Wakaya: Rising Up for Choctaw Youth Health

NCT ID: NCT05818384

Last Updated: 2025-02-20

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

176 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-04-28

Study Completion Date

2027-04-30

Brief Summary

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Investigators will conduct a two-group randomized waitlist-control trial to assess the efficacy of the Wakaya: Rising Up for Choctaw Youth Health program on improving physical activity, reducing sedentary behaviors and improving healthful eating habits as well as delaying or reducing alcohol, tobacco and other drug use. Wakaya is an experiential, outdoor, nature-based program grounded in Choctaw values. It is a multi-level intervention that increases individual motivation and leadership skills to make healthy behavioral choices for behavior and exercise.

Detailed Description

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Study participants will be recruited in staggered cohorts with those in each recruitment wave receiving individual-level random assignment to either immediate intervention or waitlist control (3 months wait to intervention) for a total of 176 Choctaw youth (ages 12-19 years) participating over 5 years.

Recruitment strategies:

The following Recruitment strategies will be used: posting flyers, posters and brochures in stores, community centers, and other locations identified by our community advisors; and posting flyers in the tribal newspaper, school newsletters, tribal gathering areas, tribal health fairs, pow wows, local boys and girls clubs, youth centers, other local news outlets, and on a study webpage.

Screening:

* Participants will mainly be screened in-person, some may be screened over phone using the same talking points.
* Youth who are screened out will be given a community resource list.
* If a person is eligible, but declines to participate, they will be given a brief one-item exit question regarding general reason for non-participation.
* Eligible youth who agree to participate will be asked to schedule their baseline assessment.

After consent or assent and parental permission are obtained, CNO study staff will set up the study laptop and headphones that the participant will use to enter their responses to the baseline computer-assisted questionnaire.

Assessments:

The baseline assessment consists of a brief physical health assessment and a computer-assisted behavioral health survey administered by study staff. Youth participants are required to take a non-invasive physical health assessment (BMI with portable digital weight scale and height measure), identify the age they began puberty (girls \< 12 years old began menstruation; boys \<14 when voice changed "a lot" will be classified as early puberty) and to use an accelerometer for 7 days after the baseline assessment. They will also be asked to run or walk for 12 minutes. The computer-assisted behavioral health survey will ask a series of questions and take under 45 minutes to complete.

The assessments will be conducted via Audio-Computer Assisted Self-Interviews (ACASI) programmed into study computers. Participants will complete 4 surveys: baseline, immediately after Trail of Tears Walk, a three-month follow up,and a six-month follow-up.

Intervention Schedule:

Month 1-3: Up to 20 group sessions on Choctaw history, traditions, cultural systems and health beliefs. Experiential, outdoor activities are incorporated to promote group cohesion, improve relational worldviews, and connectedness to nature and the environment. Examples include activities on an outdoor ropes course or increasing physical activity by walking or gardening. Fitbits will be given to participants and peers can choose to support each other to meet goals on a social media platform. Up to 3 individual Motivational Interviewing sessions to identify personal change goals and community leadership.

Month 2-3: Attend an Overnight Culture Camp to strengthen group cohesion and synthesize goals.

Month 3: Walk on the Choctaw Trail of Tears and visit ancient sites. Upon completion, make a commitment to conduct a community-wide event based on personal and leadership goals and Trail experience.

Months 4-12: Up to 6 group meetings to plan community leadership events related to obesity prevention, includes an individual MI booster session to revise their personal \& community leadership goals, digital storytelling training, and a community Traditional Games Olympiad. Participants may create a story related to healthful food habits, obesity prevention and alcohol, tobacco and other drug use (ATOD).

Month 9: Share digital stories, community events, and participate in a leadership ceremony.

Post-intervention: Ripple Effect Mapping focus groups among 64 individuals. A random selection of 12 youth per region and 4 nonparticipant community stakeholders i.e., elders, leaders in the community.

Conditions

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Obesity, Adolescent Healthy Nutrition Sedentary Behavior Drug Abuse

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

CROSSOVER

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Wait List Control

Participants in the Wait List group will be randomly assigned to start the intervention 3 months later in the Summer.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Wakaya: Rising Up for Choctaw Youth Curriculum

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

An experiential, outdoor, nature-based program grounded in Choctaw values. It is a multi-level intervention that increases individual motivation and leadership skills to make healthy behavioral choices for behavior and exercise.

Wakaya (Immediate Group)

Participants in the immediate group will be randomly assigned to start the intervention immediately in the Spring.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Wakaya: Rising Up for Choctaw Youth Curriculum

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

An experiential, outdoor, nature-based program grounded in Choctaw values. It is a multi-level intervention that increases individual motivation and leadership skills to make healthy behavioral choices for behavior and exercise.

Interventions

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Wakaya: Rising Up for Choctaw Youth Curriculum

An experiential, outdoor, nature-based program grounded in Choctaw values. It is a multi-level intervention that increases individual motivation and leadership skills to make healthy behavioral choices for behavior and exercise.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Be enrolled in Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO)
* Live within CNO tribal region for 12 months

YES to one of the following:

* Consumed sweetened beverages or processed/fast food 2x or more per week; OR
* Engaged in excessive sitting or lying around (\>540 min/day) or engage in small screen recreation (\>2 hours/day); OR
* Physical activity - spend \<60 minutes/day outdoors or \<2.5 hrs per week in moderate or vigorous physical activity OR spend \<60 minutes a day in moderate or vigorous intensity aerobic activity; OR
* Engage in any T.V., small screen/video game recreation (\> 2 hours/day)

Exclusion Criteria

* opioid/methamphetamine drug use (2 times or more in past month)
* allergic reactions to food (e.g. peanuts), plant (poison oak or ivy) or insects (e.g. bees, fire ants) that caused difficulty in breathing or necessitated hospitalization or caused an anaphylactic reaction
* disability that prevents student from walking or from engaging in exercise
* aggressive, violent, combative or inappropriate behaviors
* inability to follow directions
* psychotic symptoms
Minimum Eligible Age

12 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

19 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Washington

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Michelle Johnson-Jennings

Professor, School of Social Work

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Michelle Johnson-Jennings, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Washington

Locations

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Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

Durant, Oklahoma, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

University of Washington, IWRI, School of Social Work

Seattle, Washington, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Tee Benally

Role: CONTACT

833-265-4289

Facility Contacts

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Christian H Anderson

Role: primary

1-833-265-4289

Tee Benally

Role: primary

1-833-265-4289

Other Identifiers

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1R01DA056416

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

STUDY00015208

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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