 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Sarah N. Keller, PhD, Dept. of Communication, Emerson College, 120 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116, 617-824-8857, sarah_keller@emerson.edu
The objective of this study was to identify the educational messages and usability features of safe sex web sites that are important to low-income, minority teenagers. Specifically, the study examined how a small group of adolescents ages 14-17 rated five sexual health web sites using 17 criteria on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), obtained from the Sexuality and Information Council of the United States (SIECUS). Six teenagers rated five web sites, using a coding sheet that allowed them to score parameters on a scale from 1-10. The web sites chosen for study were selected based on their high-ranking scores in Phase I of this project, a separate content analysis of 36 teen-targeted safe sex web sites. Results of Phase II, reported here, showed that none of the web sites were comprehensive; and most did not answer teenagers’ personal questions about sexual health. Also noteworthy was an apparent lack of information on how to get sexual health counseling (m = 4.4), or about how individuals can get re-infected with STDs/HIV (m = 2.28). By contrast, there was relatively ample information on STD testing and treatment (m = 7.08).
Learning objectives: Participants will learn to:
1) Articulate and describe the procedure for conducting usability studies in health communication; and
2) Apply lessons learned from Internet research for improving online sexuality education.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Sexual Risk Behavior, Internet
Related Web page: www.iwannaknow.org; www.itsyoursexlife.org
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.