School RCT cuts child injuries
A new cluster randomized trial tested a school‑based injury‑prevention program that paired physical skills training with psychological skills and found it reduced children's sports injuries while boosting emotional health reported. The study presents a turnkey model for clinics wanting to pitch evidence‑based prevention partnerships to schools.
The trial was authored by Qiang Fang, Jing Liu and Manman Li of Lianyungang Normal University and Shanghai University of Sport and was published 16 March 2026 (public-pages-files-2025.frontiersin.org). Researchers used a cluster randomized controlled design with 258 primary‑school children (grades 3–6), randomised by class into an intervention arm (130 children) and a control arm (128 children), and delivered the program over a 12‑week period (public-pages-files-2025.frontiersin.org). The primary endpoint—sports‑injury incidence over six months—occurred in 10.8% of the intervention group versus 28.9% of controls (P < 0.001) (public-pages-files-2025.frontiersin.org). That difference represents an absolute reduction of 18.1 percentage points and a relative reduction of ≈62.6% in injury incidence compared with routine education alone (calculated from reported rates) (public-pages-files-2025.frontiersin.org). Secondary outcomes showed statistically significant improvements: the intervention group had lower Childhood Anxiety (SAS) and Depression (SDS) scores and higher Exercise Self‑Efficacy (SEQ‑C), Exercise Concentration (SMS), positive coping style, and willingness to participate in sport after the program (public-pages-files-2025.frontiersin.org). Authors described the integrated psychological‑skills add‑on to routine safety education as a scientifically feasible optimisation of school safety systems, framing the 12‑week, class‑based protocol as an implementable model schools and external partners could adopt (public-pages-files-2025.frontiersin.org).
