STEPS2 Health Education
What's the study about?
STEPS2 is a study being done by teachers at the City University of New York (CUNY School of Public Health). The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and will help us to see if our health education curricula help people with I/DD to learn and to choose healthy behaviors.
Who can participate?
People aged 16-27 with intellectual or developmental disabilities (including Autism) who live in New York State.
What will participants be doing?
People who join the STEPS2 study will either receive Steps To Your Health (STYH) classes which teach about exercise and nutrition or Socialization To Enhance Participation and Support Sexuality (STEPS2) classes which teach about decision-making, sexual health and healthy relationships. All participants must be okay with doing either program since the toss of a coin will decide which class a participant will get. All classes take place once per week for 6 weeks for up to an hour on the computer (over Zoom or another video conferencing platform).
To help the STEPS2 team understand whether the classes are working, all participants answer questions during an interview before the classes, once the classes end, and then again 6 and 12 months after completing the classes. For each completed interview survey, the participant receives a $25 visa gift card ($100 in total). The interview generally takes 15-45 minutes.
Why is this important?
This study will help us to see if our health education curricula help people with I/DD to learn and to choose healthy behaviors.