UH3 Project: Guiding Good Choices for Health (GGC4H): Testing Feasibility and Effectiveness of Universal Parent-Focused Prevention in Three Healthcare Systems
Overview
Principal Investigators:
Sponsoring Institution: University of Washington
Collaborators:
- Kaiser Permanente
- Henry Ford Health System
NIH Institute Providing Oversight: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
Program Official: Beda Jean François, PhD (NCCIH)
Project Scientists: Elizabeth Ginexi, PhD (NCCIH)
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04040153
Trial Status: Enrolling
Trial Summary
Fifty percent of all adolescents will use some form of illicit drugs before the end of high school, and 20% to 25% will meet criteria for depression, while many others will engage in health-compromising behaviors like delinquency and violence—with consequences for their long-term health. Evidence-based parenting interventions shown to prevent these behavioral health concerns could improve adolescent health trajectories if implemented widely in pediatric primary care. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ Bright Futures recommends that pediatricians offer developmentally tailored anticipatory guidance to all parents to support their children’s healthy development, but programs providing guidance are not offered universally. The Guiding Good Choices for Health (GGC4H) trial is a cluster randomized trial that will use the RE-AIM framework to test the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing Guiding Good Choices (GGC)—a universal evidence-based anticipatory guidance curriculum for parents of early adolescents—in 3 large, integrated healthcare systems serving socioeconomically diverse families. In prior community trials, GGC has been shown to prevent adolescent substance use (alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana), depressive symptoms, and delinquent behavior. This study offers an opportunity to test GGC effectiveness with respect to improving adolescent behavioral health outcomes when implemented at scale in pediatric primary care within a pragmatic trial.
Data and Resource Sharing
- GGC4H-2019-UH3 Follow-up
GGC4H-Ethics and Regulatory UH3 Follow-up
- GGC4H Ethics and Regulatory Discussion
GGC4H Ethics and Regulatory Discussion
Featured Interviews
Drs. Catalano, Kuklinkski, and Sterling discuss testing feasibility and effectiveness of Guiding Good Choices program across three health systems.
News and Interviews
- News_A Year of Trial Results and Innovations From the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory
December 15, 2025: A Year of Trial Results and Innovations From the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory
- News_As Their Studies Wrap Up, Researchers Share Lessons for Pragmatic Trials
July 1, 2025: As Their Studies Wrap Up, Researchers Share Lessons for Pragmatic Trials
- News_GGC4H Team Sees Good Intervention Fidelity With Virtual Delivery, but Faces Engagement Challenge
June 3, 2025: GGC4H Team Sees Good Intervention Fidelity With Virtual Delivery, but Faces Engagement Challenge
- News_A Year of Innovations and Insights From the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory
December 12, 2024: A Year of Innovations and Insights From the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory
- News_GGC4H Pilot Finds Spanish-Language Intervention Feasible and Acceptable in Pediatric Primary Care
October 17, 2024: GGC4H Pilot Finds Spanish-Language Intervention Feasible and Acceptable in Pediatric Primary Care
- News_GGC4H Finds Increase in Depression Among Early Adolescents During COVID-19 Pandemic
June 24, 2024: GGC4H Finds Increase in Depression Among Early Adolescents During COVID-19 Pandemic
- News_Pragmatic Trials Researchers Share Lessons From Collecting Patient-Reported Outcomes in the Electronic Health Record
January 8, 2024: Pragmatic Trials Researchers Share Lessons From Collecting Patient-Reported Outcomes in the Electronic Health Record
- News_Wealth of New Insights From the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory
December 13, 2022: In Our Tenth Year, a Wealth of New Insights From the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory
- Video_Update on the GGC4H Demonstration Project
Video Interview: Update on the GGC4H NIH Collaboratory Trial
- News_Biostatistics Core Develops Tools and Strategies for Common Research Challenges
August 16, 2022: Biostatistics Core Develops Tools and Strategies for Common Research Challenges
Publications
- Morrison et al J Community Psychol 2025
Implementation fidelity of a virtual version of the Guiding Good Choices program
- Sterling et al J Prev 2024
Pilot implementation of Guiando Buenas Decisiones, an evidence-based parenting program for Spanish-speaking families, in pediatric primary care in a large, U.S. health system: A qualitative interview study
- Danzo et al J Adolesc 2024
Anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation among early adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Zigler et al Contemp Clin Trials 2023
Collecting patient-reported outcome measures in the electronic health record: Lessons from the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory
- Boyd et al J Am Med Inform Assoc 2023
Potential bias and lack of generalizability in electronic health record data: reflections on health equity from the National Institutes of Health Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory
- Scheuer et al Contemp Clin Trials 2022
GGC4H Study Design Paper
- Richesson et al J Am Med Inform Assoc 2021
Enhancing the use of EHR systems for pragmatic embedded research: lessons from the NIH Health Care Systems Research Collaboratory
- Living Textbook Chapter_Which PCTs Should Have a DMC
Living Textbook Chapter: Which Pragmatic Trials Should Have a DSMB?
- Living Textbook_The Embedded Pragmatic Trials Ecosystem
Living Textbook: The Embedded Pragmatic Clinical Trial Ecosystem
- GGC4H Study Snapshot
GGC4H Study Snapshot
Presentations
- 03_Goertz_Sunsetting Trials _Final_NO Panel slides
Perspectives From Sunsetting NIH Collaboratory Trials on Next Steps for ePCTs
- SC-Mtg-2024-Day2-Bosworth
Planning Effectively for Posttrial Activities
- SRCD-GBD-Sterling_3-25-23_final
Extending the Reach of Guiding Good Choices through Primary Care-based Implementation with LatinX Families
- GR-Video-03-03-23
Adoption, Implementation and Sustainment of Family-focused Prevention in Health Care Systems: How Do We Get There? (GR Video 2023)
- GR-Slides-03-03-23
Adoption, Implementation and Sustainment of Family-focused Prevention in Health Care Systems: How Do We Get There? (GR Slides 2023)
- GGC4H (AcademyHealth 2023)_FINAL
Case Study - GGC4H - AcademyHealth 2023
- 2023 AcademyHealth Workshop_Day 2_Mor_ePCTs in Context
ePCTs in Context-Day 2-AcademyHealth 2023
- 2023 AcademyHealth Workshop_Day 1_Weinfurt_ePCTs in Context
ePCTs in Context-Day 1
- SPR_2023 GGC4H Symposium_Intro_6.1.2023
Guiding Good Choices for Health: Increasing the Reach of Effective Family-Focused Intervention Through Virtual Implementation in Pediatric Primary Care
- Morrison_SPR 2023
Assessing Implementation Fidelity of the Guiding Good Choices Program in a Virtual Environment
- GGC ICEPS_June 2023
The Guiding Good Choices Program: Exploring Innovations to Support Parents and Promote Youth Wellbeing Presentation
- Scheuer_SPR 2023 01Jun2023
Virtual Implementation of Guiding Good Choices: Lessons Learned from Intervention Adaptation in Response to COVID-19
- Sterling_SPR 2023 01Jun2023
Barriers and Facilitators to Implementation and Sustainability of Guiding Good Choices in Integrated Healthcare Systems
- SC-Mtg-2023-Day1-Sterling
Stacy Sterling Presentation at 2023 Steering Committee Meeting
- 2022 NIH Workshop_Panel 4
2022 NIH Workshop Panel 4
- SC-Mtg-2022-Day-2-Kuklinski
GGC4H Presentation at 2022 Steering Committee Meeting
- GR-Video-06-25-21
Inclusion of Diverse Participants in Pragmatic Clinical Trials: Meeting Participants Where They Are – Outreach, Trust, and Consent to Maximize Diversity
- GR-Slides-06-25-21
Inclusion of Diverse Participants in Pragmatic Clinical Trials: Meeting Participants Where They Are – Outreach, Trust, and Consent to Maximize Diversity
- SC-2019-UG3-GGC4H
UG3 Updates at the 2019 SC Meeting-GGC4H
- Presentation_GGG4H_SocPrevRes_2019_c
Guiding Good Choices: Adaptations for Context (SPR 2019)
- GR-Video-12-14-18
Guiding Good Choices for Health (GGC4H): Testing Feasibility and Effectiveness of Universal Parent-Focused Prevention in Three Healthcare Systems (GR Video 2018)
- GR-Slides-12-14-18
Guiding Good Choices for Health (GGC4H): Testing Feasibility and Effectiveness of Universal Parent-Focused Prevention in Three Healthcare Systems (GR Slides 2018)
- 1.-Catalano-Kuklinski-Sterling_P4TH-15-min-FINAL_revised
A New Pragmatic Trial: Parents, Pediatricians, and Prevention: Pathways to Adolescent Health
- Presentation_GGC4H_CTN_2018_c
Parents, Pediatricians, and Prevention: Pathways to Adolescent Health (NIDA CTN 2018)