Adolescent Behavior, Pregnancy Related, Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Conditions
Keywords
Pregnancy, Adolescence, Sexually Transmitted Infections, Decision Making, Prevention Education
Brief summary
The purpose of the study is to rigorously evaluate Next4You, an innovative, fully mobile program featuring 6 content modules, each containing 8-10 microlessons intended to reduce rates of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STI) and increase essential knowledge, attitudes, and skills among young people aged 16-19 currently in the foster care system in California.
Detailed description
Next4You will be tested using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving approximately 500-600 young people ages 16-19 with former or current experience in the California foster care system. Participants will complete an online screener that will assess eligibility (age, foster youth status, county of residence, English proficiency, and access to a device that is Wi-Fi or cellular enabled). Participants will be randomly assigned to receive access to the Next4You mobile platform and its microlessons and resources or a control website containing various health promotion materials. Participants in both conditions will have four consecutive weeks to explore the content on the platform (defined as the implementation period). Self-reported survey data related to attitudes, knowledge, and behavior around romantic relationships and sexual behavior are collected at baseline, as well as 3 months and 9 months after the intervention ends.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALNext4You
Youth in the intervention arm will have access for four continuous weeks to a mobile intervention that covers topics related to communication, relationships, sexual wellness, contraception, respecting self and partners, and building wealth and wellness.
Sponsors
ETR Associates
RTI International
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Investigator)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
16 Years to 19 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Age, foster youth status, county of residence, English proficiency, access to a digital device that is Wi-Fi and/or cellular enabled -
Exclusion criteria
\-
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Prevalence of choosing abstinence or the use of condoms if having vaginal or anal sex in the past 3 months | 3 months post-intervention | Measured with single-item dichotomous measure of behavior analyzed individually to assess: any consensual vaginal sex in the past 3 months (main and casual sex partners); any consensual vaginal sex with a condom in the past 3 months (main and casual sex partners); any consensual anal sex in the past 3 months (main and casual sex partners); and any consensual anal sex with a condom in past 3 months (main and casual sex partners). |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Prevalence of choosing abstinence or the use of condoms if having vaginal or anal sex in the past 3 months | 9 months post-intervention | Measured with single-item dichotomous measure of behavior analyzed individually to assess: any consensual vaginal sex in the past 3 months (main and casual sex partners); any consensual vaginal sex with a condom in the past 3 months (main and casual sex partners); any consensual anal sex in the past 3 months (main and casual sex partners); and any consensual anal sex with a condom in past 3 months (main and casual sex partners). |
| Rates of condomless vaginal or anal sex | 3 months post-intervention | Single measure constructed from number of times having consensual vaginal/anal sex in past 3 months; number of times using a condom during consensual vaginal/anal sex in past 3 months; number of times using birth control during consensual vaginal sex in past 3 months |
| Sexual consent self-efficacy | 3 months post-intervention | A measure comprised of 35 questions from the Sexual Consent Scale (Humphreys \& Brousseau, 2010) that measures perceived self-efficacy related to sexual consent at 3 months after intervention completion. |
| Sexual communication self-efficacy | 3 months post-intervention | A measure comprised of 20 questions from the Sexual Communication Self-Efficacy Scale (Quinn-Nilas et al., 2016) that measures perceived self-efficacy related to sexual communication at 3 months after intervention completion. |
| Condom use attitudes/beliefs | 3 months post-intervention | A measure comprised of 10 questions from the Multidimensional Condom Attitudes Scale (Helweg-Larsen \& Collins, 1994) that measures attitudes related to condom use at 3 months after intervention completion. |
| Contraceptive use attitudes/beliefs | 3 months post-intervention | A measure comprised of 11 measures from the Contraceptive Attitude Scale (Kyes, 1998) that measure attitudes related to contraceptive use at 3 months after intervention completion. |
| Experiences with equity and power balance in relationships | 3 months post-intervention | A measure comprised of the Relationship Control Subscale (15 questions) from the Sexual Relationship Power Scale (Pulerwitz et al., 2000) that measures equity and power balance in relationships at 3 months after intervention completion. |
| Knowledge of health care rights and location of services | 3 months post-intervention | A measure of the % of correct answers comprised from survey questions on knowledge of health care rights (Anderson et al., 2021; Coyle et al., 2021; Office of Management and Budget, n.d.) at 3 months after intervention completion. |
| Experience with condom use | 3 months post-intervention | A count of condom issues experienced (derived from 8 condom experiences survey questions \[Coyle et al., 2021\]) at 3 months after intervention completion |
| Knowledge of educational rights and programs | 3 months post-intervention | A measure of the % of correct answers comprised from 3 survey questions on awareness of rights and programs for youth in foster care going to college or trade school at 3 months after intervention completion |
| Financial literacy knowledge | 3 months post-intervention | A measure of the % of correct answers comprised from 3 survey questions on financial literacy knowledge at 3 months after intervention completion |
Countries
United States
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORPamela Anderson, PhD
ETR
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORKarin Coyle, PhD
ETR
Outcome results
None listed