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Lisa K. Gilbert, PhD, American Social Health Association, P.O. Box 13827, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, (919) 361-4809, lisgil@ashastd.org
Increasingly, teens are searching the Internet for answers to their sexual health questions. Following health recommendations on high quality websites can dramatically impact the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents. However, little is known about how to evaluate the effectiveness of these websites. To understand what is known, and what is needed, recommendations from more than seventy published papers were summarized and collapsed into a nine-item research agenda which included: 1) Develop consensus criteria and a coordinated plan for designing, testing and monitoring new research methods; 2) Investigate inequities of access (and participation) and develop reliable weighting variables to correct biases; 3) Compare the cost-effectiveness of technology-based interventions and evaluations with other methods; 4) Explore the effects of perceived confidentiality, incentives, question wording, and graphic formats on response rates; 5) Develop a comprehensive research policy agenda to promote the positive potential and minimize the harms of new digital media in the lives of youth; 6) Design rigorous scientific studies to measure the impact of website visits on knowledge, attitude, behavior, health outcome and/or health care quality; 7) Investigate the effects of technological limitations (e.g., filtering software) on teen access; 8) Discover methods to measure the validity and reliability of the data; and 9) Disseminate research findings by publishing the results to the academic community, the lay public, the press and policy-makers. Discussing, prioritizing and disseminating these recommendations can influence the direction of program quality and program evaluation and ultimately impact teen sexual and reproductive health.
Learning Objectives: By the end of this session, participants will be able to
Keywords: Adolescents, Internet
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.