Effects of telehealth interventions for adolescent sexual health: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies

Abstract

Introduction Telehealth interventions to advance adolescent sexual health have evolved and are being used to promote adolescent sexual health knowledge and healthy sexual behaviors. However, as this area of intervention modality expands, there is a need to pause and examine the effects of telehealth interventions on adolescent sexual health outcomes. Addressing this knowledge gap will inform researchers and practitioners on the current state of evidence of telehealth interventions and inform further intervention development and testing. This study aimed to explore the meta-effects of telehealth interventions on self-efficacy of using condoms, condom use practices, and sexually transmitted infection testing behaviors among adolescents. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials were conducted. Seven databases (Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PubMed, OVID (UpToDate), and Web of Science) were searched for relevant full-text articles from the inception to May 2021. The revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials was used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. A meta-analysis was performed using a random effects model to calculate the pooled effects of telehealth interventions for adolescents. Stata 16.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results A total of 15 studies ( N = 5499) that used telehealth interventions with adolescents were included in the analysis. Telehealth interventions were found to increase self-efficacy for condom use (standardized mean difference: 0.22; 95% confidence interval: 0.08–0.36), practice for condom use (standardized mean difference: 0.35; 95% confidence interval: 0.23–0.47), and being screened/tested for sexual transmitted infections (standardized mean difference: 0.61; 95% confidence interval: 0.31–0.92). Discussion Telehealth interventions show promise as effective intervention delivery solutions for improving self-efficacy and certain sexual health behaviors among adolescents. These telehealth strategies could be important alternatives to in-person visits to accessing sexual health information or services near where they live. Future research should consider testing telehealth strategies where there is evidence of impact to move the field forward.

Effects of telehealth intervention for people with dementia and their carers: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled studies

“…In comparison with routine or usual care (the typical control condition), telehealth interventions yielded significant benefits for persons with dementia (depressive symptoms) as well as for their caregivers (perceived competence). In addition, telehealth interventions show great promise as efficient, cost‐effective, and accessible strategies, which corresponds to past findings that telehealth appears to positively influence not only persons with dementia but also a wide range of other populations (i.e., stroke survivors, victims of heart failure or other cardiovascular diseases, adolescent sexual health, and HIV/AIDS survivors) (Saragih, Imanuel, Osingada, et al, 2021; Saragih, Imanuel, Porta, & Lee, 2021; Saragih, Tarihoran, Batubara, et al, 2021; Valkanova et al, 2017). More importantly, this suggests that including care delivery through telehealth modality may be a viable approach to guarantee continuity of care, address various care needs remotely, and promote favorable patient outcomes.…”

Providing essential gender-affirming telehealth services to transgender youth during COVID-19: A service review

“…While some MH services have returned to an in-person model, telehealth services have proven to be very popular with patients and clinicians, a trend that appears to be supported in emerging literature. 1 – 3 In fact, we anticipate that at least 50% of MH visits in our clinic will remain virtual post-pandemic. In this article, we provide a narrative review of lessons learned when adapting our MH services to provide essential GAC to clients via telehealth, and how this process led to innovations in our clinical practice.…”

Telehealth for sexual and reproductive health issues: a qualitative study of experiences of accessing care during COVID-19

“…Our findings are consistent with other research finding telehealth to be an acceptable and convenient means of accessing SRH care, with the potential to circumvent traditional barriers to accessing care. 6,11 The rapid expansion of telehealth services due to COVID-19 has been recognised to have the potential to positively impact young people in particular, who are more likely to encounter barriers to accessing healthcare (e.g. lack of confidentiality and transport, and stigma).…”