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Wakaya: Rising Up for Choctaw Youth Health

RecruitingHealthy volunteers welcome

Who can join

Ages 12 to 19 · All sexes · Healthy volunteers welcome

Full eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* Be enrolled in Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO)
* Live within CNO tribal region for 12 months

YES to one of the following:

* Consumed sweetened beverages or processed/fast food 2x or more per week; OR
* Engaged in excessive sitting or lying around (\>540 min/day) or engage in small screen recreation (\>2 hours/day); OR
* Physical activity - spend \<60 minutes/day outdoors or \<2.5 hrs per week in moderate or vigorous physical activity OR spend \<60 minutes a day in moderate or vigorous intensity aerobic activity; OR
* Engage in any T.V., small screen/video game recreation (\> 2 hours/day)

Exclusion Criteria:

* opioid/methamphetamine drug use (2 times or more in past month)
* allergic reactions to food (e.g. peanuts), plant (poison oak or ivy) or insects (e.g. bees, fire ants) that caused difficulty in breathing or necessitated hospitalization or caused an anaphylactic reaction
* disability that prevents student from walking or from engaging in exercise
* aggressive, violent, combative or inappropriate behaviors
* inability to follow directions
* psychotic symptoms

About the study

Investigators will conduct a two-group randomized waitlist-control trial to assess the efficacy of the Wakaya: Rising Up for Choctaw Youth Health program on improving physical activity, reducing sedentary behaviors and improving healthful eating habits as well as delaying or reducing alcohol, tobacco and other drug use. Wakaya is an experiential, outdoor, nature-based program grounded in Choctaw values. It is a multi-level intervention that increases individual motivation and leadership skills to make healthy behavioral choices for behavior and exercise.

What is being tested

Wakaya: Rising Up for Choctaw Youth Curriculum (behavioral)

Sponsor: University of Washington · Participants: 176 · Started: Apr 28, 2023

Contact the study team

Tee Benally · Phone: 833-265-4289

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT05818384

Locations in the U.S.

Oklahoma	Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Durant
Washington	University of Washington, IWRI, School of Social Work, Seattle

Conditions

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.