Clinical trial NCT05482802: The Exploration of an Active Training Tool to Reduce Weight Bias Among Students Pursuing a Healthcare-related Degree
Official title: The Exploration of an Active Training Tool to Reduce Weight Bias Among Students Pursuing a Healthcare-related Degree
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Obesity Bias
Lead sponsor: Ariel University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2022-08-01
Enrollment: 162
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Brief summary: An open-label parallel RCT will be conducted among 220 students pursuing a health-related degree at Ariel university. The intervention tool will be based on the constructive social learning model and will include a short lecture on obesity, scenarios simulating a meeting between health professionals and patients with obesity that will be presented by professional role-players and include varying degrees of weight bias, stigma and discrimination, and an open discourse with a patient with obesity. The tool's development will be carried out throughout recommended steps including a comprehensive literature review, preparation of a preliminary draft of the plan, evaluation of the planned intervention tool in terms of content validity, and a pilot testing of the tool among n=15 students from the target population.

The control group will receive a short-written document on obesity. This study will utilize an embedded mixed-method approach. At baseline, one- and six- weeks post-intervention both groups will be asked to fill an anonymous online survey which will include demographics, weight and body perception, knowledge about obesity, the Anti-Fat Attitudes questionnaire, the Short-Form of Fat-Phobia scale, and the Weight-Implicit Association-Test. Moreover, in-depth interviews will be conducted among 15 participants from each group.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* undergraduate students pursuing a healthcare-related degree including nutrition science, health systems management, communication disorders, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and nursing at Ariel university
* age ≥18 years
* willingness to participate in the study.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Anti-Fat Attitudes questionnaire ('AFA')
timeFrame: Change from baseline at six- weeks post-intervention
measure: The short-form of fat-phobia scale (' F-scale')
timeFrame: Change from baseline at six- weeks post-intervention
measure: Weight Implicit Association Test ('IAT')
timeFrame: Change from baseline at six- weeks post-intervention
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Knowledge about obesity
timeFrame: Change from baseline at six- weeks post-intervention
Other outcomes:
measure: Demographics
timeFrame: At baseline
measure: Body perception
timeFrame: At baseline
measure: Weight perception
timeFrame: At baseline
measure: Weight history
timeFrame: At baseline
measure: Objective weight measurement
timeFrame: At baseline
measure: Objective height measurement
timeFrame: At baseline
measure: Semi structured interviews
timeFrame: At six- weeks post-intervention
Locations:
city: Ariel
country: Israel
facility: Ariel University
Study officials:
affiliation: Ariel university and Assuta medical center
name: Shiri Sherf-Dagan, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: