Get in the GROOVE!

Summary

Get in the GROOVE! will address health disparities impacting underserved youth. Given the alarming rate of overweight and obesity among high school minority youth, the project will focus on middle school with the primary aim of reaching middle school girls before unhealthy habits become firmly ingrained.

The primary aim of the research project is to investigate the impact of two types of summer science enrichment programs (that focus on health and wellness) on middle school girls' self-efficacy, health knowledge, health behaviors, and interest in science. One program will present the curriculum by conventional means (GROOVE condition) while the second program will include the addition of a closed 3-D virtual world environment to reinforce concepts (GROOVE+ condition).

The following hypotheses will be tested in the randomized controlled trial:

1. Upon completion of the summer program, the enhanced summer program GROOVE+ relative to the conventional summer program will result in a) increased self-efficacy for adopting healthy behavior change; b) increased health knowledge; c) enhanced science self-concept; and e) more positive behavior change (e.g., improved nutrition, increased physical activity).
2. At follow-up, the enhanced summer program relative to the conventional summer program will result in further and/or sustained improvements in positive behavior health behaviors and attitudes.

Conditions

• Health Behavior
• Prevention Harmful Effects

Interventions

OTHER

Summer science wellness program emphasizing health education pertaining to nutrition, physical activity, and healthy lifestyle.

The enhanced virtual world education (GROOVE+) will be compared to conventional approach (GROOVE). Each program is Monday-Friday, 9:30-3:30, for 3 weeks in the summer.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science (formerly known as Miami Science Museum)

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• New York Hall of Science

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• National Institutes of Health (NIH)

  collaborator NIH

• University of Miami

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Patrice G Saab, Ph.D. · University of Miami

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

11 Years

Max Age

14 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2013-05-31

Primary Completion

2016-09-30

Completion

2017-01-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations