Study protocol of Changzhi project reviewed by trial steering committee

A two day meeting was held at the Beijing office of The George Institute for Global Health at Peking University Health Science Center to review the study protocol of "A school-based education programme to reduce salt intake in children and their families".

Also known as the Changzhi project, the project aims to reduce the amount of salt consumed by children and their families in China. The project is funded by a grant from the Medical Research Council (MRC) of the United Kingdom which was awarded to The George Institute for Global Health at Peking University Health Science Center in July 2012.

As per the requirements of the MRC, an independent trial steering committee (TSC) was convened. The members of this steering committee who attended this meeting included the independent chair Professor Peter Sever at Imperial College; independent members Professor Francesco Cappuccio at the University of Warwick, Professor Kiang Liu at Northwestern University Medical School and Professor Dong Zhao at Beijing Heart and Blood Vassal Institute; the principal investigator Dr Feng He at Queen Mary, University of London, and Co-PIs Professor Graham McGregor at Queen Mary, University of London and Professor Yangfeng Wu at The George Institute for Global Health at Peking University Health Science Center.

Other participants included co-investigators from both Peking University and The George Institute for Global Health at Peking University Health Science Center.

The study design is a randomized controlled trial to test whether an education program for school children can lower the amount of salt they and their families consume and also determine current salt intake among children using reliable and high quality methods.

The study kicked-off in September 2012 and now in its second quarter has finalised the protocol, education programme and materials and received ethical approval from China and the UK. With the TSC having reviewed all the materials and given its strong support, the study team will now commence the next stage of the project which is a feasibility study of the education materials. The team will present a progress report to the TSC in May 2013.