Neuropsychological stimulation for children living in low socioeconomic level suburbs from Guatemala City: A study protocol

Abstract

Abstract Background Guatemala remains one of the poorest countries in the American continent and suffers from high rates of social inequality and violence. Among other potential disadvantages, this unfavourable socioeconomic context poses a risk to children’s emotional and cognitive development (1, 2). In addition to the negative impact that two years without attending school has had on Guatemalan children, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country’s economic stability has worsened the socioeconomic divide that these children face. The present work presents a registered protocol designed for the implementation and assessment of a cognitive and emotional stimulation program that aims to increase the academic performance of these children and consequently improve their quality of life. Methods The protocol proposes the implementation of a randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of a 24-session-long cognitive and emotional stimulation program. The program contains activities targeting the cognitive functions of attention, language, executive functions, and social cognition using the digital neurorehabilitation platform NeuronUP. The 5th grade participants (n = 480) will be randomly assigned to either the Experimental or Control group. Pre- and post-intervention assessments will be carried out, together with a follow-up in the following academic year, in which both groups will change roles. This will be done to ensure that all participants can benefit from the intervention, as mandated by current ethical research principles. Discussion Mid- and long-term results are still unknown, however if the program achieves the intended impact on the participants, effective interventions based on this protocol are expected to facilitate the following benefits for the participants: (1) Develop cognitive and emotional abilities to a level that would previously have been difficult to achieve; (2) Improve academic performance and subsequent educational level; (3) As a consequence of the first two points, provide the children with a better chance of accessing more resources and life opportunities. Trial registration: This project has been registered in the Open Science Foundation data base on the 10th of February 2022 (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/JVZ6W).