The purpose of this study is to measure the impact of the What's My Method game on participants' sense of agency, education, and empowerment around contraceptive decision-making. Patients receiving standard of care contraceptive counseling will be compared to those who play the game in addition to counseling.
Contraceptive self-care has been identified by the WHO as critical to achieving milestones for female empowerment and well-being. This focus reflects a shift in global public health attitudes regarding contraceptive provision from a top-down approach, where childbearing persons receive directives from medical providers, towards an approach that encourages self-determination and individual agency. Implementing contraceptive counseling and education through the lens of reproductive empowerment requires that the focus of the intervention be on the childbearing persons and their needs. There is a clear need for improvement in contraceptive counseling in Barbados. As per the United Nations dashboard, the modern contraceptive prevalence rate is 49% and providers report that abortion is often used as birth control. Digital health interventions have been validated as successful high-impact practices to support healthy reproductive behaviors. These interventions include SMS campaigns , artificial intelligence-based chatbots, and interactive websites which provide information and offer tools to help choose appropriate methods. These studies demonstrate that digital media are an effective way to reach the target audience and communicate information about reproductive health. Barbadian clinics have not yet integrated digital technology to support CC; they rely on pamphlets and posters for information dissemination. This study seeks assess the impact of supplementing SOC counseling with a digital game that provides detailed information about family planning methods, their benefits and side effects. The information is communicated through using animations and images and reinforced through experimentation and context.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
70
The WMM game is divided into three parts- a reproductive anatomy quiz ("Parts"), an interactive tool for education about each individual birth control method ("Methods"), and a section in which players help avatar couples choose the most effective method for them.
Barbados Family Planning Association
Bridgetown, Saint Michaels, Barbados
Contraceptive Self-Efficacy (CSE) score
Participants will complete a survey after their contraceptive counseling appointment
Time frame: 30-70 minutes
Method Adoption
Participant will indicate if they desire a method and obtain or request an appointment to obtain said method
Time frame: 30-70 minutes
Qualitative feedback on game intervention
Group that played the game will complete 4 question assessment of experience
Time frame: 50-90 minutes
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