Positive Youth Development in the Metaverse

NCT05858593 | Completed Results

• 1 other identifier: 00006669
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 32
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This pilot study aims to leverage VR's capacity to easily replicate content and allow for multiple users to share the same space and engage in activities as if they're meeting in person. Integrating VR into afterschool programs will allow youth to receive more consistent programming content, even when they are unable to travel to the physical location for the in-person meetings.

Conditions

Healthy; Healthy Lifestyle; Childhood ALL; Behavior, Child

Keywords

virtual reality; positive youth development; afterschool program

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Usability of VR System and Curriculum Content

  Based on the validated System Usability Scale (SUS), we created open ended questionnaires and scale items that inquired about user attitude and usability of the system. For scale items reported, all items were measured through a 5-point Likert scale, 1 = Strongly Disagree, 5 = Strongly Agree. Five of the items were adapted from the original scale to assess the usability of the system, with five other items being converted to an open-ended item for a mixed-methods approach and richer contextual information from participants regarding usability issues.

  One-time assessment post-treatment, following 4 weeks of exposure to virtual reality system.

• Attrition Rate Post Assent to the VR Treatment

  Fraction of the children lost to follow up post assent to the intended treatment via the VR system

  One-time assessment post-treatment, following 4 weeks of exposure to treatment

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Step Count

  To match the time frame of data collection between step count and heart rate, both measures were taken during a 2 hour observation window on the last day of the 4-week intervention.

• Heart Rate

  To match the time frame of data collection between step count and heart rate, both measures were taken during a 2 hour observation window on the last day of the 4-week intervention.

• Engagement

  4 week observation period

Study Arms (1)

Treatment

EXPERIMENTAL

In the treatment group, the child will receive the VR-based curriculum during the afterschool program.

Behavioral: Virtual reality curriculum; Behavioral: No Virtual reality curriculum

Interventions

No Virtual reality curriculum BEHAVIORAL

Children will be able to use the same devices but will not have access to a curriculum that integrates the devices with traditional content delivered through the after school program.

Treatment

Virtual reality curriculum BEHAVIORAL

Rather than rely on mere exposure to devices, participants in the treatment group will receive a curriculum that integrates the devices into traditional content delivered through the after school program.

Treatment

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 9 Years - 17 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Children enrolled in the Chess \& Community program
• Between the ages of 9-17

You may not qualify if:

• Children who are unable to wear a VR headset will not be recruited

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Georgia: lead

Study Sites (1)

Athens Chess & Community

Athens, Georgia, 30606, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; Child Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Leukemia, Lymphoid; Leukemia; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Neoplasms; Hematologic Diseases; Hemic and Lymphatic Diseases; Lymphoproliferative Disorders; Lymphatic Diseases; Immunoproliferative Disorders; Immune System Diseases; Behavior

Limitations and Caveats

Based on the discussions and conversations with the community partner who participated in the clinical trial, initial plans for the feasibility study were changed due to shifts in their programmatic priorities and personnel changes. As a result, the duration of the intervention was reduced from 8 weeks to 4 weeks and the intended sample size changed from 100 to 32 children. This was due to the substantial reduction of the afterschool program size following budgetary changes in the program.

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Sun Joo Ahn
• Organization: University of Georgia

sjahn@uga.edu

706-542-4791

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Masking Details: Participants will be masked to which study condition they are assigned to.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 19, 2023
• First Posted: May 15, 2023
• Study Start: September 16, 2023
• Primary Completion: July 30, 2024
• Study Completion: July 30, 2024
• Last Updated: April 21, 2026
• Results First Posted: April 21, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: ANALYTIC CODE
• Access Criteria: Verified scientific purpose, guarantee that they will store the data securely, not share the data further, not attempt to use the data to determine the identities of research participants, and reference the source of the data in any resulting publications

Locations

US (1)