Behavioural interventions for young women which aim to promote sexual behaviours protective of STI transmission can be effective, primarily at encouraging condom use. Future evaluations should include a greater focus on HPV and its link to cervical cancer, with long-term follow-up to assess impact on behaviour change, rates of HPV infection and progression to cervical cancer. Studies should use an RCT design where possible with integral process evaluation and cost-effectiveness analysis where appropriate. Given the predominance of USA studies in this systematic review evaluations conducted in other countries would be particularly useful.
A brief, low-cost, theory-based intervention to promote dual method use by black and Latina female adolescents: a randomized clinical trial.
HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects young women of color. Young women who use hormonal contraception are less likely to use condoms. Brief, inexpensive HIV-prevention interventions are needed for high-volume clinics. This study was a randomized clinical trial of two interventions: (a) a video made for this study and (b) an adaptation of Project RESPECT counseling. Four hundred Black and Latina teenage women completed a questionnaire about their sexual behaviors and were randomly assigned to (a) see the video, (b) get counseling, (c) see the video and get counseling, or (d) receive usual care. At 3-month follow-up, those who saw the video and received counseling were 2.5 times more likely to have used a condom at last intercourse with their main partner than teens in the usual care group. These differences did not persist at 12-month follow-up. This suggests that a brief intervention can positively affect condom use in the short term.