Online Program

284382
Am I pregnant?: A digital tool to teach teens and young adults about emergency contraception


Wednesday, November 6, 2013 : 8:30 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.

Whitney Arons, MPH, CHES, Education Division, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, New York, NY
Research shows that there is a lack of emergency contraception awareness among female teens and young adults. Specifically, in 2010, Ahearn, et al. reported in the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology that 44% of adolescent females are unaware of emergency contraception. In response to this lack of awareness, Planned Parenthood Federation of America created a digital tool to address the question young people who might be unaware of emergency contraception are asking themselves: Am I pregnant? The “Am I Pregnant?” online tool is available to educate users about emergency contraception via computer or mobile phone. The tool also helps users who are beyond the five day window for emergency contraception who may not know when to take a pregnancy test, or who may think that they can determine early on if they are pregnant from symptoms alone. Data from this tool shows that most users are teens (19 or younger) or young adults (20-24). Data also shows that teen users are more likely to get a result that indicates that they are still eligible for emergency contraception, which possibly demonstrates that they are unaware of emergency contraception. Young adults are more likely to get a result that indicates they should take a pregnancy test. The presentation will walk through how this tool was developed, how it is used, the possible results that users can receive, and descriptors of who is using it.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
Describe one example of how technology is used to teach teens and young adults about emergency contraception.

Keyword(s): Adolescents, Technology

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: As the Manager of Evaluation at PPFA, one of my responsibilities is to analyze and evaluate the data from our digital tools, such as "Am I Pregnant?" I have extensive background in data analysis, research, and evaluation. I have a sexuality education background, especially involving female teens and young adults.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.