Clinical trial NCT02031575: Study on Mhealth and Reproductive Health in Teens
Official title: Study on Mhealth and Reproductive Health in Teens
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Reproductive Health
Keywords: Reproductive Health
Contraception
Public Health
Sexual Health
Adolescents
Mobile Health
Lead sponsor: Harvard University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Weiss Family Program Fund for Research in Development Economics
name: Harvard Lab for Economic Applications and Policy
First posted: 2014-01-09
Enrollment: 1419
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 14
Maximum age (years): 24
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL

Brief summary: The purpose of the Study on Mhealth and Reproductive Health in Teens (SMART) is to evaluate the effectiveness of using text messages to improve the knowledge, communication, and attitudes about reproductive health among female adolescents in Greater Accra senior high schools. Previous research as well as qualitative work conducted by the Investigators shows that there are significant gaps in knowledge about reproductive health including on topics of pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and contraception among secondary school students in Greater Accra. These gaps contribute to unwanted pregnancy and spread of sexually transmitted diseases. At the same time, phone ownership and use among young people has spread rapidly, especially in urban areas such as Accra. The Study on Mhealth and Reproductive Health (SMART) will seek to use mobile phone messages to increase awareness of these reproductive health issues among female adolescents in Accra. The objectives of SMART are to evaluate whether the messages can increase knowledge, increase communication, and improve attitudes towards reproductive health among adolescents in Greater Accra. By conducting a randomized controlled trial, we will be able to statistically evaluate if the messages have had any effect on improving outcomes for adolescents in the areas of knowledge, communication, and attitudes. This work can help guide future programs that can scale up this intervention and ultimately improve the health and wellbeing of adolescents across Ghana.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria (for treated and control subjects):

* female
* aged 14-24
* secondary school student at day school

Exclusion Criteria (for treated and control subjects):

* male
* secondary school student at boarding school

Inclusion criteria (for spillover subjects):

* aged 14-24
* secondary school student at day school

Exclusion Criteria (for spillover subjects):

- secondary school student at boarding school

Primary outcomes:
measure: Knowledge of Reproductive Health True/False Quiz of 20 questions
timeFrame: 5-6 months after baseline and then again 14-16 months after baseline
measure: Sexual behavior
timeFrame: 14-16 months after baseline
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Communication about reproductive health with family, friends, professional, and boyfriend
timeFrame: 3 months (asked 5-6 months after baseline and again 12-14 months after baseline)
measure: Attitudes about reproductive health as measured by 5-point Likert type scale
timeFrame: 5-6 months after baseline and asked again 12-14 months after baseline
Other outcomes:
measure: Spillover effect
timeFrame: 3-6 months
measure: Process Measures
timeFrame: 3-6 months
measure: Heterogeneous effects
timeFrame: 3-6 months
measure: Cost effectiveness
timeFrame: 3-6 months
Locations:
city: Accra
country: Ghana
facility: Innovations for Poverty Action
state: Greater Accra
Study officials:
affiliation: Harvard University
name: Slawa Rokicki, MS, BS
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)
name: Gunther Fink, PhD
role: STUDY_CHAIR
References:
citation: Rokicki S, Fink G. Assessing the reach and effectiveness of mHealth: evidence from a reproductive health program for adolescent girls in Ghana. BMC Public Health. 2017 Dec 20;17(1):969. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4939-7.