Exercise & Training

Development and validation of a health education module for parents of schoolchildren with overweight and obesity in the UAE.

TL;DR

A health education module consisting of 25 infographic messages for parents of schoolchildren with overweight and obesity in the UAE achieved excellent content validity (S-CVI/Ave = 0.97) and face validity (S-FVI/Ave = 0.99), making it suitable for use in research, school-based initiatives, and public-health programs.

Key Findings

The developed Health Education Module (HEM) consisted of 25 infographic messages covering four key domains.

  • The four domains covered were dietary intake, physical activity, behavior change, and family engagement.
  • The module was designed using infographic-based educational messages.
  • Development involved an extensive review of national and international guidelines and previous research.

The HEM achieved excellent content validity as assessed by six nutrition experts.

  • Content validity was measured using the Content Validity Index (CVI).
  • The Scale-level Content Validity Index / Average (S-CVI/Ave) was 0.97.
  • Six nutrition experts participated in the content validation phase.

The HEM achieved excellent face validity as assessed by 16 parents.

  • Face validity was measured using the Face Validity Index (FVI).
  • The Scale-level Face Validity Index / Average (S-FVI/Ave) was 0.99.
  • Sixteen parents participated in the face validation phase.

Participant feedback during validation led to specific revisions of the module.

  • Revisions included language refinement and improved illustrations.
  • Outdated elements such as the Food Pyramid were removed from the module.
  • These changes were made in response to feedback from the parent validators.

The study was conducted in two distinct phases: module development and content and face validation.

  • Phase one involved module development through literature and guideline review and infographic design.
  • Phase two involved content validation by six nutrition experts and face validation by 16 parents.
  • Both the Content Validity Index (CVI) and Face Validity Index (FVI) were used as validation instruments.

The validated HEM was described as culturally relevant, parent-friendly, and scientifically grounded for use in the UAE context.

  • The module was tailored specifically for parents of schoolchildren with overweight and obesity in the UAE.
  • It is described as suitable for use in research, school-based initiatives, and public-health programs.
  • The module targets reducing childhood obesity in the UAE, where childhood overweight and obesity continue to rise.

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Citation

Mustafaalsaafin H, Mohamed H, Yusoff H, Hashim M, Radwan H, Cheikh Ismail L, et al.. (2026). Development and validation of a health education module for parents of schoolchildren with overweight and obesity in the UAE.. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0344967