141st APHA Annual Meeting

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283134
California condom access project (CAP): Using the internet to improve access to condoms for youth

Wednesday, November 6, 2013 : 8:45 AM - 9:00 AM

Claire Feldman, MPH , California Family Health Council, Berkeley, CA
Laura Douglas, MPH
Erika Vexler
Rates of STDs and unintended pregnancy are high among sexually active youth and young adults in California. Condoms are an effective method for preventing transmission of STDs and unintended pregnancy when used consistently and correctly. However, teens in California who want to use condoms often face significant barriers to accessing them including cost, embarrassment, confidentiality concerns, and accessibility. To address these barriers, the California Department of Public Health STD Control Branch partnered with California Family Health Council (CFHC) to create the Condom Access Project, or CAP. CAP was modeled after a similar intervention program in Philadelphia and launched on Valentine's Day 2012. The program is housed on CFHC's teen-friendly website, www.teensource.org. The CAP website enables California youth 12 to 19 years old to search a condom access site map for physical locations where condoms are available on a walk-in basis. In select high STD morbidity counties, teens can request condoms by mail. A year after the project's launch, CAP has over 465 teen-friendly locations listed on the CAP map, 65 newly recruited condom access sites, and mailed youth in target counties more than 3,000 individual mailers with condoms, lubricant, and health education materials. This session will present information on the rollout of CAP, website analytics, marketing efforts (including a targeted Facebook campaign), and data from evaluating the project's reach and impact. The session will highlight outcomes, successes and lessons learned in implementing a web-based statewide condom distribution program for adolescents.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning

Learning Objectives:
Describe various methods to address barriers youth face when accessing condoms. Identify the successes and limitations of a web-based project and evaluation.

Keywords: Youth Access, STD Prevention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the co-principal creator and administrator of the CAP program since it's inception in 2012.
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.