YoPA - A Youth-centred Participatory Action

Official title

YoPA - A Youth-centred Participatory Action Approach Towards Co-created Implementation of Socially and Physically Activating Environmental Interventions in Africa and Europe.

Overview

Background A vast majority of adolescents do not meet guidelines for healthy physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep, posing major risks for developing multiple non-communicable diseases. Unhealthy lifestyles seem more prevalent in urban than rural areas, with the neighbourhood environment as a mediating pathway linking urban living and poor health. How to develop and implement sustainable and effective interventions focused on adolescent health and wellbeing in urban vulnerable life situations is a key challenge and research gap. This paper describes the protocol of a Youth-centred Participatory Action (YoPA) project aiming to tailor, implement, and evaluate social and physical environmental interventions using an evidence-informed youth-centred co-creation approach, for structural improvement of the lifestyles of adolescents in urban vulnerable life situations. Methods In diverse urban environments in Denmark, the Netherlands, Nigeria, and South Africa, academic researchers will engage adolescents (12-19 years) growing up in vulnerable life situations and other key stakeholders (e.g., policy makers, urban planners, community leaders) in local co-creation communities. Together with academic researchers and local stakeholders, adolescents will take a leading role in mapping the local system for needs and opportunities; tailoring interventions to their local context; implementing and evaluating interventions during participatory meetings over the course of three years. YoPA applies a participatory mixed methods design guided by the newly developed SUPER-AIM framework assessing: (i) the local Systems, (ii) User perspectives, (iii) the Participatory co-creation process, (ii) Effects, iv) Reach, (vi) Adoption, (vii) Implementation, and (viii) Maintenance of interventions, in an integrated manner. Discussion YoPA aims to fill various research gaps, including the development of a practical protocol guiding the application of co-creation to tailor evidence-informed interventions to divers, multi-country contexts. Additionally, it focuses on advancing the research gap in physical activity and health within Sub-Saharan Africa and the involvement of adolescents in shaping their physical and social environments. Academic researchers envision that the YoPA co-creation approach will serve as a guide for participation of adolescents in vulnerable life situations in implementation of health promotion and urban planning in Europe, Africa and globally.

Interventions

• Other Social and/or physical environmental interventions
  To be determined in the co-creation groups at the four sites (Denmark, the Netherlands, Nigeria, South Africa)

Primary outcome measures

• 24-h movement behaviours (i.e., physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep). [Time frame: Pre-implementation, directly after implementation, and 3-6 months after implementation of the intervention.]
• Physical activity and associated environmental characteristics in selected outdoor spaces [Time frame: Pre-implementation, directly after implementation, and 3-6 months after implementation of the intervention.]

Secondary outcome measures (3)

• Agency [Time frame: Pre-implementation, directly after implementation, and 3-6 months after implementation of the intervention.]
• Wellbeing [Time frame: Pre-implementation, directly after implementation, and 3-6 months after implementation of the intervention.]
• Peer relationships [Time frame: Pre-implementation, directly after implementation, and 3-6 months after implementation of the intervention.]

Eligibility 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

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: Yes

Study design

Allocation

N/A

Model

Single group

Masking

Open label

Primary purpose

Prevention

Study locations

Denmark · 1 center

• Syddansk Universitet, Research Unit for Active Living, Department of Sports Science and Cl — Odense

Netherlands · 1 center

• Amsterdam UMC, location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Public and Occupational Health — Amsterdam

Nigeria · 1 center

• Redeemer's University, Department of Physiotherapy — Osogbo

South Africa · 1 center

• University of the Witwatersrand, SAMRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Fa — Johannesburg

Publications

• Chinapaw MJM, Klaufus LH, Oyeyemi AL, Draper C, Palmeira AL, Silva MN, Van Belle S, Pawlowski CS, Schipperijn J, Altenburg TM. Youth-centred participatory action approach towards co-created implementation of socially and physically activating environmental interventions in Africa and Europe: the YoPA project study protocol. BMJ Open. 2024 Feb 21;14(2):e084657. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-084657. PMID 38387985

Identifiers

NCT: NCT06181162 · HORIZON Europe 101095423 · 101095423

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗