Science Engagement to Empower Disadvantaged adoleScents (SEEDS Project)

N/ACompletedNCT05002049

University Rovira i Virgili720 enrolled

Overview

SEEDS is a multicenter 24-month citizen science (CS) cluster randomized controlled study, with interventions conducted in four European countries acting as pilot sites: 1) Greece, 2) The Netherlands, 3) Spain and 4) The United Kingdom. This project will merge CS and traditional approaches and will target high schools located in deprived neighborhoods. The methodology, that combines CS and traditional science, could build effective cooperation between science and society to empower adolescents from low-income environments to adopt healthy lifestyles to prevent obesity, increase their interest in science and improve their critical thinking. The aim is to engage teenagers on this citizen science project to collaborate in all phases of the study: problem definition, data collection, analyses and dissemination. This will empower them to change habits, thereby contributing to behavioural changes. This cluster-randomized control trial involves intervention and control high-schools from deprived areas in the Netherlands, England, Greece and Spain. Teenagers with leadership skills from intervention schools (called ambassadors) and stakeholders will participate in focus groups to gain insights on the barriers and facilitators for healthy lifestyles of teenagers, and how science could help address these. Building on the information of the focus groups, ambassadors, stakeholders and other peers will participate in a collaborative competition event where the SEEDS intervention(s) will be designed. The intervention(s) will be implemented at intervention high-schools. Outcomes in health behaviours and science literacy will be assessed by validated questionnaires at the start and end of the project.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Interventions

Intervention GroupBEHAVIORAL

Teenagers with leadership skills from intervention schools (called ambassadors) and stakeholders will participate in focus groups to gain insights on the barriers and facilitators for healthy lifestyles of teenagers, and how science could help address these. Building on the information of the focus groups, ambassadors, stakeholders and other peers will participate in a collaborative competition event where the SEEDS intervention(s) will be designed. The intervention(s) will be implemented at intervention high-schools during 6 months. Outcomes in health behaviours and science literacy will be assessed by validated questionnaires at the start and end of the project.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 13 YearsMax age: 15 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria per high schools: * High schools located in deprived areas. Deprived areas will be selected according to what is considered an area with a low socioeconomic level according to each country. * Informed consent must be signed by the responsible of each high-school. Exclusion Criteria per high schools: * The non-completion of one of the inclusion criteria. Inclusion Criteria per participants: * Adolescents aged 13- to 15-years at baseline who attended one of the participating high schools, previously randomized. * Informed consent must be signed by their parents/legal guardians and by each adolescent. Exclusion Criteria per participants: * The non-completion of one of the inclusion criteria.

Locations (4)

Department of Nutrition & Dietetics, School of Health Science & Education Harokopio University, 70, El Venizelou Ave,

Athens, Kallithea, Greece

Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, P.O. Box, 2040

Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Netherlands

Institut d'Investigació Sanitaria Pere i Virgili

Reus, Tarragona, Spain

Children's Health and Exercise Research Centre, Sport and Health Sciences; College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter

Exeter, United Kingdom

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Physical activity

Change in physical activity assessed by validated questionnaire HBSC and Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C). HBSC: days a week physically active for a total of at least 60 minutes, frequency of exercise in free time that participants get out of breath or sweat and means of transport to go to school. PAQ-C: 7-day recall questionnaire that assesses participation in different physical activities, as well as activity during Physical Education, lunch break, recess, after school, in the evenings and at weekends. Each of the 9 questionnaire items is scored between 1 (low) and 5 (high physical activity), and a mean score of all items constitutes the overall PAQ score.