of these children and consequently improving their quality of life. Methods: The protocol proposes the implementation of a randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of a 24-session-long stimulation program. It targets the cognitive functions of attention, language, executive functions, and social cognition, using the digital neurorehabilitation platform NeuronUP. The participants (n = 480) will be randomly assigned to an Experimental or Control group. Pre- and post-intervention assessments will be carried out, together with a follow-up in the next academic year, in which both groups will change roles. Results will be compared for the first and second years, looking for differences in academic and cognitive performance between groups. Discussion: Mid- and long-term outcomes are still unknown, but effective interventions based on this protocol are expected to facilitate the following benefits for participants: (1) improved cognitive and emotional development; (2) improved academic performance; (3) improved well-being. We expect to create a validated neuropsychological stimulation program that could be applied in similar socioeconomically disadvantaged contexts around the world to help these children improve their life chances.
PB MDPI
SN 2227-9032 (electrónico)
YR 2024
FD 2024-03
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/23602
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/23602
LA eng
NO Rodríguez-Prieto, P., Simpson, I. C., Gomez-Baya, D., García de la Cadena, C., Ruiz-Aranda, D., & Ibáñez-Alfonso, J. A. (2024). Neuropsychological Stimulation Program for Children from Low Socioeconomic Backgrounds: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. In Healthcare (Vol. 12, Issue 5, p. 596). MDPI AG. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12050596
NO This research was funded by the Agency for International Cooperation and Development(AACID, in Spanish) from the Junta de Andalucía Government, Spain, under the project “Mejoradel rendimiento académico y la calidad de vida de menores vulnerables de Guatemala: programaintegral de estimulación cognitiva y emocional, desarrollo de huertos escolares y fortalecimiento dela docencia a distancia ante el reto del COVID-19” [Improvement of the academic performance andquality of life in vulnerable minors from Guatemala: Integral cognitive and emotional stimulationprogram, development of school orchards, and strengthening of distance teaching amidst the challengeof COVID-19], grant number 0C138/2020. The participation of Ian Simpson was made possibleby a grant from FEDER Junta de Andalucía-Consejería de Transformación Económica, Industria,Conocimiento y Universidades/Project E-SEJ-754-UGR20.
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 2 jun 2026