SHCP in 4-H Using Teenagers as Teachers

University of California (UC) Davis

Status: Completed

Conditions: Vegetable Preferences; Youth Engagement; Civic Responsibility; Nutrition Knowledge

Treatments: Behavioral: Teenagers as cross-age SHCP teachers for younger youth

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03346356

946461

Details and patient eligibility

About

In close collaboration with the Nevada County 4-H Youth Development Program, the Shaping Healthy Choices Program was implemented utilizing 4-H teenagers as cross-age teachers for younger youth. The 4-H Youth Development Program is an education program of the University of California Cooperative Extension that emphasizes learning citizenship, leadership, and life skills. The program creates positive opportunities for youth to learn, develop skills, and become engaged in their local communities. This is accomplished with combined efforts of youth, volunteer leaders, and University staff and faculty through a fun, hands-on learning approach to non-formal education. As a requirement to participate in the program, all youth had to enroll in 4-H for the 2016-2017 year. Teenagers were initially trained in inquiry-based and experiential learning techniques before facilitating the program. Teenage teachers collectively lead classroom education, garden activities, and cooking demonstrations. Additionally, teenage teachers, UC Cooperative Extension staff, and UC Davis students organized and implemented a community health fair for elementary-aged children.

Measurements were taken on nutrition knowledge, vegetables preferences, civic responsibility, program fidelity, and self-efficacy for teaching nutrition. A parent interview was also conducted to gauge parental engagement and perception of whether their child had behavior changes while participating in the program. Preliminary findings from the parent interview show that children were more likely to support and engage in healthy eating practices throughout their involvement than they had before the program. Children also have expressed interests in continuing their participation in subsequent years. All other data for this intervention are currently undergoing analyses.

Enrollment: 24 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 8 to 18 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• The research team will recruit and consent youth study participants and their parents from members of the Nevada County 4-H Youth Development Program. Youth study participants must be ages 14-18 for teenage teachers and 8-13 for younger youth participants. Study participants must be able to attend two-hour bimonthly meetings at the 4-H office and/or (depending on the activity) Food Bank garden in Grass Valley, California. Teenage teachers will also be required to complete ten hours of initial training before the start of SHCP implementation. All participants will be required to join the Nevada County 4-H Youth Development Program if they are not already a member. Teenage teachers' registration fees will be paid for by the research team. Comparison youth will be recruited from registered members of the Placer County 4-H Youth Development Program. Placer County 4-H club members will also be ages 14-18 for teenage comparisons and 8-13 for younger youth comparisons.

Exclusion criteria

• Foster children and wards of the state will not be enrolled in this study. Children younger than 8 or older than 18 are not eligible to participate.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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24 participants in 2 patient groups

Teenagers as cross-age teachers

Experimental group

Description:

After the initial training, the teenage teachers facilitated the curricula associated with the SHCP, Discovering Healthy Choices and Cooking Up Healthy Choices, approximately twice a month. The curricula can be viewed at http://cns.ucdavis.edu/programs/shcp/curriculum.html. Each activity provided step-by-step instructions that the teenage teachers were asked to follow. Younger youth served as participants for the classroom and garden-based activities.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Teenagers as cross-age SHCP teachers for younger youth

Comparison group

No Intervention group

Description:

Youth of similar ages to the intervention group completed the same assessments, but did not receive the intervention.