YoPA: Youth-led changes to neighborhood spaces and daily routines to improve activity, sleep, and screen habits
YoPA - A Youth-centred Participatory Action Approach Towards Co-created Implementation of Socially and Physically Activating Environmental Interventions in Africa and Europe.
This project will try a youth-centred co-creation approach to change social and physical environments so 12–18 year-olds in disadvantaged urban areas are more active, sleep better, and use screens less harmfully.
Quick facts
| Phase | Not applicable |
|---|---|
| Study type | Interventional |
| Enrollment | 1000 (estimated) |
| Ages | 12 Years to 18 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc Academic / other |
| Locations | 4 sites (Odense and 3 other locations) |
| Trial ID | NCT06181162 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this trial studies
YoPA uses participatory action and co-creation with adolescents to design and implement social and physical environmental interventions aimed at improving 24-hour movement behaviours. The work is being carried out in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods in Denmark, the Netherlands, Nigeria, and South Africa. Local youth, caregivers, and stakeholders collaborate with researchers to tailor interventions to each setting, then implement and evaluate their effects on physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep, and screen use. The project emphasizes sustainable, context-sensitive changes at the neighborhood and systems level rather than one-off individual programs.
Who should consider this trial
Good fit: Adolescents aged 12–18 who live in designated disadvantaged areas of Aalborg (Denmark), Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Osogbo (Nigeria), or Soweto (South Africa) and can provide active informed consent (and parent/caregiver consent where applicable).
Not a fit: Young people who live outside the specified locations, are not in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods, or who cannot or will not engage in co-creation activities are unlikely to benefit from participation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the approach could produce sustainable neighborhood and school changes that improve adolescents' activity, sleep, and screen habits and reduce long-term risk for chronic diseases.
How similar studies have performed: There is growing evidence that co-designed, environment-focused interventions can improve youth activity and related behaviours, but results vary by context and sustained effects are not consistently demonstrated.
Eligibility criteria
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * aged 12 to 18 years * living in a disadvantaged area in Aalborg (Denmark), Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Osogbo (Nigeria), or Soweto (South Africa) * active informed consent by the adolescents and at least one parent/caregiver where applicable for the participation of the adolescent Exclusion Criteria: * none
Where this trial is running
Odense and 3 other locations
- Syddansk Universitet, Research Unit for Active Living, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics — Odense, Denmark (Recruiting)
- Amsterdam UMC, location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Public and Occupational Health — Amsterdam, Netherlands (Recruiting)
- Redeemer's University, Department of Physiotherapy — Osogbo, Nigeria (Recruiting)
- University of the Witwatersrand, SAMRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences — Johannesburg, South Africa (Recruiting)
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Mai JM Chin A Paw, Prof.Dr. — Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc
- Study coordinator: Leonie H Klaufus, Dr.
- Email: l.klaufus@amsterdamumc.nl
- Phone: 0031611037785
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.