Reducing Sexual Risk Behavior: A Clinic-Based Approach

New York University, New York NY

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION: See instructions. State the application's broad, long-term objectives and specific aims, making reference to the health relatedness of the project (i.e., relevance to the mission of the agency). Describe concisely the research design and methods for achieving these goals. Describe the rationale and techniques you will use to pursue these goals. In addition, in two or three sentences, describe in plain, lay language the relevance of this research to public health. If the application is funded, this description, as is, will become public information. Therefore, do not include proprietary/confidential information. DO NOT EXCEED THE SPACE PROVIDED. The primary aim of the proposed research is to test and refine a parent-based intervention designed to prevent adolescent sexual risk behavior in Latino and African American inner city populations. The intervention uses a novel outreach approach relative to extant parent-based interventions. Specifically, the intervention takes place in a primary healthcare clinic and will be coordinated through allied health professionals when physicians see adolescents for their annual physical examinations. A mother who accompanies her adolescent to the physical will meet with a social work interventionist for approximately 30 minutes while her child is being examined by the physician. During this time, the intervention will be administered by the social work interventionist to the mother. At the conclusion of the session, the mother will be given reference materials to take home and tasks to perform to facilitate discussions about sex with her adolescent. There will be three follow-up booster sessions administered through phone calls to increase completion probabilities of the tasks. The target behavior is sexual activity in adolescents. The overall goal of the research program is to test and refine a practical, effective, and cost-efficient parent intervention that can be used in healthcare settings that will reach large numbers of parents and prevent and/or reduce future adolescent sexual risk behavior.