Sexual health professionals’ evaluations of a prototype computer-based contraceptive planning intervention for adolescents: implications for practice

Abstract

Professionals' feedback provided scope for developing the intervention to meet practitioners' concerns, thus enhancing likely feasibility and acceptability in practice. Ways in which particular feedback was generalisable to wider theory-based and online intervention development are explored. Some responses indicated that health practitioners would benefit from training to embed theory-based interventions into sexual health education and healthcare.

If We Build It, Will They Come? A Qualitative Study of Key Stakeholder Opinions on the Implementation of a Videogame Intervention for Risk Reduction in Adolescents

“…This feedback reflects a number of the components that enhance adolescent acceptance of this type of intervention, such as the perception that the game was useful and easy to use, opportunities for learning were able to be identified, and the value of a student-centered learning environment was recognized. [18][19][20] Demonstrated acceptance from our targeted population ultimately increases the chances of successful implementation.…”

Self‐Control, Plan Quality, and Digital Delivery of Action Planning for Condom and Contraceptive Pill Use of 14–24‐Year‐Olds: Findings from a Clinic‐Based Online Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial

“…The intervention is available to view online at the following address: https://healthvoid.coventry.ac.uk. Research documenting usability testing of the intervention has been published previously (Brown et al., ). Participants were prompted to write their action plans on the appropriate planning card provided (see Figure ).…”

“…Young people typically express having strong intentions to use condoms and/or the contraceptive pill consistently (Brown, Hurst, & Arden, ), but both self‐reports of consistent use (Brown, Abraham, Joshi, & Wallace, ; Gebhart, Kuyper, & Dusseldorp, ) and objective data outlined above about unintended pregnancy (Sedgh et al., ) and diagnoses of STI (WHO, ) suggest that those intentions do not translate fully to consistent action. Such outcomes represent consistent findings in the literature relating to the application of largely reasoned, motivational theoretical explanations of behaviour, such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, ).…”

“…Previous research with sexual health professionals has illustrated that, with contraceptive pill use at least, staff may informally apply implementation intention and/or action planning approaches in their health communications with young women (Brown et al., ). Delivering this type of intervention in the context of sexual health clinics is likely to reach young people when they are most receptive, since their attendance at the clinic is likely to indicate acknowledgement of a sexual health‐related need and a moment of relatively higher motivation to engage in safer sex behaviours in the future.…”

“…There has been no attempt as yet, however, to more systematically embed detailed action planning interventions into sexual healthcare. Given that sexual health professionals may lack the time and skills to deliver this type of intervention, and a growing interest in the potential for digital health promotion tools, we devised an interactive digital tool to support contraceptive pill and condom use action planning which has been tested for usability and acceptability to sexual health professionals (Brown et al., ). Additional benefits of digital interventions include fidelity to intervention delivery.…”