Summer Youth Employment Programs for Health Promotion

University of Houston

Status and phase: Completed; Early Phase 1

Conditions: Healthy Lifestyle; Obesity, Childhood; Behavior, Health

Treatments: Behavioral: Summer Youth Employment Program

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT07227220

STUDY00005180

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this proof-of-concept study is to assess the initial signal of effectiveness of summer youth employment programs (SYEP) on understudied obesity-related outcomes in adolescents. This small-scale study is essential to identify early success and refine the intervention before scaling to a larger, more resource-intensive randomized trial. Specifically, this one-group pre-posttest study will:

Aim 1 (Primary): Evaluate if a 6-week SYEP provides an initial signal for effectiveness (maintenance or decrease in zBMI) over the summer.

Hypothesis 1: Adolescents who participated in a SYEP will maintain or decrease their BMI over the summer.

Aim 2 (Secondary): Evaluate changes in obesogenic behaviors (physical activity, sleep, sedentary, and diet) over the summer.

Hypothesis 2: Adolescents who participated in a SYEP will increase physical activity, reduce sedentary behavior, and improve sleep and diet quality over the summer.

Aim 3 (Secondary): Evaluate the feasibility of SYEP for obesity prevention intervention to inform intervention scalability.

Hypothesis 3: The SYEP program will be a feasible and acceptable intervention strategy for the prevention of obesity in adolescents over the summer.

Full description

Preliminary evidence suggests that summer employment can be an age-appropriate, structured intervention to prevent unhealthy changes in obesogenic behaviors among adolescents. While these findings are promising, none of the existing studies have measured changes in BMI over the summer or conducted comprehensive assessments of obesogenic behaviors, including diet, sedentary behavior, sleep, and physical activity. To address these gaps, this study proposes a small proof-of-concept study to assess the initial signal of effectiveness on understudied obesity-related outcomes in adolescents.

SYEPs are well-established, continuously operating initiatives over 60 years with proven benefits in academics, workforce development, and crime prevention, and may also act as obesity prevention strategies. Rather than creating new interventions, investing in and expanding access to SYEPs-programs with high demand yet limited capacity (with only ~28% of applicants matched with jobs each summer, leaving the majority on waitlists)-can offer a practical solution for youth obesity prevention.

Enrollment: 15 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 14 to 17 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Age 14-17 years at the time of enrollment, in accordance with Texas Child Labor Law
• Willing to work at the summer camp for six consecutive weeks
• Able to pass the employment admission procedure (job interview)
• Able to obtain parental consent and provide assent for study participation

Exclusion criteria

• Currently pregnant or planning to become pregnant, due to physical activity restrictions and potential weight changes that could confound study results
• Diagnosis of an intellectual and/or physical disability requiring specialized employment regulations or intervention strategies
• Participation in a health promotion intervention within the past six months

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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15 participants in 1 patient group

Summer Youth Employment Program

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will work as junior summer camp counselors at a University of Houston camp, up to 24 hours/week, Monday-Thursday, 8:30 AM-3:30 PM (with a 12-1 PM lunch break), for six weeks from mid-June to the end of July. Participants will assist senior counselors with indoor/outdoor activities such as games, enrichment, and academics. On Fridays, from 10 AM to 12 PM, participants will attend professional development workshops on topics such as communication, teamwork, resume building, and job search skills. From 12-2:30 PM, undergraduate staff will lead social activities and mentoring.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Summer Youth Employment Program