Evaluation of the SafeSpace App Intervention
Purpose
The goal of this study is to evaluate the impact of SafeSpace Sexual Health App, an innovative sexual health promotion program focused on reducing sexual risk factors and promoting sexual and reproductive health and wellbeing among young people assigned female or intersex at birth, particularly Black and/or Latine youth, LGBTQ+ youth, youth in states with high teen birth rates and youth who live in rural communities. This study utilizes a two-arm randomized control trial design to measure impacts of receiving the SafeSpace Sexual Health program compared to receiving a similar-length control app program, SafeSpace General Health that focuses on general health. The investigators will ask participants to: - Keep the SafeSpace app downloaded to their device and visit the app regularly over the course of 10 weeks. - Provide contact information. - Receive and open app push notifications for 10 weeks (up to 3 per week). - Complete 3 online surveys over a year: baseline, short-term follow-up (10 weeks after baseline), and long-term follow up (9 months after short-term follow-up). - Receive occasional text messages from the study team.
Conditions
- Health Behavior
- Health Care Utilization
- Unprotected Sex
- Sexually Transmitted Infections
Eligibility
- Eligible Ages
- Between 14 Years and 18 Years
- Eligible Sex
- Female
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- Participants must be assigned female or intersex at birth - Participants must be youth in the U.S. (14-18 years old) - Participants must have daily access to an iPhone
Exclusion Criteria
- Participants must not be currently pregnant or currently trying to become pregnant Other Criteria: - The study's priority/preference population is for Black and/or Latine youth, LGBTQ+ youth, youth from geographic areas with high teen birth rates, and youth living in rural areas.
Study Design
- Phase
- N/A
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel Assignment
- Intervention Model Description
- This research project will use an individual randomized controlled trial design in which youth recruited from social media ads will be randomized 1:1 into the experimental condition (about sexual health) and the control condition (about general health).
- Primary Purpose
- Prevention
- Masking
- None (Open Label)
Arm Groups
| Arm | Description | Assigned Intervention |
|---|---|---|
|
Experimental SafeSpace Sexual Health |
The proposed intervention is a 10-week app-based program, SafeSpace Sexual Health. SafeSpace Sexual Health will be implemented using a secure, anonymous mobile app that uses authentic stories to engage young people with sexual health information and resources. The program addresses healthy relationships, anatomy and physiology, identity, adolescent development, STIs/HIV, pregnancy and reproduction, decision-making, personal safety, communication, and accessing healthcare. Each lesson includes a story written by youth with lived experience, two to three key facts developed by sexual health experts, a reflection prompt, and two to three reputable resources. |
|
|
Active Comparator SafeSpace General Health |
Participants in the control condition will participate in a 10-week app-based general health program, SafeSpace General Health. Lessons address general health topics including self-care, stress, sleep, nutrition, physical activity, substance use, driving and seatbelt use, and social media. Each lesson contains 2-3 key facts created by public health experts and reputable resources. Similar to SafeSpace Sexual Health, youth will receive SafeSpace General Health over 10 weeks, although SafeSpace General Health includes one lesson per week and does not contain youth stories or reflection prompts. |
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Recruiting Locations
More Details
- Status
- Recruiting
- Sponsor
- Child Trends