Study to Prevent Behavioral Health Symptoms in Children Affected by Pandemics

This study is testing two programs, "Journey of Hope-COVID 19 (JoH-C19)" and "Switch off Get Active," to see if they can prevent emotional and behavioral problems in children who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and other large-scale disasters. These programs involve group sessions for children and workshops for their parents. We are looking for children aged 8 to 14 years old who have experienced the COVID-19 pandemic and another major disaster, and who score 5 or higher on a specific questionnaire (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire). Children must be in 3rd to 8th grade and speak English or Spanish. The study will measure success by looking at changes in children's emotional and behavioral health over 14 months. The current status of this study is unclear.

Study design
This interventional study plans to enroll 800 participants. It is not specified if the study is randomized or blinded.
What's involved
Participants will attend eight 1-hour sessions for children and a 1.5-hour workshop for caregivers. Their emotional and behavioral health will be assessed at the start, 2 months, 8 months, and 14 months after the intervention.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Participants will be followed for 14 months after the intervention to measure changes in their emotional and behavioral health.

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NCT05639465

Intervention to Prevent Behavioral Health Symptoms Among Pandemic Affected Children

Recruiting
NAAges 8–14InterventionalPrevention
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
~800 participants
Updated 2026-01-23 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:JoH-C19Switch off Get Active

At a glance

Recruiting sites
5 of 9 listed sites are recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Changes in Responses to Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
Measured over T1 (pre-intervention), T2 (2 months; post intervention), T3 (8 months (6 months post intervention); T4 (14 months (12 months post-intervention)).
+1 more outcome measured
Emotional Distress
Prosocial Behavior
Pandemic, COVID-19
Coping Skills
Social Support
9 sites across 3 states
Florida4
Texas3
Louisiana2
  • Tara Leytham Powell, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

child experienced the COVID-19 pandemic and an additional large-scale disaster
child score is 5 or above on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
child is in 3- 8th grade at enrollment
the parent or guardian must complete informed consent and child assent
child must speak English or Spanish.

Exclusion

child is currently receiving treatment for a diagnosed mental health condition
children who are not able to interact with other students in a group work format, regardless of IEP status
  • Changes in Responses to Strengths and Difficulties QuestionnaireT1 (pre-intervention), T2 (2 months; post intervention), T3 (8 months (6 months post intervention); T4 (14 months (12 months post-intervention)).

    Measures children's psychological symptoms and impairments used for children between the ages of 4 to 16. The questionnaire is both parent and youth report and is comprised of five subscales including emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, peer relationship problems, and prosocial behavior. Total difficulty scores which include emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyper-activity and peer relationship problems subscales range from 0-40. The pro-social behavior subscale ranges from 0-10.

  • Changes in Responses to Pediatric Symptom Checklist-Externalizing SubscaleT1 (pre-intervention), T2 (2 months; post intervention), T3 (8 months (6 months post intervention); T4 (14 months (12 months post-intervention)).

    Parent report measure of emotional and behavioral problems in children. The questionnaire is comprised of three subscales: internalizing, attention, and externalizing. The externalizing subscale will be used for this study. This subscale includes 7-items and the subscale scores range from 0-14.