Summer Youth Employment Programs for Health Promotion

NCT ID: NCT07227220

Last Updated: 2025-11-12

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

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

EARLY_PHASE1

Total Enrollment

15 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-03-31

Study Completion Date

2025-07-29

Brief Summary

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The purpose of this proof-of-concept study is to assess the initial signal of effectiveness of summer youth employment programs (SYEP) on understudied obesity-related outcomes in adolescents. This small-scale study is essential to identify early success and refine the intervention before scaling to a larger, more resource-intensive randomized trial. Specifically, this one-group pre-posttest study will:

Aim 1 (Primary): Evaluate if a 6-week SYEP provides an initial signal for effectiveness (maintenance or decrease in zBMI) over the summer.

Hypothesis 1: Adolescents who participated in a SYEP will maintain or decrease their BMI over the summer.

Aim 2 (Secondary): Evaluate changes in obesogenic behaviors (physical activity, sleep, sedentary, and diet) over the summer.

Hypothesis 2: Adolescents who participated in a SYEP will increase physical activity, reduce sedentary behavior, and improve sleep and diet quality over the summer.

Aim 3 (Secondary): Evaluate the feasibility of SYEP for obesity prevention intervention to inform intervention scalability.

Hypothesis 3: The SYEP program will be a feasible and acceptable intervention strategy for the prevention of obesity in adolescents over the summer.

Detailed Description

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Preliminary evidence suggests that summer employment can be an age-appropriate, structured intervention to prevent unhealthy changes in obesogenic behaviors among adolescents. While these findings are promising, none of the existing studies have measured changes in BMI over the summer or conducted comprehensive assessments of obesogenic behaviors, including diet, sedentary behavior, sleep, and physical activity. To address these gaps, this study proposes a small proof-of-concept study to assess the initial signal of effectiveness on understudied obesity-related outcomes in adolescents.

SYEPs are well-established, continuously operating initiatives over 60 years with proven benefits in academics, workforce development, and crime prevention, and may also act as obesity prevention strategies. Rather than creating new interventions, investing in and expanding access to SYEPs-programs with high demand yet limited capacity (with only \~28% of applicants matched with jobs each summer, leaving the majority on waitlists)-can offer a practical solution for youth obesity prevention.

Conditions

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Obesity, Childhood Behavior, Health Healthy Lifestyle

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Single group pre- and post-test design
Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Summer Youth Employment Program

Participants will work as junior summer camp counselors at a University of Houston camp, up to 24 hours/week, Monday-Thursday, 8:30 AM-3:30 PM (with a 12-1 PM lunch break), for six weeks from mid-June to the end of July. Participants will assist senior counselors with indoor/outdoor activities such as games, enrichment, and academics. On Fridays, from 10 AM to 12 PM, participants will attend professional development workshops on topics such as communication, teamwork, resume building, and job search skills. From 12-2:30 PM, undergraduate staff will lead social activities and mentoring.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Summer Youth Employment Program

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The intervention aims to employ adolescents in paid positions for six weeks during the summer, providing them with a structured, routine-based, and adult-supervised environment similar to that of the school year.

Interventions

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Summer Youth Employment Program

The intervention aims to employ adolescents in paid positions for six weeks during the summer, providing them with a structured, routine-based, and adult-supervised environment similar to that of the school year.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Age 14-17 years at the time of enrollment, in accordance with Texas Child Labor Law
* Willing to work at the summer camp for six consecutive weeks
* Able to pass the employment admission procedure (job interview)
* Able to obtain parental consent and provide assent for study participation

Exclusion Criteria

* Currently pregnant or planning to become pregnant, due to physical activity restrictions and potential weight changes that could confound study results
* Diagnosis of an intellectual and/or physical disability requiring specialized employment regulations or intervention strategies
* Participation in a health promotion intervention within the past six months
Minimum Eligible Age

14 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

17 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Houston

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Locations

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University of Houston

Houston, Texas, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Czajkowski SM, Powell LH, Adler N, Naar-King S, Reynolds KD, Hunter CM, Laraia B, Olster DH, Perna FM, Peterson JC, Epel E, Boyington JE, Charlson ME. From ideas to efficacy: The ORBIT model for developing behavioral treatments for chronic diseases. Health Psychol. 2015 Oct;34(10):971-82. doi: 10.1037/hea0000161. Epub 2015 Feb 2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25642841 (View on PubMed)

Pierce B, Bowden B, McCullagh M, Diehl A, Chissell Z, Rodriguez R, Berman BM, D Adamo CR. A Summer Health Program for African-American High School Students in Baltimore, Maryland: Community Partnership for Integrative Health. Explore (NY). 2017 May-Jun;13(3):186-197. doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2017.02.002. Epub 2017 Feb 24.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28373062 (View on PubMed)

Yazel-Smith L, El-Mikati HK, Adjei M, Haberlin-Pittz KM, Agnew M, Hannon TS. Integrating Diabetes Prevention Education Among Teenagers Involved in Summer Employment: Encouraging Environments for Health in Adolescence (ENHANCE). J Community Health. 2020 Aug;45(4):856-861. doi: 10.1007/s10900-020-00802-2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 32146639 (View on PubMed)

Modestino AS, Paulsen RJ. Reducing inequality summer by summer: Lessons from an evaluation of the Boston Summer Youth Employment Program. Eval Program Plann. 2019 Feb;72:40-53. doi: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2018.09.006. Epub 2018 Sep 24.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30296721 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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STUDY00005180

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id