Evaluating the Impacts of Informal Tick and Tickborne Disease Educational Tools on Children

Conditions

• Tick Bites

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

6 Years - 12 Years

Healthy Volunteers

Accepted

Interventions

• Tick check mannequin — OTHER
  Nymphal and adult blacklegged ticks are glued to the mannequins to mimic potential acquisition or attachment sites. At outreach events, participants are invited to perform a thorough tick check on the mannequin. This activity helps participants identify the different life stages of the blacklegged tick and understand the size differences between nymphal and adult ticks. The "tick check" mannequins also wear both light and dark-colored clothing to show how clothing color affects tick detection.
• Ticks on bagel — OTHER
  Adult and nymphal blacklegged ticks are glued to an "everything" bagel. The bagel is covered in sesame and poppy seeds, which is the comparison commonly used to describe the size of adult and nymphal blacklegged ticks, respectively. Participants are then invited to search the bagel for ticks. The activity demonstrates the size differences between the adult and nymphal life stages and the proper search image for finding nymphs during a tick check.
• LEGO Build-a-Tick — OTHER
  The LEGO tick is an activity that leverages play-based learning to increase awareness of ticks and tick-borne diseases, and it has the potential to significantly enhance our educational efforts by increasing engagement. This Build-a-Tick Kit is comprised of 83 LEGO bricks and offers a hands-on learning experience with multiple learning outcomes. Participants learn about the various morphological parts of a blacklegged tick during the building experience, such as the mouth parts and their function in disease transmission, the number of legs, and the body shapes and colors for an adult blacklegged tick. Additional information on ticks and tick-borne diseases is incorporated into the building instructions included in the Build-a-Tick Kit.

Study Details

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impacts of informal educational tools used by the Midwest Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Disease in collaboration with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Children aged 6-12 will receive an educational activity about ticks. They will be asked questions before and after the activity and will participate for between 30-60 minutes.

Key Dates

First listed

Aug 10, 2026

Start date

Sep 30, 2026

Status verified

Aug 2026

Primary completion

Oct 31, 2026

Completion

Oct 31, 2026

Study Design

Enrollment

1,000 participants (estimated)

Allocation

NA

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

OTHER

Arms

• Experimental: Children 6-12 years old

Primary Outcome Measure

Tick Education Survey Score [ Time Frame: before activity, after activity (up to 60 minutes) ]

Central Contacts

• Cassie Halvorsen
  608-265-4741
  [email protected]

Locations (1)

Find similar trials in Madison, WI

Related Studies

• The Tick App: Changing Behaviors With Educational Messaging
  Recruiting · University of Wisconsin, Madison · Urbana, Illinois