Planetary Health and Environmental Justice in Construction Career Education

NCT ID: NCT07315919

Last Updated: 2026-01-07

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 40 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2026-08-05
• Study Completion Date: 2027-12-12

Brief Summary

This study tests whether a new educational curriculum can help high school students in construction career programs better understand how building design affects community health and environmental justice. The study compares two approaches: (1) a new "Community-Centered Design" curriculum that uses the Ecosystem Justice Translator (EJT) software tool, which helps students see connections between construction decisions, energy efficiency, nature exposure, and health outcomes in different neighborhoods; versus (2) the traditional construction career curriculum that focuses on technical skills. Students aged 14-18 enrolled in construction career programs will be randomly assigned to one of these two groups. Over 6 months, the intervention group will learn to use the EJT tool and apply environmental justice concepts to construction projects. Researchers will measure how well students understand connections between construction, environment, and health at the start, middle, and end of the program, and again 6 months later. The goal is to determine if integrating environmental justice and health concepts into construction education improves students' awareness of how their future work can help or harm community health, particularly in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Conditions

Health Knowledge; Environmental Exposure; Attitude; Practice

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Community-Centered Design Curriculum with EJT

6-month Community-Centered Design curriculum integrating the Ecosystem Justice Translator (EJT). Structure: Weeks 1-4 foundations of planetary health and environmental justice; Weeks 5-10 EJT module training; Weeks 11-18 community engagement project with local stakeholder interviews; Weeks 19-24 capstone design project. Delivered during regular CTE class periods (\~4 hours weekly). Students work in teams of 3-4 on authentic community challenges. EJT is a web-based computational system with four modules: Community Voice Equity Translation (CVET), Ecosystem Service Health Integration (ESHI), Environmental Justice Investment Prioritization (EJIP), and Uncertainty, Bias, and Risk Quantification (UBR).

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Community-Centered Design Curriculum with EJT

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

6-month (24-week) Community-Centered Design curriculum integrating the Ecosystem Justice Translator (EJT), delivered during regular CTE class periods (\~4 hours weekly). EJT is a web-based computational system with four modules: (1) Community Voice Equity Translation using large language models; (2) Ecosystem Service Health Integration linking InVEST models with epidemiological dose-response functions; (3) Environmental Justice Investment Prioritization; (4) Uncertainty, Bias, and Risk Quantification. Curriculum structure: Weeks 1-4 planetary health foundations; Weeks 5-10 EJT training; Weeks 11-18 community engagement projects; Weeks 19-24 capstone design. Students work in teams of 3-4 on authentic community challenges.

CONTROL

Standard construction career curriculum per California CTE Model Curriculum Standards: building codes and permitting, construction safety (OSHA 10), blueprint reading and computer-aided design (CAD), materials science and selection, basic carpentry and framing. Control participants receive equal contact hours (\~4 hours weekly for 24 weeks) without explicit health equity, environmental justice, or planetary health content. Control participants will be offered access to intervention materials and EJT software after study completion (waitlist control design).

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Traditional Technical Curriculum

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Standard construction career curriculum per California CTE Model Curriculum Standards delivered over 24 weeks (\~4 hours weekly). Content includes: building codes and permitting, construction safety (OSHA 10 certification), blueprint reading and CAD, materials science and selection, basic carpentry and framing techniques. Equal contact hours to intervention arm without explicit health equity, environmental justice, or planetary health content. Control participants offered access to EJT curriculum materials after study completion (waitlist control design).

Interventions

Community-Centered Design Curriculum with EJT

6-month (24-week) Community-Centered Design curriculum integrating the Ecosystem Justice Translator (EJT), delivered during regular CTE class periods (\~4 hours weekly). EJT is a web-based computational system with four modules: (1) Community Voice Equity Translation using large language models; (2) Ecosystem Service Health Integration linking InVEST models with epidemiological dose-response functions; (3) Environmental Justice Investment Prioritization; (4) Uncertainty, Bias, and Risk Quantification. Curriculum structure: Weeks 1-4 planetary health foundations; Weeks 5-10 EJT training; Weeks 11-18 community engagement projects; Weeks 19-24 capstone design. Students work in teams of 3-4 on authentic community challenges.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Traditional Technical Curriculum

Standard construction career curriculum per California CTE Model Curriculum Standards delivered over 24 weeks (\~4 hours weekly). Content includes: building codes and permitting, construction safety (OSHA 10 certification), blueprint reading and CAD, materials science and selection, basic carpentry and framing techniques. Equal contact hours to intervention arm without explicit health equity, environmental justice, or planetary health content. Control participants offered access to EJT curriculum materials after study completion (waitlist control design).

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

Community-Centered Design Curriculum with Ecosystem Justice Translator; EJT Curriculum

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Age 14-18 years at enrollment
• Current enrollment in a participating construction career pathway program (minimum 2nd semester)
• Ability to participate in 6-month curriculum during regular CTE class periods
• Written informed consent from parent/guardian for participants under 18 years
• Written assent from student participant
• Ability to complete assessments in English (with accommodations as needed)

Exclusion Criteria

• Prior participation in a formal environmental justice or planetary health curriculum within the past 12 months
• Expected inability to complete study assessments due to planned relocation or program withdrawal
• Concurrent enrollment in another research study involving educational interventions

• Minimum Eligible Age: 14 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Stanford University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Devan Cantrell Addison-Turner

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Devan C. Addison-Turner, PhD in CEE

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

daddisonturner@stanford.edu

Locations

Stanford University

Stanford, California, United States

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Devan C. Addison-Turner, PhD in CEE

Role: CONTACT

daddisonturner@stanford.edu

12816872771

Facility Contacts

Devan C Addison-Turner, PhD in CEE

Role: primary

daddisonturner@stanford.edu

281-687-2771

Other Identifiers

DGE-2146755

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

IRB-84369

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id