Cancer Prevention, Cancer Risk Factors
Conditions
Keywords
cancer prevention, cluster trial, adolescent health, school-based intervention
Brief summary
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.
Detailed description
The investigators will evaluate whether the CARES4You intervention modifies health-promoting behavior intentions among middle school students in New York City. Participants in the control arm will receive the exact same 5-week educational curriculum as those in the intervention arm. Participants will: 1. Be assigned to either the control group or the study group; both will receive the same cancer educational curriculum over 5 weeks. 2. Receive weekly classroom lessons and labs over 5 weeks. 3. Students will complete a survey before and after the administration of the curriculum intervention. These questionnaires evaluate students' change in knowledge related to the curriculum, and questions about their cancer risk behaviors, and communication styles at home. 4. Caregivers of students in the intervention schools only will complete a survey at one time point and receive a $40 electronic gift card for completing the survey at the end of the curriculum implementation phase. 5. Instructors will complete a training program evaluation and a post-curriculum evaluation to assess the impact of the curriculum on their students.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALCARES4You Curriculum
CARES4You 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.
Sponsors
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Study design
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Pragmatic cluster non-randomized trial
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
10 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Adolescents: * Age 10-13 * Attends a NYC Public Middle School * Resides in one of the study's four target PPA's * Parents/Caregivers: * 18 years of age or older * Has at least one child registered for middle school in NYC that resides with them * Resides in one of the study's four target PPA's * Able to provide informed consent
Exclusion criteria
* 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
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in students' intention to engage in health-promoting behaviors following the completion of the curriculum. | Baseline, End of Study (6 weeks) | 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. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of student participants and caregiver participants who initiate cancer risk communication in the household. | End of Study (6 weeks) | 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. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
CONTACTRosio Ramos, BA
CONTACTAlia Komsany, PhD
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORErica G Phillips, MD, MS
Weill Cornell
Outcome results
None listed