Purpose. To design and test the effectiveness of a text messaging intervention to promote condom use and STI/HIV testing among American Indian and Alaska Native youth. Method. A total of 408 study participants, 15 to 24 years old, were recruited, consented, surveyed, were sent intervention messages, and were incentivized via text message over a 9-month period. Complete pre- and postsurvey data were collected from 192 participants using SMS short codes. A mixed-effects logistic regression model was used to analyze before–after change in responses assessing sexual health knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy, intention, and behavior. Results. Participants’ condom use attitude, condom use behavior, and STI/HIV testing intention improved after the intervention (p < .05). Frequent condom use increased from 30% to 42% and was retained by participants at least 3 months postintervention, and the intervention improved participants’ intention to get tested for STI/HIV after changing sexual partners, increasing from 46% to 58% postintervention. Conclusions. Given the widespread use of cell phones by youth, text-based interventions may offer a feasible and effective tool to promote condom use and STI/HIV testing.
AgyapongV. I. O.JuhásM.OhinmaaA.OmejeJ.MrklasK.SuenV. Y. M.. . . GreenshawA. J. (2017). Randomized controlled pilot trial of supportive text messages for patients with depression. BMC Psychiatry, 17(1), 286. doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1448-2
2.
BadawyS. M.KuhnsL. M. (2017). Texting and mobile phone app interventions for improving adherence to preventive behavior in adolescents: A systematic review. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 5(4), e50. doi:10.2196/mhealth.6837
3.
BankoleA.AhmedF. H.NeemaS.OuedraogoC.KonyaniS. (2007). Knowledge of correct condom use and consistency of use among adolescents in four countries in sub-Saharan Africa. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 11(3), 197-220. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2367135/
4.
Basen-EngquistK.MâsseL. C.CoyleK.KirbyD.ParcelG. S.BanspachS.NodoraJ. (1999). Validity of scales measuring the psychosocial determinants of HIV/STD-related risk behavior in adolescents, Health Education Research, 14, 25-38. doi:10.1093/her/14.1.25
5.
BrownL. K.DiclementeR. J.ParkT. (1992). Predictors of condom use in sexually active adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 13, 651-657.
6.
BryantJ. A.Sanders-JacksonA.SmallwoodA. M. K. (2006). IMing, text messaging, and adolescent social networks. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11, 577-592. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00028.x
CrosbyR. A.DannerF. (2008). Adolescents’ sexually transmitted disease protective attitudes predict sexually transmitted disease acquisition in early adulthood. Journal of School Health, 78, 310-313.
9.
de RavelloL.JonesS. E.TullochS.TaylorM.DoshiS. (2013). Substance use and sexual risk behaviors among American Indian and Alaska Native high school students. Journal of School Health, 84(1), 25-32. doi:10.1111/josh.12114
10.
de TollyK.SkinnerD.NembawareV.BenjaminP. (2012). Investigation into the use of short message services to expand uptake of human immunodeficiency virus testing, and whether content and dosage have impact. Telemedicine and e-Health, 18(1), 18-23. doi:10.1089/tmj.2011.0058
11.
GlanzK.RimerB. K.ViswanathK. (2008). Health behavior and health education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
12.
GoldJ.LimM. S. C.HockingJ. S.KeoghL. A.SpelmanT.HellardM. E. (2010). Determining the impact of text messaging for sexual health promotion to young people. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 38(4), 247-252. doi:10.1097/OLQ.0b013e3181f68d7b
13.
GuseK.LevineD.MartinsS.LiraA.GaardeJ.WestmorlandW.GilliamM. (2012). Interventions using new digital media to improve adolescent sexual health: A systematic review. Journal of Adolescent Health, 51, 535-543. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.03.014
14.
HallA. K.Cole-LewisH.BernhardtJ. M. (2015). Mobile text messaging for health: A systematic review of reviews. Annual Review of Public Health, 36, 393-415. doi:10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031914-122855
15.
HeadK. J.NoarS. M.IannarinoN. T.HarringtonN. G. (2013). Efficacy of text messaging-based interventions for health promotion: A meta-analysis. Social Science & Medicine, 97, 41-48. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.08.003
16.
KewS. T. (2010). Text messaging: An innovative method of data collection in medical research. BMC Research Notes, 3, 342. Retrieved from http://www.biomedcentral.com/1756-0500/3/342
17.
LevineD.McCrightJ.DobkinL.WoodruffA. J.KlausnerJ. D. (2008). SEXINFO: A sexual health text messaging service for San Francisco youth. American Journal of Public Health, 98(3), 393-395. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2007.110767
18.
LimM. S. C.HockingJ. S.AitkenC. K.FairleyC. K.JordanL.LewisJ. A.HellardM. E. (2011). Impact of text and email messaging on the sexual health of young people: A randomised controlled trial. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 66(1), 69-74. doi:10.1136/jech.2009.100396
19.
LimM. S. C.HockingJ. S.HellardM. E.AitkenC. K. (2008). SMS STI: A review of the uses of mobile phone text messaging in sexual health. International Journal of STD & AIDS, 19, 287-290. doi:10.1258/ijsa.2007.007264
20.
MartinJ. A.HamiltonB. E.OstermanM. J. K.DriscollA. K.MathewsT. J. (2017). Births: Final data for 2015. National Vital Statistics Reports, 66(1). Retrieved from https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/43595
21.
NayebiF.DesharnaisJ.-M.AbranA. (2012, April). The state of the art of mobile application usability evaluation. Paper presented at the 25th IEEE Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/072a/2e5266061cf3e51d2123003fde888500cc95.pdf
22.
Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board. (2016). Health promotion, disease prevention, health research, and legislative advocacy for the tribes of Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Retrieved from http://216.243.141.9/about/npaihb_operations_documents
23.
PatrickK.RaabF.AdamsM. A.DillonL.ZabinskiM.RockC. L.. . . NormanG. J. (2009). A text message–based intervention for weight loss: Randomized controlled trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 11(1), e1. doi:10.2196/jmir.1100
24.
PerryR. C. W.KayekjianK. C.BraunR. A.CantuM.SheoranB.ChungP. J. (2012). Adolescents’ perspectives on the use of a text messaging service for preventive sexual health promotion. Journal of Adolescent Health, 51, 220-225. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2011.11.012
25.
RushingS. C.StephensD. (2011). Use of media technologies by Native American teens and young adults in the Pacific Northwest: Exploring their utility for designing culturally appropriate technology-based health interventions. Journal of Primary Prevention, 31(1-2), 135-145. doi:10.1007/s10935-011-0242-z
26.
RushingS. C.StephensD. (2012). Tribal recommendations for designing culturally appropriate technology-based sexual health interventions targeting native youth in the Pacific Northwest. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research, 19(1), 76-101. doi:10.5820/aian.1901.2012.76
27.
SheoranB.BraunR. A.GaardeJ. P.LevineD. K. (2014). The hookup: Collaborative evaluation of a youth sexual health program using text messaging technology. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2(4), e51. doi:10.2196/mhealth.3583
28.
SmithM.HarrisL. (2009). Text “Ahhhhh” for me please. In FoggB. J.AdlerR. (Eds.), Texting 4 Health: A simple, powerful way to improve lives (pp. 49-56). Stanford Captology Media. Retrieved from http://www.texting4health.org
29.
SuffolettoB.KristanJ.ChungT.JeongK.FabioA.MontiP.ClarkD. B. (2015). An interactive text message intervention to reduce binge drinking in young adults: A randomized controlled trial with 9-month outcomes. PLoS One, 10(11), e0142877. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0142877
30.
TeitcherJ. E. F.BocktingW. O.BauermeisterJ. A.HoeferC. J.MinerM. H.KlitzmanR. L. (2015). Detecting, preventing, and responding to “fraudsters” in internet research: Ethics and tradeoffs. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 43(1), 116-133. doi:10.1111/jlme.12200
31.
TingeyL.StromR.HastingsR.ParkerA.BarlowA.RompaloA.GaydosC. (2015). Self-administered sample collection for screening of sexually transmitted infection among reservation-based American Indian youth. International Journal of STD & AIDS, 26(9), 661-666. doi:10.1177/0956462414552139
WestmaasA. H.KokG.VriensP.GötzH.RichardusJ. H.VoetenH. (2012). Determinants of intention to get tested for STI/HIV among the Surinamese and Antilleans in the Netherlands: Results of an online survey. BMC Public Health, 12(1), 1-10. Retrieved from http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/961
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
