Adolescent BehaviorPhase 2NCT06445751
Step Up for STEM and Health Careers
A Phase 2 study testing Step Up for STEM and Health Careers ("Step Up") game and Educational PowerPoint Presentation on Diversity in STEM Careers in people with Adolescent Behavior, run by Ohio State University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate "Step Up for STEM and Health Careers". The "Step Up for STEM and Health Careers" ("Step Up") game is an interactive, digital resource that includes the key elements of a bystander intervention for high school students to understand the importance of diversity… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 13 to 19 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Adolescent Behavior
- What is being tested?
- Step Up for STEM and Health Careers ("Step Up") game and Educational PowerPoint Presentation on Diversity in STEM Careers
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 24 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 2 Jul 2024to 21 Mar 2025
- Phase
- Phase 2
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 13 to 19 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult
Who may be able to join
- English-speaking
- Access to a computer and internet connection
- Live in Chicago Metropolitan Area
- Current high school student (enrolled in grade 9-12); or in 12th grade in 2023-2024 school year
Who cannot join
- -
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Step up for STEM and Health Careers: An Interactive Digital Resource to Reduce STEM-related Biases and Improve High School STEM Learning Environments
The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate "Step Up for STEM and Health Careers". The "Step Up for STEM and Health Careers" ("Step Up") game is an interactive, digital resource that includes the key elements of a bystander intervention for high school students to understand the importance of diversity in STEM; it also addresses skills, attitudes, and awareness to attain positive STEM identities and mitigate bias and harassment in STEM and health learning environments.
Participants in the intervention arm will be asked to complete the Step Up interactive game; participants in the comparison group will be asked to view a PowerPoint presentation on bias and harassment in STEM/health fields as the control experience. The Step Up game intervention and study outcomes are theory-based (Theory of Planned Behavior, Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT)): we will assess the impact of Step Up on attitudes about STEM/health careers, STEM/health career self-efficacy, and bystander behavior.
Read the detailed description
The goal of this randomized control trial is to evaluate the impact of the "Step Up for STEM and Health Careers" intervention game on STEM/health career and bystander attitudes, as well as self-efficacy. Participants will be randomly assigned to participate in either the Step Up intervention game or the educational PowerPoint presentation.
The "Step Up for STEM and Health Careers" intervention consists of students playing a "Step Up" game to help them understand the importance of diversity in STEM and health careers, attain STEM/health career self-efficacy, and create an inclusive learning environment for others. The control group consists of an educational PowerPoint presentation on the importance of diversity in STEM and health careers, STEM/health career self-efficacy, and creating an inclusive learning environment for others.
The Step Up intervention game (created by Resilient Games Studio (RGS)) consists of six digital episodes that focus on a specific topic: importance of diversity in STEM careers, heuristics and biases, structural biases and intersectionality, harassment, sexual harassment, and bystander behaviors. Each episode includes interactive mini-games to teach theory-based skills and lessons. Adult characters, who serve as "in-game" STEM/health role models, are integrated throughout the game. The game was built based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) to improve STEM/health career and bystander attitudes, as well as self-efficacy.
The educational PowerPoint presentation on bias and harassment in STEM/health fields was also created by RGS and will be used as a control experience for adolescent participants. The PowerPoint presentation will contain sections that correspond to each of the episode topics of the Step Up intervention game.
- Conditions
- Adolescent Behavior
- Being tested
- Step Up for STEM and Health Careers ("Step Up") game, Educational PowerPoint Presentation on Diversity in STEM Careers
- Keywords
- STEM, Adolescents, Diversity, Digital Games
- Medical subject headings
- Adolescent Behavior
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Step Up for STEM and Health Careers ("Step Up") gameBehavioural
Step Up for STEM and Health Careers ("Step Up") game is an interactive, digital resource to help high school students understand the importance of diversity in STEM and health careers, attain STEM/health career self-efficacy, and help them create an inclusive learning environment for others.
Educational PowerPoint Presentation on Diversity in STEM CareersBehavioural
An educational PowerPoint on Diversity in STEM careers to increase adolescents' STEM/health career self-efficacy, and help them create an inclusive learning environment for others.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Step Up for STEM Careers Game Intervention | Experimental | Youth in the intervention group will play a six-episode, interactive game on the importance of diversity in STEM and health careers, STEM/health career self-efficacy, and creating an inclusive learning environment for others. This includes featuring diverse youth who model STEM/health self-efficacy; integrating STEM/health professional characters as "in-game" content experts and role models; and incorporating mini games to reinforce skills and behavior. Receives: Behavioral: Step Up for STEM and Health Careers ("Step Up") game |
| Educational PowerPoint | Active comparator | Youth in the comparator group will complete an educational PowerPoint presentation on the importance of diversity in STEM and health careers, STEM/health career self-efficacy, and creating an inclusive learning environment for others. This PowerPoint presentation will contain sections that correspond to each episode of the Step Up for STEM and Health Careers intervention. Receives: Behavioral: Educational PowerPoint Presentation on Diversity in STEM Careers |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
STEM/health career attitudes using modified Career Interest (Christensen, et al., 2014) and STEM Semantics (Knezek and Christensen, 2008) questionnaires
One's beliefs about outcomes associated with STEM/health careers
Measured: From baseline pre-test immediately preceding randomization to post-test up to 3 days post intervention/comparator
STEM/health career self-efficacy using a modified Career Interest Questionnaire (Christensen, et al., 2014)
The perception one has the requisite skills and capabilities for attaining a STEM/health career
Measured: From baseline pre-test immediately preceding randomization to post-test up to 3 days post intervention/comparator
Secondary outcomes (3)
Intent to pursue a STEM/health career using a modified Career Interest Questionnaire (Christensen, et al., 2014)
One's intent to pursue a STEM/health career
Measured: From baseline pre-test immediately preceding randomization to post-test up to 3 days post intervention/comparator
Knowledge of the value of diversity in STEM/health careers using a questionnaire
One's knowledge of the value of diversity in STEM/health careers
Measured: From baseline pre-test immediately preceding randomization to post-test up to 3 days post intervention/comparator
Intent to intervene as a bystander when witnessing harassment on the basis of race, gender, disability status, etc., using a questionnaire derived from the Bystander Questionnaire (Garza et al., 2023; McMahon and Banyard, 2012)
One's intent to intervene as a bystander when witnessing harassment on the basis of race, gender, disability status, etc.
Measured: From baseline pre-test immediately preceding randomization to post-test up to 3 days post intervention/comparator
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted6 Jun 2024
- Study start2 Jul 2024
- Primary completion21 Mar 2025
- Study completion21 Mar 2025
Why it stopped: Funding was terminated pursuant to the Fiscal Year 2003 National institutes of Health ("NIH") Grants Policy Statement, and 2 C.F.R. 200.340(a)(2).
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Adolescent BehaviorStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Ohio State UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 2
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 24 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Ohio State University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Resilient Games Studio, University of Chicago, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Nicole Thomas, Ohio State University
- Investigators
- Tim Parsons, Study director, Resilient Games Studio
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06445751
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2023B0273
- Status last verified
- May 2024
- First submitted
- 21 May 2024
- Last updated
- 13 May 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 13 May 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Step up for STEM and Health Careers: An Interactive Digital Resource to Reduce STEM-related Biases and Improve High School STEM Learning Environments
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06445751
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 2023B0273
- Conditions
- Adolescent Behavior
- Keywords
- STEM, Adolescents, Diversity, Digital Games
- Phase
- Phase 2
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- TerminatedReason stopped: Funding was terminated pursuant to the Fiscal Year 2003 National institutes of Health ("NIH") Grants Policy Statement, and 2 C.F.R. 200.340(a)(2).
- Enrolment
- 24 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Ohio State UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Resilient Games Studio, University of Chicago, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Study start
- 2 Jul 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 21 Mar 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 21 Mar 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 6 Jun 2024 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate "Step Up for STEM and Health Careers". The "Step Up for STEM and Health Careers" ("Step Up") game is an interactive, digital resource that includes the key elements of a bystander intervention for high school students to understand the importance of diversity in STEM; it also addresses skills, attitudes, and awareness to attain positive STEM identities and mitigate bias and harassment in STEM and health learning environments.
Participants in the intervention arm will be asked to complete the Step Up interactive game; participants in the comparison group will be asked to view a PowerPoint presentation on bias and harassment in STEM/health fields as the control experience. The Step Up game intervention and study outcomes are theory-based (Theory of Planned Behavior, Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT)): we will assess the impact of Step Up on attitudes about STEM/health careers, STEM/health career self-efficacy, and bystander behavior.
Detailed description
The goal of this randomized control trial is to evaluate the impact of the "Step Up for STEM and Health Careers" intervention game on STEM/health career and bystander attitudes, as well as self-efficacy. Participants will be randomly assigned to participate in either the Step Up intervention game or the educational PowerPoint presentation.
The "Step Up for STEM and Health Careers" intervention consists of students playing a "Step Up" game to help them understand the importance of diversity in STEM and health careers, attain STEM/health career self-efficacy, and create an inclusive learning environment for others. The control group consists of an educational PowerPoint presentation on the importance of diversity in STEM and health careers, STEM/health career self-efficacy, and creating an inclusive learning environment for others.
The Step Up intervention game (created by Resilient Games Studio (RGS)) consists of six digital episodes that focus on a specific topic: importance of diversity in STEM careers, heuristics and biases, structural biases and intersectionality, harassment, sexual harassment, and bystander behaviors. Each episode includes interactive mini-games to teach theory-based skills and lessons. Adult characters, who serve as "in-game" STEM/health role models, are integrated throughout the game. The game was built based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) to improve STEM/health career and bystander attitudes, as well as self-efficacy.
The educational PowerPoint presentation on bias and harassment in STEM/health fields was also created by RGS and will be used as a control experience for adolescent participants. The PowerPoint presentation will contain sections that correspond to each of the episode topics of the Step Up intervention game.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Step Up for STEM Careers Game Intervention | Experimental | Behavioral: Step Up for STEM and Health Careers ("Step Up") gameYouth in the intervention group will play a six-episode, interactive game on the importance of diversity in STEM and health careers, STEM/health career self-efficacy, and creating an inclusive learning environment for others. This includes featuring diverse youth who model STEM/health self-efficacy; integrating STEM/health professional characters as "in-game" content experts and role models; and incorporating mini games to reinforce skills and behavior. |
| Educational PowerPoint | Active comparator | Behavioral: Educational PowerPoint Presentation on Diversity in STEM CareersYouth in the comparator group will complete an educational PowerPoint presentation on the importance of diversity in STEM and health careers, STEM/health career self-efficacy, and creating an inclusive learning environment for others. This PowerPoint presentation will contain sections that correspond to each episode of the Step Up for STEM and Health Careers intervention. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 13 to 19 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- English-speaking
- Access to a computer and internet connection
- Live in Chicago Metropolitan Area
- Current high school student (enrolled in grade 9-12); or in 12th grade in 2023-2024 school year
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- -
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Step Up for STEM and Health Careers ("Step Up") gameStep Up for STEM and Health Careers ("Step Up") game is an interactive, digital resource to help high school students understand the importance of diversity in STEM and health careers, attain STEM/health career self-efficacy, and help them create an inclusive learning environment for others. | Behavioural | Step Up for STEM Careers Game Intervention |
| Educational PowerPoint Presentation on Diversity in STEM CareersAn educational PowerPoint on Diversity in STEM careers to increase adolescents' STEM/health career self-efficacy, and help them create an inclusive learning environment for others. | Behavioural | Educational PowerPoint |
Primary outcome
STEM/health career attitudes using modified Career Interest (Christensen, et al., 2014) and STEM Semantics (Knezek and Christensen, 2008) questionnaires
Time frame: From baseline pre-test immediately preceding randomization to post-test up to 3 days post intervention/comparator
One's beliefs about outcomes associated with STEM/health careers
STEM/health career self-efficacy using a modified Career Interest Questionnaire (Christensen, et al., 2014)
Time frame: From baseline pre-test immediately preceding randomization to post-test up to 3 days post intervention/comparator
The perception one has the requisite skills and capabilities for attaining a STEM/health career
3 secondary outcomes
Intent to pursue a STEM/health career using a modified Career Interest Questionnaire (Christensen, et al., 2014)
Time frame: From baseline pre-test immediately preceding randomization to post-test up to 3 days post intervention/comparator
Knowledge of the value of diversity in STEM/health careers using a questionnaire
Time frame: From baseline pre-test immediately preceding randomization to post-test up to 3 days post intervention/comparator
Intent to intervene as a bystander when witnessing harassment on the basis of race, gender, disability status, etc., using a questionnaire derived from the Bystander Questionnaire (Garza et al., 2023; McMahon and Banyard, 2012)
Time frame: From baseline pre-test immediately preceding randomization to post-test up to 3 days post intervention/comparator
Results and safety
The study was stopped early (reason given: Funding was terminated pursuant to the Fiscal Year 2003 National institutes of Health ("NIH") Grants Policy Statement, and 2 C.F.R. 200.340(a)(2).). Results are not available in the source record.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 13 May 2025.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
Related trials for Adolescent Behavior
Recruiting
Modified Pivotal Response Treatment for Insistence on Sameness in Autistic Youth
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Restricted Behavior
Recruiting
Our Voices Matter: Intervention for Depression in Youth
Depressive Symptoms, Allostatic Load
Not yet recruiting
A Pre-post Study of a Lethal Means Safety Planning Intervention for Youth at Elevated Suicide Risk in the Emergency Department.
Suicidal Ideas, Suicidal Ideation
RecruitingObservational study
Psychotherapy for Irritability in Youth: Comparing Active Treatment to Nonactive Psychoeducation Supportive Psychotherapy
Irritability, Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder
Recruiting
Preventing Suicidal Behavior With Diverse High-Risk Youth in Acute Care Settings
Suicide, Attempted, Suicide Ideation
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Tim Parsons study director
Resilient Games Studio
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A Phase 2 study testing Step Up for STEM and Health Careers ("Step Up") game and Educational PowerPoint Presentation on Diversity in STEM Careers in people with Adolescent Behavior, run by Ohio State University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: stopped early, as of the sponsor's last update on 13 May 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
What does this phase mean?
Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.
Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.
Are results available for this study?
The study was stopped early (reason given: Funding was terminated pursuant to the Fiscal Year 2003 National institutes of Health ("NIH") Grants Policy Statement, and 2 C.F.R. 200.340(a)(2).). Results are not available in the source record.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
STEM/health career attitudes using modified Career Interest (Christensen, et al., 2014) and STEM Semantics (Knezek and Christensen, 2008) questionnaires (time frame: From baseline pre-test immediately preceding randomization to post-test up to 3 days post intervention/comparator). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 13 May 2025.