Paper
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Adaptation of an HIV-prevention Curriculum for Text Messaging- Focus Group Findings
Judith B. Cornelius, DNSc, RN, School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA
| Learning Objective #1: discuss the adolescents’ receptiveness to text messaging HIV-prevention.
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| Learning Objective #2: discuss how the BART curriculum can be adapted and modified for text messaging delivery with adolescents. |
Background: Adolescents are most at risk for acquiring sexually transmitted diseases including HIV. The increasing rate of HIV infection among minority adolescents underscores the need for more innovative approaches to delivery of HIV-prevention interventions that increase accessibility and are culturally relevant in the lives of minority adolescents. Cellular phones are a popular communication tool for adolescents. Text messaging, a popular feature of cellular phones, has been successfully used to send safer sex messages to young people. However, the drawback to this approach is that it is not based on my proven HIV-prevention curriculum and this approach has not been formally evaluated.
Objective: The broad objective of this resarch was to adapt and modify a proven HIV- prevention curriculum, Becoming a Responsible Teen (BART), for text messaging delivery with adolescents.
Methods: Fourteen (N = 14) African American adolescents (13 to 18 years of age) were recruited to participate in focus group sessions to inform how the BART curiculum could be adapted and modified for text messaging delivery.
Results: The preliminary findings indicate that the adolescents are receptive to the idea of text messaging delivery of adolescent HIV prevention. They would like to receive no more than 3 messages per day during the hours of 4-6pm; would respond to text messages when sent; and expect an immediate response to their messages.
Implications: Based on the focus group findings, the modified BART curriculum for text messaging will be tested for efficacy in future research with adolescents.