METHODS article
Front. Med.
Sec. Family Medicine and Primary Care
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1585322
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Increasing Relevance of Traditional Medicine Systems for the Primary Health Care Sector and General Practice: Global Research Perspectives – Volume IIView all 11 articles
Health Promotion in German Kindergartens -Design and Methods of the Exploratory, Cluster-randomized, Mixed Methods Kneipp-Kita Bavaria Study
Provisionally accepted
Miriam Ortiz1*
Christine Bernardi2Christine Welker3Lisa Boyer2
Julia von Sommoggy2,4Hansjoerg Baurecht2,3Stephanie Roll1Tatjana Tissen-Diabaté1
Anne Herrmann2,5,6Benno Brinkhaus1- 1Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- 2Medical Sociology, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
- 3Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany
- 4Institute for Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Faculty of Medicine, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
- 5Department of Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
- 6Bavarian Cancer Research Center (BZKF), Erlangen, Germany
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background: The Kneipp Health Concept, which can be traced back to the German Sebastian Kneipp, integrates five health-promoting elements: physical activity, healthy nutrition, medicinal herbs, mental well-being and hydrotherapy. This concept is embedded in a pedagogical framework for children and has been adopted by more than 500 kindergartens across Germany and in other countries. The KNEIPP-KITA study Bavaria aims to evaluate the short-and medium-term effects of KHC on the health and well-being of children, their parents, and educational staff.Methods: This explorative, cluster-randomized, matched-pair, two-arm controlled, mixedmethods study is being conducted in 10 kindergartens, which are randomly assigned to either the Kneipp group (implementing the Kneipp Health Concept as intervention) or a control group.Children aged three years and older, their parents, and kindergarten staff are included in the study, with a follow-up period of 24 months. Staff in the Kneipp group receive a specific training in the five elements of Kneipp Health Concept, after which they integrate these components into daily routine of their kindergarten. The control group continues their usual activities without implementing the Kneipp Health Concept. Outcome parameters (assessed through questionnaires in children, parents and staff) include health status, health consciousness, health-related behavior, family health, and quality of life at 9, 15, and 21 months after the Kneipp Health Concept training (start of intervention). In addition, barriers and facilitators of the implementation are explored in a qualitative sub-study through semi-structured interviews conducted with kindergarten staff and parents in the Kneipp group at baseline and 14-16 months post-training. Data analyses will be carried out at both the individual and cluster level, with separate analyses for children, parents, and staff. The qualitative data will be analyzed using the Framework Method following the approach outlined by Gale et al.The results of the study pave the way for a sustainable implementation of the Kneipp Health Concept. In addition, this exploratory study will inform the planning of future intervention studies with valuable data material and contribute to the development and evaluation of effective childhood prevention strategies. Trial registration: Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien DRKS (German clinical trials register) ID DRKS00031865
Keywords: Kindergarten, HEALTH PREVENTION, Kneipp Health Concept, Health Promotion, Hydrotherapy
Received: 28 Feb 2025; Accepted: 22 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ortiz, Bernardi, Welker, Boyer, von Sommoggy, Baurecht, Roll, Tissen-Diabaté, Herrmann and Brinkhaus. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Miriam Ortiz, Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.