Interventions to Improve Reproductive Health Among Adolescents
- Conditions
- Teacher Training
- Interventions
- Other: E-based virtual facilitator training for Making Proud ChoicesOther: In-person facilitator training for Making Proud Choices
- Registration Number
- NCT04227236
- Lead Sponsor
- RAND
- Brief Summary
The proposed virtual training prototype will provide Making Proud Choices (MPC) facilitator trainees the opportunity to make decisions, build facilitator skills, practice core concepts and enhance self-efficacy with a virtual audience programmed to display a range of behaviors and emotions, simulating a true-to-life experience with immediate feedback. Seventy-two adults who have experience working with adolescents but not with MPC, STI, or pregnancy prevention education will receive MPC training. Participants will be randomly assigned to either: 1) virtual training in the MPC module on condom use n=36), or 2) dfusion/ETR's traditional in-person training in the same module (n=36). Using mixed methods (survey, focus groups, observations), the project will evaluate the virtual training's impact on STI/pregnancy prevention knowledge, teaching efficacy, and teaching skills and its usability, feasibility, and acceptability.
- Detailed Description
Dfusion, in partnership with the RAND Corporation, Allen Interactions and Dr. Loretta Jemmott (MPC developer), proposes to develop an online avatar-based virtual training that can make MPC training more accessible while still being as effective as in-person. In this Phase I STTR, we will develop and test a prototype of the online, avatar-based virtual training for activities of MPC and test it with 72 adults who have experience working with adolescents (but not with MPC or any HIV/STI/teen pregnancy risk-reduction program). At random, 36 will receive traditional in-person MPC training, and 36 will receive avatar-based MPC training. The avatar group (n=36) will be compared to the in-person group (n=36) on their STI/pregnancy prevention knowledge, teaching efficacy, and teaching skills.
The scientific premise is that avatar-based virtual training will prepare educators to implement the popular evidence-based MPC as effectively as traditional (and expensive) face-to-face trainings. The specific aims are:
* Aim 1: Develop a prototype for a novel, online avatar-based virtual training for select components of the evidence-based STI/pregnancy risk reduction program Making Proud Choices.
* Aim 2: Using mixed methods (survey, focus groups, observations), evaluate the avatar-based training's preliminary impact on facilitator STI/pregnancy prevention knowledge, teaching efficacy, and teaching skills compared to in-person training, as well as its usability and acceptability.
By developing novel tools/platforms to improve the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based behavioral interventions to prevent STIs/teen pregnancy, this application is in line with the priorities of the NICHD Population Dynamics Branch, which supports reproductive health research on STIs and family planning. If successful, not only will dfusion proceed to Phase II, but the findings could inform other nascent efforts to develop avatar facilitator trainings that could make a range of evidence-based programs more accessible to community-based organizations.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- COMPLETED
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 53
- age 21+ and have no prior experience with MPC or providing STI or pregnancy prevention education
- non-English speaking
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description E-based virtual training E-based virtual facilitator training for Making Proud Choices Participants in the e-based virtual training (up to 8 participants per session) will be placed at one of eight computers (with headphones), which we estimate will take less time (about 40 minutes), due to the individualized learning and 1:1 nature of the training instead of 1:15. Participants will complete the condom-line up facilitator training module that corresponds to the Making Proud Choices curriculum. In-person training In-person facilitator training for Making Proud Choices Participants in-person training will participate in a class with 15-20 participants like the usual MPC training environment. The training will last 1 hour. Like the e-based virtual training, participants will complete the condom-line up facilitator training module that corresponds to the Making Proud Choices curriculum.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Implementation Fidelity up to 1 hour post teacher training Participants teach an activity that is video recorded and coded for fidelity to the Making Proud Choices curriculum. Participants are scored on completion of curriculum tasks, ability to answer sensitive questions, ability to foster a safe and inclusive environment, and engagement of students. Each of the nine sub-activities from the Making Proud Choices module were rated independently by two coders as 2=done correctly, 1=done partially correct, or 0=not done correctly.
Pre-Training Knowledge of Condom Line-Up Activity 30 minutes before teacher training 7-item survey measure of knowledge related to condom safety and objectives of the condom line-up module of Making Proud Choices. Responses were coded as correct (1) and incorrect (0).
Post-Training Knowledge of Condom Line-Up Activity 30 minutes after teacher training 7-item survey measure of knowledge related to condom safety and objectives of the condom line-up module of Making Proud Choices. Responses were coded as correct (1) and incorrect (0).
Pre-Training Teaching Self-efficacy 30 minutes before teacher training 4-item self-efficacy measure assessing confidence in teaching condom safety, rated from 1 (not at all) to 7(extremely). Scores were averaged to create a self-efficacy scale score.
Post-Training Teaching Self-efficacy 30 minutes after teacher training 4-item self-efficacy measure assessing confidence in teaching condom safety, rated from 1 (not at all) to 7(extremely). Scores were averaged to create a self-efficacy scale score.
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Acceptability of training 30 minutes after teacher training 19-item measure of perceived acceptability of Making Proud Choices e-based facilitator training. The overall score and the three scales (System Usefulness, Information Quality, and Interface Quality) use a 7-point scale (strongly agree to strongly disagree). Higher scores equal greater acceptability/
Applicability of training 30 minutes after teacher training 10-item measure of perceived applicability and usability of Making Proud Choices e-based facilitator training. Items were rated on a 7-point scale (strongly agree to strongly disagree), with higher scores representing greater perceptions of applicability.
Overall Impression 30 minutes after teacher training Participants overall impressions of the training were assessed using 4 item measure, rated on a 7-point Likert scale ("very difficult to use" to "very easy to use", "very boring" to "very interesting", "very amateurish" to "very professional", and "very basic" to "very informative"). Items were average to create an overall impression score, with higher scores reflecting greater overall impression.
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
Dfusion, Inc
🇺🇸Scotts Valley, California, United States