YoPA: Youth-led changes to neighborhood spaces and daily routines to improve activity, sleep, and screen habits
Official title: YoPA - A Youth-centred Participatory Action Approach Towards Co-created Implementation of Socially and Physically Activating Environmental Interventions in Africa and Europe.
Run by Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc · NCT06181162 · Data updated 2026-11-12
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
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Ages | 12 Years to 18 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 1000 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc Academic / other |
| Locations | 4 sites (Odense and 3 other locations) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | November 1, 2023 |
| Main results expected | December 31, 2026 |
| Study ends | December 31, 2026 |
| Registry record updated | September 17, 2025 |
| Trial ID | NCT06181162 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a 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).
✕Probably 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.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
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.
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 gone: 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.
Who can join: the full rules
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 it's running
-
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
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How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.