Using Middle School Science Teachers to Address Cancer Health Disparities
CARES4You
3 other identifiers
interventional
1,812
1 country
5
Brief Summary
The CARES4You study is testing a middle school science curriculum designed to teach students about cancer risk and prevention. The lessons are taught by regular science teachers during class time and are aligned with national science education standards. The curriculum includes six units (14 lessons) that help students learn about cancer, understand how lifestyle and environmental factors influence risk, and think about ways to make healthy choices. The study will take place in 10 public middle schools in New York City. Some schools will begin using the CARES4You curriculum right away, while others will continue with their usual science lessons and receive the program later. Researchers will compare the two groups of schools. The main goal of the study is to see whether the curriculum increases students' intentions to engage in healthy behaviors that may reduce cancer risk. The study will also examine whether students talk more with their caregivers about cancer risk and prevention after participating in the program. Caregivers may also report on some health behaviors in the household. If the program is effective, CARES4You could provide schools with a practical and sustainable way to teach cancer prevention and promote healthy behaviors among adolescents and their families.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Jan 2026
Typical duration for not_applicable
5 active sites
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
January 29, 2026
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
March 24, 2026
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
March 30, 2026
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
June 30, 2028
ExpectedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
June 30, 2028
March 30, 2026
March 1, 2026
2.4 years
March 24, 2026
March 24, 2026
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Change in students' intention to engage in health-promoting behaviors following the completion of the curriculum.
Intent to engage in health-promoting behaviors will be assessed by an adapted nine-item instrument. The response scale for each question item ranges from 0 (does not apply to me) to 3 (very likely) with a sum score ranging from 0 to 27. Higher scores represent a greater intention to follow health-promoting behaviors.
Baseline, End of Study (6 weeks)
Secondary Outcomes (1)
Number of student participants and caregiver participants who initiate cancer risk communication in the household.
End of Study (6 weeks)
Study Arms (2)
Immediate Intervention Delivery
EXPERIMENTALStudents in the immediate intervention group will receive the CARES4You curriculum as part of their regular science class. They will complete study assessments before the curriculum begins (baseline) and again approximately six weeks later, after the curriculum has been delivered. Caregivers will complete a one-time survey about cancer risk communication in the household and their own health behaviors approximately two weeks after the curriculum has been completed in their child's classroom.
Delayed Intervention Delivery
PLACEBO COMPARATORSchools assigned to the delayed intervention group will continue with their usual science curriculum during the initial study period. Students will complete the same study assessments as the intervention group at baseline and approximately six weeks later. After completion of the follow-up assessments, these schools will implement the CARES4You curriculum the following semester or academic year.
Interventions
CARES4You is a teacher-delivered middle school science curriculum focused on cancer risk and prevention. Public middle schools in New York City self-select into either an immediate-intervention group or a delayed-intervention group. In both groups, grade-level science teachers deliver the same curriculum during regular 50-minute science classes over approximately five weeks. The program includes six units delivered across 14 lessons, typically taught 4-5 days per week. Units cover Cancer Genetics, Cancer Epidemiology, Media Literacy and Tobacco Advertising, Nutrition and Cancer, Biotechnology and Cancer, and Cancer Risk Reduction. Lessons combine brief instruction with interactive activities such as identifying cancer risk factors and discussing ways families can reduce risk. Students also complete a final cumulative project.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Adolescents:
- Age 10-13
- Attends a NYC Public Middle School
- Resides in one of the study's four target PPA's
- Parents/Caregivers:
- years of age or older
- Has at least one child registered for middle school in NYC that resides with them
- Resides in one of the study's four target PPA's
- Able to provide informed consent
You may not qualify if:
- Adolescents: Students who do not attend one of the participating NYC Public Middle Schools
- Parents/Caregivers: Caregivers who do not have a child that attends one of the participating NYC Public Middle Schools
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (5)
Dock Street School for STEAM Studies District: 13 School #: K313
Brooklyn, New York, 11201, United States
P.S/I.S. 173 District: 6 School #: 173
New York, New York, 10033, United States
I.S. 145 Joseph Pulitzer District 30 School #: Q145
Queens, New York, 11372, United States
Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School District 28 School #: Q167
Queens, New York, 11375, United States
Jonas Bronck Academy District: 7 School #: X043
The Bronx, New York, 10458, United States
Related Publications (1)
Komsany A, McCooty K, Fox J, Shah U, Leak TM, McDonald JA, Terry MB, Soroka O, Phillips E. Integrating Cancer Prevention into Science Education: Development of the CARES4You School-based Curriculum. J Cancer Educ. 2025 Dec 22:10.1007/s13187-025-02812-x. doi: 10.1007/s13187-025-02812-x. Online ahead of print.
PMID: 41428312BACKGROUND
Related Links
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Erica G Phillips, MD, MS
Weill Cornell
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- NON RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- NONE
- Purpose
- PREVENTION
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
March 24, 2026
First Posted
March 30, 2026
Study Start
January 29, 2026
Primary Completion (Estimated)
June 30, 2028
Study Completion (Estimated)
June 30, 2028
Last Updated
March 30, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-03
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will share
- Shared Documents
- STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, ANALYTIC CODE
- Time Frame
- Data will become available beginning 6 months following publication and ending 5 years following publication.
- Access Criteria
- Open-access data are publicly accessible; no approval is required.
Individual participant data that underlie the results reported in any publication will be shared after deidentification (text, tables, figures, and appendices).