Acceptability and Feasibility of a Sexual Health Intervention for Young Adult Black Women

Abstract

Objective: To assess the acceptability and feasibility of S2S, a newly adapted behavior intervention to address high-risk sexual behavior.

Design: Pilot randomized controlled trial.

Setting: The Internet and text messages with no in-person interactions.

Participants: Eighty-eight Black women, ages 18 to 24 years, were randomly assigned to the intervention or control groups and self-enrolled in the respective text message program.

Methods: Participants in the intervention group were sent text messages about sexual health, whereas those in the control group were sent text messages about diet and/or exercise. Participants in each group received 24 text messages, including text-only messages, memes, and infopics. Participants in the intervention group also received videos links. All text messages were sent three times per week for 8 weeks. Quantitative methods were used to analyze data from the message and video platform reports. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyze participants' responses to an acceptability and feasibility survey.

Results: Overall, the delivery of health promotion text messages was viewed as acceptable and feasible by participants in both groups. Most of the short answer responses from participants were favorable, and responses to the acceptability and feasibility survey yielded a total mean score of 4.01 on a 5-point scale.

Conclusion: Results from this study support the idea that evidence-based interventions can be adapted for delivery by text message. This delivery modality is acceptable to young adult Black women and may help decrease barriers that would otherwise prevent them from receiving health promotion messages.

Keywords: Black women; STDs; health promotion; mHealth; sexual health; text messaging.