Virtual World Training for Community Health Workers (CHW)

Reaching Racial/Ethnic Minority Communities to Support Healthy Lifestyle Change: Virtual World Training for Community Health Workers

Standard, effective, and scalable training models are needed to help equip community health workers in their community-based diabetes prevention awareness efforts. This study will tailor/adapt, implement, and evaluate an innovative internet-based virtual world model to remotely deliver a diabetes prevention awareness training program to community health workers.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Diabetes Mellitus Risk
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Virtual Training; Behavioral: In Person Training

Detailed Description

Standard, effective, and scalable training models are needed to help equip community health workers in their community-based diabetes prevention awareness efforts. This study will tailor/adapt, implement, and evaluate an innovative internet-based virtual world model to remotely deliver a diabetes prevention awareness training program to community health workers. A sequential mixed-methods design is used to address these specific aims: 1. Use community-based participatory research methods to guide the overall study and inform tailoring and adaptation of our virtual world model to deliver the CHW training program; 2. Conduct a randomized pilot study to compare change in primary outcomes (0, 12 weeks) after the in-person versus virtual world delivery of the program; and 3. Conduct summative focus groups to gather information to refine the program and study methodology.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 26
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Illinois
    • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60612
      • UIC College of Nursing

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• community health worker
• 18-65 years old
• Female
• Of African American/Black/African ancestry
• not getting 150 minutes of physical activity weekly and/or overweight
• residing in Chicago/driving distance to Chicago study site
• regular access to internet and computer

Exclusion Criteria:

• does not meet inclusion criteria

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Virtual World Program; Participants take part in a group training delivered using a virtual world approach.	Behavioral: Virtual Training; The intervention involves a CHW training focused on raising awareness of diabetes prevention in the community. It is delivered remotely over 10 weeks using an internet based approach.
Active Comparator: In Person Program; Participants take part in a group training delivered using an in person approach.	Behavioral: In Person Training; The intervention involves a CHW training focused on raising awareness of diabetes prevention in the community. It is delivered in person over 10 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in content knowledge will be measured using the program Knowledge Questionnaire	Program content knowledge will be assessed using an adapted version of the original training program knowledge questionnaire. Scores represent the number of content questions answered correctly. Higher scores represent greater program knowledge.	Following program completion (10-12 weeks)
Post Training Presentation Delivery Skills	Each CHW will be asked to prepare and deliver a brief presentation, including 3 standardized topic areas.	Following program completion (10-12 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Lifestyle Habits	Eating habits will be assessed using the Visually-Enhanced Food Behavior Checklist.	Following program completion (10-12 weeks)
Change in Physical Activity	Physical activity will be assessed with International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ).	Following program completion (10-12 weeks)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in self-efficacy and Stage of Change. A Self-Efficacy Index will be used and Stage of Change individual questions will be used for healthy eating and physical activity.	A multi-item index of self-efficacy will be used to examine confidence in making lifestyle changes and in delivering the content. Higher scores represent greater confidence. Stage of change questions will assess CHW motivation (i.e., pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation) or achievement of eating habit and physical activity behaviors (i.e., action/maintenance stages).	Following program completion (10-12 weeks)
Adherence	Attendance will be measured by a count of the number of training sessions attended.	During training sessions (up to 10 weeks).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Delaware
• Collaborators: University of Illinois at Chicago
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Laurie Ruggiero, Ph.D, University of Delaware

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 8, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 25, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): April 25, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 18, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 10, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): November 13, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 9, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 4, 2021
• Last Verified: June 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 1106606-8

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No