Using a board game to guide schoolchildren on the healthy use of digital media

INTERVENTION: This is a two‐arm randomized controlled trial with cluster randomization at the school level and single‐blind masking of outcome assessors and the statistician responsible for data analysis. The study will include 82 participants, with 41 allocated to the Intervention Group and 41 to the Control Group. Randomization will be conducted by school clusters to minimize the risk of contamination between participants. Initially, distinct administrative microregions will be randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups using random allocation software. Subsequently, neighborhoods, schools, and eligible classes will be selected through successive random draws until the required sample size is achieved. The Intervention Group will consist of 41 schoolchildren aged si Xto twelve years enrolled in selected public schools, who will participate in a single session of an educational board game on the prevention of problematic interactive media use, developed and validated for this study. Before the intervention, a structured individual interview will be conducted using an instrument designed to assess knowledge about problematic interactive media use (pre‐test). The same instrument will be reapplied on the seventh and thirtieth days after the intervention (post‐test 1 and post‐test 2). The board game session will last approximately 50 minutes and will be conducted by the principal investigator. Participants will be organized into groups of two to five children, with standardized instructions and supervision throughout the activity. Outcome assessment will be performed through a structured individual interview in which participants will answer questions related to knowledge about problematic interactive media use, classifying each statement as correct, incorrect, or “I do not know.” The Control Group will consist of 41 schoolchildren and will not receive the intervention during the study period. Participants in this group will complete the same knowledge assessment instrument at three time points: baseline, seven days, and thirty days after the first assessment. Each interview will last approximately three to five minutes per participant and will be conducted by trained members of the research team. The principal investigator will not be blinded because she will be responsible for administering the educational technology. However, the nursing students responsible for administering the post‐tests and the statistician responsible for data analysis will remain blinded to participant allocation in the intervention and control groups. CONDITION: F01.145.527.100.120.875 Knowledge; Students ; Technology Addiction PRIMARY OUTCOME: Increase in the mean scores regarding knowledge about problematic interactive media use among schoolchildren allocated to the intervention group, through the educational board game. This outcome will be assessed by comparing mean scores from the knowledge questionnaire applied before the intervention (pre‐test), and at 7 and 30 days after the intervention in both groups (control and intervention). SECONDARY OUTCOME: Secondary outcomes that will not be directly measured in this study are expected, such as potential effects on the time schoolchildren spend using electronic devices with internet access and reduction of problematic interactive media use. In addition, it is expected that the intervention will contribute to increased awareness of the magnitude of problematic interactive media use among educational stakeholders, including education authorities, school principals, teachers, and other school staff. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Children enrolled in a public school; aged between si Xand 12 years; both genders; in the same school grade