Using Virtual Reality to Train Children in Pedestrian Safety

NCT ID: NCT00850759

Last Updated: 2014-12-16

Study Results

Results available

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Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

PHASE3

Total Enrollment

240 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2009-10-31

Study Completion Date

2014-03-31

Brief Summary

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Pedestrian injuries are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in American children ages 7-8, but existing behavior-oriented interventions achieve only modest success. One limitation to existing interventions is that they fail to provide children with the repeated practice needed to develop the complex perceptual and cognitive skills required for safe pedestrian activity.

Virtual reality (VR) offers a highly promising technique to train children in pedestrian safety skills. VR permits repeated unsupervised practice without risk of injury; automated feedback to children on success or failure in crossings; adjustment of traffic density and speed to match children's skill level; and an appealing and fun environment for training. The proposed research is designed to test the efficacy of virtual reality as a tool to train child pedestrians in safe street-crossing behavior.

A randomized controlled trial will be conducted with four equal-sized groups of children ages 7-8 (total N = 240). One group will receive training in an interactive and immersive virtual pedestrian environment. The virtual environment, already developed, has been demonstrated to have face, construct, and convergent validity. The second group will receive pedestrian safety training via video and computer strategies that are most widely used in American schools today. The third group will receive what is judged to be the most efficacious treatment currently available, individualized behavioral training at streetside locations. The fourth and final group will serve as a no-contact control group. All participants in all groups will be exposed to a range of field- and laboratory-based measures of pedestrian skill during baseline and post-intervention visits, as well as during a six-month follow-up assessment. Primary analyses will be conducted through linear mixed models designed to test change over time in the four intervention groups. We hypothesize all children in active learning groups will increase pedestrian safety skills, but the largest increase will be among children in the virtual reality group.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Street-crossing Ability Pedestrian Safety

Keywords

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pedestrian safety street-crossing ability road-crossing children injury prevention

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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virtual reality

street-crossing training in a virtual pedestrian environment

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

virtual pedestrian environment

Intervention Type DEVICE

a computer-driven virtual pedestrian environment

computer and video

exposure to training in pedestrian safety via computer software, internet games, and television videos

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

computer and video

Intervention Type DEVICE

various computer-based and video-based programs such as Otto the Auto and WalkSafe

streetside training

one-on-one training in street-crossing skills by an adult, at a streetside location

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

streetside training

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

one-on-one training by an adult with the child at streetside locations, to teach children street-crossing skills

no-contact control

no-contact control group.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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virtual pedestrian environment

a computer-driven virtual pedestrian environment

Intervention Type DEVICE

computer and video

various computer-based and video-based programs such as Otto the Auto and WalkSafe

Intervention Type DEVICE

streetside training

one-on-one training by an adult with the child at streetside locations, to teach children street-crossing skills

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* 7 and 8 year old children living in Birmingham, Alabama, area

Exclusion Criteria

* family plans to move within 6 months of recruitment
* visual or perceptual impairment (e.g., blindness) that are uncorrected and would prevent valid participation in protocol
* physical impairment (e.g., use of wheelchair) that would prevent valid participation in protocol
* cognitive impairment (e.g., moderate mental retardation) that would prevent valid participation in protocol
Minimum Eligible Age

7 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

8 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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National Institutes of Health (NIH)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Alabama at Birmingham

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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David Schwebel

Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean for Research in the Sciences

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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David C Schwebel, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Locations

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UAB Youth Safety Lab, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Schwebel DC, McClure LA. Using virtual reality to train children in safe street-crossing skills. Inj Prev. 2010 Feb;16(1):e1-5. doi: 10.1136/ip.2009.025288.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20179024 (View on PubMed)

Schwebel DC, Davis AL, O'Neal EE. Child Pedestrian Injury: A Review of Behavioral Risks and Preventive Strategies. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2012 Jul;6(4):292-302. doi: 10.1177/0885066611404876. Epub 2011 Jun 17.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23066380 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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R01HD058573-01A1

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

F080715010

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id