Raising Awareness of STI Prevention: An Evidence-Based Sexual Health Education Program for High- Risk Youth
Ra’Ann Merceir, BS1; Jade Truehart, MPH1; Aisha Bhimla, PhD1, MPH; Yin Tan, MD, MPH1; Lin Zhu, PhD1; Jane Sileo2; Min Qi Wang3, PhD; Sabrina Liao3; Julia Trout, BA1; Ellen Kim, MS1; Aimme Bogan, MA,LPC4; Grace X Ma, PhD1
1Center for Asian Health, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, PA
2ACT Investments, Inc.
3The University of Maryland School of Public Health, MD
4Maritime Academy Charter High School
Background: HPV, the most common STI, is the major cause of various cancers including cervical, penile, and oropharyngeal cancer. Approximately 25% of Philadelphia’s STI cases are among teens aged 15-19. Proud Teens of Philly (PTOP) is a youth sexual health education program to promote healthy choices and ultimately reduce cancer risk.
Methods: Participants (12-19 year-olds) recruited from schools and CBOs attended 8 synchronous 1-hour sessions delivered virtually. Making Proud Choices, an evidence-based curriculum, aimed to reduce risky behaviors. We administered pre- and post-surveys to 246 youth to understand students’ intention to have sex, perceived susceptibility to STIs/HIV, and attitudes toward sex, condom use, and STIs. We used paired samples t-tests to evaluate differences before and after the program.
Results: There were significant increases in positive attitudes towards condom use (pre=26.54, post=27.73, t=-2.18, p=0.03), more negative attitudes towards STIs/HIV (pre=7.62, post=6.65, t=5.22, p<0.001), and increased perceived susceptibility towards contracting STIs/HIV following the intervention (pre=4.41, post=5.39, t=-2.84, p<0.01). There were no significant changes in intentions to have sex in the next three months (pre=2.03, post=2.11, t=-0.66, p=0.51) or attitudes towards having sex (pre=21.58, post=21.20, t=1.09, p=0.28).
Conclusion: Implementing PTOP in high-risk youth can mitigate HPV rates by increasing positive attitudes towards barrier protection. We will discuss the successes and challenges in the implementation and evaluation process, as well as plans for moving forward.
Acknowledgement: This project was supported by the Philadelphia Teen Outreach Project (PTOP) funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Award Number TP1AH000219 (PI: Ma), and partially supported by TUFCCC/HC Regional Comprehensive Cancer Health Disparity Partnership, Award Number U54 CA221704(5) from the National Cancer Institute of National Institutes of Health (NCI/NIH). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NCI/NIH or DHHS.
Email questions and comments about this abstract to r.merceir@temple.edu.
