Test of the Better Together Intervention

NCT06594835 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: IRB00025611
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 54
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Better Together (BT) is a novel, culturally relevant library-based intervention designed to prevent substance use among Black youth (ages 11-13) affected by household challenges (i.e., parental substance use, parental incarceration, and parental mental health challenges). In partnership with public and school librarians, the investigators will conduct a randomized pilot study of BT with up to 100 youth across four sites in Baltimore, Maryland to assess:

1. 1.Implementation fidelity via logs, assessments, and observations of participants and facilitators
2. 2.Feasibility of all key research aspects, including recruitment, randomization, intervention, and control conditions, as well as pre, post, and one-month follow-up assessments
3. 3.Initial effects of BT on substance use

Conditions

Substance Use

Keywords

substance use; feasibility; adolescents

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Number of Youth Retained in the intervention

  Retention was evaluated in two ways. First, investigators assessed retention by the number of sessions the participant attended (dosage). Investigators defined dosage success as youth participating in five or more sessions. Second, retention was assessed by the proportion of youth who completed the post-test and 1-month follow-up. Investigators defined retention success as more than 80% of the sample was retained at all assessments.

  From enrollment to the completion of the one-month follow-up assessment

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Number of Youth who use any substance

  From baseline to one-month follow-up

• Substance use knowledge as assessed by survey

  From baseline to one-month follow up

Study Arms (2)

Better Together

EXPERIMENTAL

Better Together (BT) is a 90-min, an age-appropriate, culturally relevant prevention intervention to prevent substance use among Black youth experiencing household challenges (ages 11-13) by addressing the multilevel influences of substance use.

Behavioral: Better Together

Control

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Control group participants received a media education program

Behavioral: Youth In the Media (YM)

Interventions

Better Together BEHAVIORAL

Better Together (BT) is a 90-min, age-appropriate, culturally relevant prevention intervention to prevent substance use among Black youth experiencing household challenges (ages 11-13) by addressing the multilevel influences of substance use.

Better Together

Youth In the Media (YM) BEHAVIORAL

Delivered in eight in-person, 90-minute sessions concurrently with BT sessions, the YM program was designed to (1) increase participants' awareness of and access to the different types of media and free resources available at the participants local libraries, (2) discuss different types of media that center stories and experiences of Black youth, and (3) expose participants to careers in media.

Control

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 11 Years - 13 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• To be eligible, participants had to be between 11 and 13 years old,
• identify as Black or African American,
• have been exposed to one or more household challenges (i.e., parental substance use, incarceration or mental illness)

You may not qualify if:

• Youth in foster care

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: lead

Study Sites (1)

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Powell TW, Offiong A, Lewis Q, Prioleau M, Smith B, Johnson RM. "I've smoked weed with my daughter": Cannabis Use within Families Affected by Parental Opioid Misuse. Child Youth Serv Rev. 2023 Dec;155:107235. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.107235. Epub 2023 Oct 15.

  PMID: 37982095 BACKGROUND

Related Links

• Website for the research team

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Substance-Related Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Terrinieka Powell, PhD

  Johns Hopkins University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 3, 2024
• First Posted: September 19, 2024
• Study Start: September 1, 2023
• Primary Completion: May 1, 2024
• Study Completion: May 1, 2024
• Last Updated: September 19, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)