A Brief Outpatient Problem-solving Intervention to Promote Healthy Eating and Activity Habits in Adolescents

A Pilot Study of the "Healthy Living Study," a Randomized Controlled Trial of a Brief Outpatient Problem-solving Intervention to Promote Healthy Eating and Activity Habits in Adolescents.

The purpose of this study is to refine, evaluate the feasibility, and to estimate the effect of the "healthy Living Study," a brief outpatient problem-solving intervention to promote healthy eating and activity habits in adolescents.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Health Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Problem-solving intervention

Detailed Description

This study will refine, evaluate the feasibility, and estimate the effect of a brief problem-solving intervention to promote healthy eating and activity habits in adolescents. Intervention participants will receive 2 sessions of individual behavioral counseling on problem-solving skills utilizing educational videos, handouts, and worksheets. Intervention participants will be asked to generate unique health goals and practice utilizing problem-solving skills to achieve these goals.Control participants will receive standard of care. Outcomes will explore the ability to shorten the intervention, integrate the intervention into busy outpatient clinics, and estimate the effect of the intervention on confidence to maintain or improve healthy habits and to improve problem-solving skills.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 50
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Palo Alto, California, United States, 94304
      • Stanford University School of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 13 years to 18 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 13-18 years old
• Able to read and speak English
• Patient of the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital teen clinic, weight clinic, or mobile teen van

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of purging within the prior 12 months

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Problem-solving intervention; 2 individual sessions teaching problem-solving skills with the use of videos, handouts, and worksheets.	Behavioral: Problem-solving intervention; Participants will receive 2 individual sessions teaching and reviewing problem-solving skills.
No Intervention: Control: Standard Care; Control arm participants will receive standard of care from their primary care provider.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility to conduct a brief problem-solving intervention in a busy academic outpatient setting.	Feasibility will be measured in the following ways: Refinement of the intervention by the end of the study to a reasonable length to compliment average patient clinic visits with a goal of 30 minutes or less; Minimal disruption of clinic flow measured through clinic provider and staff satisfaction surveys and qualitative comments during the course of the intervention	From recruitment of the first participant to completion of the intervention by the last participant, anticipated duration of time: 7-8 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in problem-solving skills	Participants will complete survey questions modified from the Social Problem-Solving Inventory for Adolescents (SPSI-A) both pre-intervention and post-intervention. These questions provide an assessment of problem-solving skills and are scored on a Likert scale of 1-5 with 5=more positive/constructive problem-solving skills. Change in overall mean score from pre- to post- intervention will be compared within intervention and control groups and between groups. Duration of time between pre- and post- intervention will average 1-2 months.	Change from baseline to 1-2 months
Change in confidence to maintain or improve healthy eating habits	Participants will complete pre- and post- intervention questions on confidence to maintain or improve healthy eating habits. An example question: "How confident are you that you could change or maintain your eating patterns to limit soda to <1 can/day." Questions will be scored on a Likert scale of 1-6 with 6=very confident. Change in overall mean score from pre- to post- intervention will be compared within intervention and control groups and between groups. Duration of time between pre- and post- intervention will average about 1-2 months.	Change from baseline to 1-2 months
Sufficient recruitment and retention rates	Detailed records of patients approached, consented, randomized, and completing the study will be maintained. These records will be reviewed at the conclusion of the study to gauge patient interest in participating in a problem-solving intervention in the outpatient setting.	From recruitment of the first participant to completion of the intervention by the last participant, anticipated duration of time: 7-8 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Stanford University
• Collaborators: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Leslie Gee, MD, Stanford University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: June 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 1, 2012
• Study Completion (Actual): February 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 28, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 1, 2012
• First Posted (Estimate): October 4, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): October 4, 2012
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 1, 2012
• Last Verified: October 1, 2012

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Behavior change; Problem solving therapy
• Other Study ID Numbers: StanfordIRB-20922; T32MH019938 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)