CSTOP Now! Child Sex Trafficking Stops With You

NCT ID: NCT05722769

Last Updated: 2025-10-07

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

5408 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-09-19

Study Completion Date

2026-12-31

Brief Summary

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Focus: Intervention \& prevention of child commercial sexual exploitation or trafficking (CST) In Kentucky, familial SU/D increases risk of CST.

Primary goal: Implement and evaluate effectiveness of multi-level bystander-informed program (CSTOP Now!) aimed at Kentucky public middle schools for staff.

Detailed Description

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Randomization will occur at the Kentucky county level among 50 counties with at least 2 middle schools for a middle school-based cluster RCT set in 50 of Kentucky's 120 counties. Middle schools in half (n=25) of the 50 Kentucky counties will be randomized to the intervention condition, while middle schools in the remaining 25 Kentucky counties will be randomly assigned to the attention control. We have selected counties that are similar in population size, demographics (% white, % \<18 years of age, and % living in poverty, using 2019 Census estimates). Within each county, all middle schools (\>200 across 50 counties) will be invited to participate in this RCT.

Participating staff will be emailed a link that will take them to a description of the study. Participation will involve receipt of online training, as randomized at the county level, and completing surveys immediately before receipt of the first training and at the end of each of school terms annually.

Aim 1. Evaluate the effectiveness of child sex trafficking (CST) prevention training implemented among middle school staff randomized, at the Kentucky county level, to change middle school staff:

1. Knowledge of child sexual exploitation and trafficking (hypothesize greater knowledge in Intervention versus Control),
2. Attitudes towards child sexual exploitation and trafficking (hypothesize lower stigma in Intervention versus Control),
3. Willingness and efficacy to intervene (hypothesize greater efficacy in Intervention versus Control),
4. Use of 'bystander' actions to thwart child sexual exploitation and trafficking risk (hypothesize increase actions in Intervention versus Control),
5. Use child sex trafficking screening, referral and reporting (hypothesize increase actions in Intervention versus Control),

Aim 2. Evaluate effectiveness of child sex trafficking mass media intervention (Intervention versus Control), randomized and measured at the Kentucky county-level, based on middle school staff survey data:

1. To increase child sexual exploitation and trafficking screening \& reporting in short term (Years 1-2),
2. Begin to reduce child sexual exploitation and trafficking rates in longer term (Year 3-4) Analyses for both aims will be adjusted for school and county-level attributes

Conditions

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Child Sex Trafficking

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Randomization at Kentucky County level. Schools in counties randomized to the intervention receive the online intervention training. Schools in counties randomized to the attention control receive the attention control training.
Primary Study Purpose

SCREENING

Blinding Strategy

NONE

County-level

Study Groups

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CSTOP Now! Child Sex Trafficking Stops with You

For this RCT, our research team has created CSTOP Now! online, interactive learning management system training. This CSTOP Now! online training will be offer to middle school staff in Kentucky counties randomized to this experimental intervention arm. This training seeks to provide middle school staff with information and resources to identify, intervene in, and prevent child sex trafficking (CST). This training will provide middle school staff with the knowledge, skills, and efficacy to intervene with children at risk of or experiencing CST. This training will also provide staff with skills to disrupt harmful attitudes or misinformation about CST.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

CSTOP Now!

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Child sex trafficking stops with you. Implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-level bystander-informed program (CSTOP Now!) aimed at Kentucky public middle school staff. Participants will be trained to use the See It To Stop It Indicator Tool (SITSII) by using tiers of concern (clear concern, possible concern, and monitor of emerging concern). The SITSII tool directs the bystander actions to Decide, Directly Intervene, Disrupt, Delegate, and Document.

Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky Online Training

With input from Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky, our team developed training delivered via LMS and designed to identify child sex trafficking among middle school students. Only for middle school staff in counties randomized to the active comparator, we offer this online training using the same approach as that for staff in the intervention condition.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky Online Training

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The Kentucky State Police, in association with Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky, have developed videos we invite active comparator schools to review which also include how to identify and report child sex trafficking.

Interventions

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CSTOP Now!

Child sex trafficking stops with you. Implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-level bystander-informed program (CSTOP Now!) aimed at Kentucky public middle school staff. Participants will be trained to use the See It To Stop It Indicator Tool (SITSII) by using tiers of concern (clear concern, possible concern, and monitor of emerging concern). The SITSII tool directs the bystander actions to Decide, Directly Intervene, Disrupt, Delegate, and Document.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky Online Training

The Kentucky State Police, in association with Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky, have developed videos we invite active comparator schools to review which also include how to identify and report child sex trafficking.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Kentucky middle school staff in a public school
* Kentucky middle school staff in the intervention or attention control schools/counties.

Exclusion Criteria

* Kentucky middle school staff not in intervention or attention control schools/counties.
Minimum Eligible Age

21 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

FED

Sponsor Role collaborator

Ann Coker

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Ann Coker

Professor

Responsibility Role SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Ann L. Coker, PhD, MPH

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Kentucky

Locations

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University of Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Ann Coker, PhD, MPH

Role: CONTACT

859-323-0429

Emily Clear, MPH

Role: CONTACT

859-218-0029

Other Identifiers

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U01CE003394

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

77232

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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