Wakaya: Rising Up for Choctaw Youth Health Program

This study is testing a program called Wakaya: Rising Up for Choctaw Youth Health. It's an outdoor, nature-based program rooted in Choctaw values, designed to help young people make healthier choices. We want to see if it can improve physical activity, reduce time spent sitting, and encourage better eating habits, while also helping to delay or reduce alcohol, tobacco, and drug use. We're looking for Choctaw youth aged 12 to 19 who live in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma tribal region and meet certain criteria related to their current eating, activity, or screen time habits. Success will be measured by changes in physical activity and sedentary behaviors over several months.

Study design
This is a randomized study involving two groups, with 176 Choctaw youth participating over five years. Some participants will start the program right away, while others will be on a waiting list for three months before starting.
What's involved
Participants will complete computer-assisted questionnaires at the start, immediately after the program (at 3 months), and then at 3 and 6 months after the program ends. Physical activity will also be measured with an accelerometer at the start and 6 months after the program.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Participants will be followed for 6 months after the intervention ends, with assessments at 3 and 6 months post-intervention.

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NCT05818384

Wakaya: Rising Up for Choctaw Youth Health

Recruiting
NAAges 12–19InterventionalPrevention
University of Washington
~176 participants
Updated 2025-02-20 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Wakaya: Rising Up for Choctaw Youth Curriculum

At a glance

Recruiting sites
2 of 2 listed sites are recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Change in physical activity assessed by self-report
Measured over Baseline; Immediate post-intervention (month 3); 3 months post (month 6); and 6 months post-intervention (month 9)
+4 more outcomes measured
Obesity, Adolescent
Healthy Nutrition
Sedentary Behavior
Drug Abuse
2 sites across 2 states
Oklahoma1
Washington1
  • Michelle Johnson-Jennings, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · University of Washington

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

Be enrolled in Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO)
Live within CNO tribal region for 12 months
Consumed sweetened beverages or processed/fast food 2x or more per week; OR
Engaged in excessive sitting or lying around (\>540 min/day) or engage in small screen recreation (\>2 hours/day); OR
Physical activity - spend \<60 minutes/day outdoors or \<2.5 hrs per week in moderate or vigorous physical activity OR spend \<60 minutes a day in moderate or vigorous intensity aerobic activity; OR
Engage in any T.V., small screen/video game recreation (\> 2 hours/day)

Exclusion

opioid/methamphetamine drug use (2 times or more in past month)
allergic reactions to food (e.g. peanuts), plant (poison oak or ivy) or insects (e.g. bees, fire ants) that caused difficulty in breathing or necessitated hospitalization or caused an anaphylactic reaction
disability that prevents student from walking or from engaging in exercise
aggressive, violent, combative or inappropriate behaviors
inability to follow directions
psychotic symptoms
  • Change in physical activity assessed by self-reportBaseline; Immediate post-intervention (month 3); 3 months post (month 6); and 6 months post-intervention (month 9)

    Assessed by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ) for youth and young adults. Results can be reported in categories (low, moderate or high activity levels) or as a continuous variable (MET minutes a week). MET minutes represent the amount of energy expended carrying out physical activity.

  • Change in physical activity intensity associated with movement, measured by accelerometerBaseline and 6 months post-intervention (month 9)

    An actigraph accelerometer measures vertical acceleration in counts per minute. It will be worn for 7 days. Mean counts per minute are calculated by dividing the sum of activity counts for a valid day be the number of minutes of wear time in a day for all valid days. Greater number of counts per minute indicates higher physical activity intensity. Change in mean counts per minute from baseline at 9 months will be assessed.

  • Change in sedentary behaviors over timeBaseline; Immediate post-intervention (month 3); 3 months post (month 6); 6 months post-intervention (month 9)

    Measured by the Youth Leisure-time Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire (YLSBQ) adapted for Choctaw Youth

  • Change in food and beverage habits over timeBaseline; Immediate post-intervention (month 3); 3 months post (month 6); 6 months post-intervention (month 9)

    Assessed by the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS) 2023.

  • Change in beverage habits over timeBaseline; post-intervention (month 3); 3 months post (month 6); 6 months post-intervention (month 9)

    Assessed by the Modified Healthy Home Survey (2005- Beverages). It assesses the number of sweetened drinks consumed per week.