Internet-Based Sexual Health Education for Middle School Native American Youth

Summary

This study will evaluate the effect of an American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) adaptation of the It's Your Game…Keep It Real (IYG) intervention, relative to a comparison condition on sexual behavior outcomes and psychosocial variables for middle school aged youth (12 - 14 years old). The original IYG program was designed for students in Houston middle schools to help students delay sexual initiation and if sexually active, use condoms and contraception. The present study will adapt the existing IYG program for an AI/AN youth cohort; the original IYG curriculum will be transferred into a web-based format and modified to incorporate additional culturally-relevant components. The primary hypothesis to be tested is: (1) students who receive the web-based curriculum will delay sexual activity relative to those who receive standard care. The major dependent variable is the proportion of students initiating sexual activity. Secondary hypotheses will examine the effect of the web-based curriculum on specific types of sex and psychosocial variables related to sexual risk-taking behavior. This project will also examine the effect of the intervention on the proportion of students who are sexually active, number of times students engage in unprotected sexual intercourse, and students' number of sexual partners.

Conditions

• Sexually Transmitted Diseases
• Pregnancy
• HIV Infections

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

HIV, STI and Pregnancy Prevention Curriculum

A complete internet-based, "It's Your Game...Keep It Real" Intervention Program

BEHAVIORAL

Control Curricula

A computer-based, science education program that does not contain elements of sexual health education

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium

  collaborator OTHER

• Inter Tribal Council of Arizona

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board

  collaborator OTHER

• The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Ross Shegog, PhD · The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

• Christine Markham, PhD · The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

• Melissa Peskin, DrPH · The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

• Cornelia Jessen, MA · Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium

• Stephanie Craig-Rushing, MPH, PhD · Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board

• Gwenda Gorman · Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc.

• Scott Tulloch · Indian Health Service (IHS)

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

12 Years

Max Age

14 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2010-09-30

Primary Completion

2015-01-31

Completion

2015-01-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations