City of Rochester Teen Outreach Program (TOP™) Evaluation

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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As part of a 5-year national effort to reduce teen pregnancy, the University of Rochester is partnering with the City of Rochester Department of Recreation and Youth Services to evaluate the City's replication of the Teen Outreach Program (TOP™) for 11-14 year old youth registered at 11 selected Recreation Centers (RCs). A youth development program with demonstrated efficacy to reduce teen pregnancy, school failure and drop-out rates, TOP™ has never been studied in RCs. Advancing from efficacy to effectiveness, the investigators will also measure program fidelity obtained in RCs.

Official Title
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City of Rochester Teen Outreach Program (TOP™) Evaluation

Conditions
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Adolescent Problems, Sex Behavior, Academic Underachievement Disorder of Childhood or Adolescence

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: TOP
* Behavioral: Control intervention


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: must be registered at a participating RC age 11 through 14 years participants must assent and parent(s) or legal guardian(s) provide permission to participate basic understanding of the English language Exclusion Criteria: age at enrollment of less than 11 or greater than 14 years for facilitators, age less than 21 is an exclusion criterion

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 11 Years
Maximum Age: 14 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Experimental group services<br>This study will replicate the evidence-based TOP™ in after-school sessions held during RC hours. The primary components of TOP™ include: Comprehensive age-appropriate sexuality education; 90-minute sessions, once a week after-school, during the school year for nine months, using the Changing Scenes© curriculum, and at least twenty hours of youth-led service learning, which involves youth in planning, implementing and reflecting on, community service and leadership. | Behavioral: TOP<br> <br> |
| Active Comparator: Control group services<br>Youth in the control arm will receive a work readiness training curriculum focused on competencies to secure employment. This will include such topics as building customer service skills, clear and direct communication, and creating a work portfolio. | Behavioral: Control intervention<br> <br> |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Number of participants who become pregnant |  | 21 months | 
| Number of youth who report ever having had sexual intercourse | For youth who were sexually naive at baseline, the outcome is the number of youth who report ever having had sexual intercourse at the 21 month assessment point. | 21 months | 
| Amount of sexual intercourse in preceding 3 months without an effective means of birth control | The number of times a youth reports having had sexual intercourse without using an effective means of birth control measured at the 21 month assessment point. | 21 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Number of failing grades on report card | This is a self-report measure of the number of courses failed on the last report card received, measured at the 21 month assessment point. | 21 months |