Using Middle School Science Teachers to Address Cancer Health Disparities
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age10+
SponsorWeill Medical College of Cornell University
About this trial
The CARES4You study is testing a middle school science curriculum designed to teach students about cancer risk and prevention. The lessons are taught by regular science teachers during class time and are aligned with national science education standards. The curriculum includes six units (14 lessons) that help students learn about cancer, understand how lifestyle and environmental factors influence risk, and think about ways to make healthy choices.
The study will take place in 10 public middle schools in New York City. Some schools will begin using the CARES4You curriculum right away, while others will continue with their usual science lessons and receive the program later. Researchers will compare the two groups of schools.
The main goal of the study is to see whether the curriculum increases students' intentions to engage in healthy behaviors that may reduce cancer risk. The study will also examine whether students talk more with their caregivers about cancer risk and prevention after participating in the program. Caregivers may also report on some health behaviors in the household.
If the program is effective, CARES4You could provide schools with a practical and sustainable way to teach cancer prevention and promote healthy behaviors among adolescents and their families.
Eligibility criteria
This trial accepts healthy volunteersQualifiers
Age 10-13
Attends a NYC Public Middle School
Resides in one of the study's four target PPA's
18 years of age or older
Disqualifiers
Adolescents: Students who do not attend one of the participating NYC Public Middle Schools
Parents/Caregivers: Caregivers who do not have a child that attends one of the participating NYC Public Middle Schools
Trial design
Design model
Parallel
Treatments tested in this trial
CARES4You Curriculum
BehavioralCARES4You is a teacher-delivered middle school science curriculum focused on cancer risk and prevention. Public middle schools in New York City self-select into either an immediate-intervention group or a delayed-intervention group. In both groups, grade-level science teachers deliver the same curriculum during regular 50-minute science classes over approximately five weeks. The program includes six units delivered across 14 lessons, typically taught 4-5 days per week. Units cover Cancer Genetics, Cancer Epidemiology, Media Literacy and Tobacco Advertising, Nutrition and Cancer, Biotechnology and Cancer, and Cancer Risk Reduction. Lessons combine brief instruction with interactive activities such as identifying cancer risk factors and discussing ways families can reduce risk. Students also complete a final cumulative project.
Treatment groups
1,812 Participants
are divided into 2 treatment groupsGroup A: Immediate Intervention DeliveryExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Group B: Delayed Intervention DeliveryPlacebo comparator 1 intervention
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Change in students' intention to engage in health-promoting behaviors following the completion of the curriculum.
Intent to engage in health-promoting behaviors will be assessed by an adapted nine-item instrument. The response scale for each question item ranges from 0 (does not apply to me) to 3 (very likely) with a sum score ranging from 0 to 27. Higher scores represent a greater intention to follow health-promoting behaviors.
Time frame
Baseline, End of Study (6 weeks)Secondary outcomes
1
Number of student participants and caregiver participants who initiate cancer risk communication in the household.
Cancer risk communication will be assessed by a one item instrument. The response scale for the question ranges from 0 (no) to 1 (yes) with a yes indicating if the student participant has spoken with a caregiver participant about cancer.
Time frame
End of Study (6 weeks)Sponsors and contacts
Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Lead sponsor
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Collaborator
Source ClinicalTrials.gov