Interactive computer-based interventions for sexual health promotion
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Primary Care and Population Sciences
Abstract
A website for sexual health promotion for young people, and pilot online trial
There are alarming rates of sexually transmitted infection and unplanned pregnancy amongst young people. The Internet offers exciting possibilities for tackling this crisis since it offers a wealth of sexual health information and can reach so many people. However, information alone does not reduce risky behaviour. We are developing a website which will be interactive and tailored, helping young people achieve a healthier sex life through giving them the tools to make informed decisions about sexual wellbeing. The research team will work in partnership with young people to decide the best design of website. We will also develop a similar, information-only website to compare with the tailored and interactive website in a future experiment (randomised controlled trial). We will establish the best way to carry out the trial online, for example how to recruit people, whether to give incentives for the research, and what measurements to make and when. If the tailored and interactive website is effective, it could have an important impact upon sexual ill-health since the costs of an online intervention are low (after development).
There are alarming rates of sexually transmitted infection and unplanned pregnancy amongst young people. The Internet offers exciting possibilities for tackling this crisis since it offers a wealth of sexual health information and can reach so many people. However, information alone does not reduce risky behaviour. We are developing a website which will be interactive and tailored, helping young people achieve a healthier sex life through giving them the tools to make informed decisions about sexual wellbeing. The research team will work in partnership with young people to decide the best design of website. We will also develop a similar, information-only website to compare with the tailored and interactive website in a future experiment (randomised controlled trial). We will establish the best way to carry out the trial online, for example how to recruit people, whether to give incentives for the research, and what measurements to make and when. If the tailored and interactive website is effective, it could have an important impact upon sexual ill-health since the costs of an online intervention are low (after development).
Technical Summary
There is a world-wide crisis in sexual health, with alarming rates of sexually transmitted infection and unplanned pregnancy especially among young people. The Internet offers easy access to sexual health information, but information alone does not reduce risky behaviour. In contrast, tailored, interactive, skill-building computer programmes (interactive computer-based interventions, ICBI) seem better at changing sexual behaviour. However, a large RCT with a biological outcome measure is needed to test the effectiveness of an optimised ICBI. We are not yet in a position to conduct a definitive RCT because we do not have an optimised intervention or comparator, and we do not know the best design for an online trial.
We plan to develop an ICBI and comparator in Phase 1 of IES platform work. We will work in partnership with young people to develop an ICBI website which is engaging, tailored for individuals? sexual health needs, interactive to reinforce learning, motivating and skill-building, with the aim of giving people the tools to make informed decisions about their sexual wellbeing. The comparator website will have the same content, layout and feel as the ICBI but be non-tailored, minimally interactive and not skill-building. Working with a software development company and in monthly focus groups with young people, we will refine the content and design of the intervention and comparator and also develop a trial website to recruit participants to an online trial.
In Phase 2 we will address two main questions in a pilot online trial: a) how to maximise retention at follow-up and b) whether Chlamydia urinalysis is feasible as a biological outcome measure. We will conduct pilot work online with 1600 participants to establish the best ways to recruit, register and retain participants in an online environment. We will also find out whether online questionnaires are feasible for socio-demographic, cognitive and behavioural and economic variables and whether Chlamydia urinalysis is a feasible and acceptable biological primary outcome measure.
This platform work will yield three websites: an optimised ICBI to promote young people?s sexual health, an optimised comparator and an optimised trial website. We will also know whether a future online trial with a biological outcome measure is feasible.
We plan to develop an ICBI and comparator in Phase 1 of IES platform work. We will work in partnership with young people to develop an ICBI website which is engaging, tailored for individuals? sexual health needs, interactive to reinforce learning, motivating and skill-building, with the aim of giving people the tools to make informed decisions about their sexual wellbeing. The comparator website will have the same content, layout and feel as the ICBI but be non-tailored, minimally interactive and not skill-building. Working with a software development company and in monthly focus groups with young people, we will refine the content and design of the intervention and comparator and also develop a trial website to recruit participants to an online trial.
In Phase 2 we will address two main questions in a pilot online trial: a) how to maximise retention at follow-up and b) whether Chlamydia urinalysis is feasible as a biological outcome measure. We will conduct pilot work online with 1600 participants to establish the best ways to recruit, register and retain participants in an online environment. We will also find out whether online questionnaires are feasible for socio-demographic, cognitive and behavioural and economic variables and whether Chlamydia urinalysis is a feasible and acceptable biological primary outcome measure.
This platform work will yield three websites: an optimised ICBI to promote young people?s sexual health, an optimised comparator and an optimised trial website. We will also know whether a future online trial with a biological outcome measure is feasible.
