WestEd and its partners Efficacity and the Oregon Youth Authority (OYA), are conducting a randomized controlled trial of an innovative teen pregnancy prevention program, Healthy U, for youthful male offenders. This study involves male teenagers (age 14-19) at high risk for involvement in risky sexual behavior, including teen pregnancy. The innovative, non-curricular, technology-based intervention, Healthy U, is self-directed, low-cost, user friendly, and offers great promise in reaching incarcerated youth. The purpose of this study is to test this intervention on a population of young men incarcerated at the OYA who will soon be released into the community. The intervention is tailored to this population by updating the design, videos, and examples to best reflect the youth in the study, and OYA staff are being trained to facilitate the self-guided intervention.
WestEd and its partners, Efficacity and the Oregon Youth Authority (OYA), were funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to conduct a randomized controlled trial of an innovative teen pregnancy prevention program, Healthy U (formally known as Virtual Student Health Center), for youthful male offenders to test the impact of this innovative, non-curricular, technology-based intervention, that is self-directed, low-cost, user friendly, and offers great promise in reaching incarcerated youth. Healthy U was designed to give adolescents and teens the tools they need to reduce their risk of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV, using a low-cost, transportable platform that is user-friendly for youth (and staff to oversee). In this project, we take the innovative Healthy U intervention and modify its implementation for juveniles in custody of a correctional facility. This study involved male teenagers (ages 14-19) at high risk for involvement in risky sexual behavior, including teen pregnancy. The findings from this study are intended to contribute to research on both teen pregnancy and crime prevention. Teen parents and their children are at greater risk for subsequent criminal offending, and the children of teen parents also have greater risk of child abuse and neglect victimization. The current knowledge base suggests that youth exposed to the juvenile justice system have sex more often with more partners at a younger age and without protection (Bryan, Rocheleau, Robbins, \& Hutchinson, 2005). This randomized study was designed to contribute to our understanding of what works with this population and to strengthen our knowledge base around developing and implementing technology-based interventions in a juvenile correctional environment.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
295
There are seven modules in Healthy U: Puberty, Birth Control, Teen Pregnancy, HIV, STDs, Healthy Relationships, and Condom Negotiation. Each module has six sections: Introduction and Review, Narrative Teen Portrait, Information Film, Activity/Game, Dramatic Film, and Imagination Challenge. The Introduction and Review has videos lasting 1-2 minutes where the Healthy U "host" introduces each module. In the Narrative Teen Portrait for each module, a different teen discusses their experience with the topic for 1-3 minutes. The Information Film lasts 5-18 minutes per module and provides factual information. For each module, the Activity/Game includes multiple choice, true/false, or other games. The Dramatic Film lasts 5-17 minutes for each module and shows a fictional account of a teen experiencing the topic. Finally, the Imagination Challenge asks the youth to imagine a scenario, such as going to a health clinic to obtain free condoms.
WestEd
Los Alamitos, California, United States
WestEd
Woburn, Massachusetts, United States
Sexual intercourse
The outcome was based on four survey items. Youth who responded "no" to the first item: "Have you ever had sexual intercourse?" were coded as "0". Youth who responded "no" to the second item: "Have you been out of a close custody OYA facility any time in the past three months?" were also coded as "0". Youth who responded "no" to the third item: "During the last 3 months, did you have sexual intercourse, even once?" were also coded as "0". Youth who responded "yes" to the first three items and provided a valid response greater than zero to the fourth item: "In the last 3 months (include only the time you were outside of a close custody OYA facility), how many TIMES did you have sexual inter-course?" were coded as the value they entered.
Time frame: 6 months after the baseline survey
Sexual intercourse without a condom
The outcome was created by subtracting the sexual intercourse outcome from the following measure based on four items. Youth who responded "no" to the first item: "Have you ever had sexual intercourse?" were coded as "0". Youth who responded "no" to the second item: "Have you been out of a close custody OYA facility any time in the past three months?" were also coded as "0". Youth who responded "no" to the third item: "During the last 3 months, did you have sexual intercourse, even once?" were also coded as "0". Youth who responded "yes" to the first three items and provided a valid response greater than zero to the fourth item: "In the last 3 months (include only the time you were outside of a close custody OYA facility), how many TIMES did you or your partner use a condom when you had sexual inter-course?" were coded as the value they entered. Youth who responded "none" to the fourth item were coded as "0".
Time frame: 6 months after the baseline survey
Sexual intercourse without any methods of birth control
The outcome was based on four survey items. Youth who responded "no" to the first item: "Have you ever had sexual intercourse?" were coded as "0". Youth who responded "no" to the second item: "Have you been out of a close custody OYA facility any time in the past three months?" were also coded as "0". Youth who responded "no" to the third item: "During the last 3 months, did you have sexual intercourse, even once?" were also coded as "0". Youth who responded "yes" to the first three items and provided a valid response greater than zero to the fourth item: "In the last 3 months (include only the time you were outside of a close custody OYA facility), how many times did you have sexual intercourse without you or your partner using any methods of birth control (that is, you didn't use a condom or any other type of birth control shown in the blue box above)?" were coded as the value they entered. Youth who responded "none" to the fourth item were coded as "0".
Time frame: 6 months after the baseline survey
Subsequent pregnancies of female partners
The outcome was created by subtracting the number of pregnancies reported at baseline from the number of pregnancies reported at the 6-month follow-up. At both time points, the measure was based on three questions. Youth who responded "no" to the first item: "Have you ever had sexual intercourse?" were coded as "0". Youth who responded "no" or "don't know" to the second item: "To the best of your knowledge, have you ever gotten someone pregnant, even if no child was born?" were also coded as "0". Youth who responded "yes" to the first two items and provided a valid response greater than zero to the third item: "To the best of your knowledge, how many times have you gotten someone pregnant?" were coded as the value they entered.
Time frame: 6 months after the baseline survey
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