TY  - JOUR
AU  - Lopez, Cristina
AU  - Gilmore, Amanda K
AU  - Moreland, Angela
AU  - Danielson, Carla Kmett
AU  - Acierno, Ron
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/8/11
TI  - Meeting Kids Where They Are At–A Substance Use and Sexual Risk Prevention Program via Telemedicine for African American Girls: Usability and Acceptability Study
JO  - J Med Internet Res
SP  - e16725
VL  - 22
IS  - 8
KW  - adolescents
KW  - substance use
KW  - sexual risk reduction
KW  - telehealth
KW  - prevention programs
KW  - mobile phone
AB  - Background: Rural African American youth lack access to drug and sexual risk–taking prevention programs available in more urban areas. Recent data indicate that rural youth now use substances at higher rates and at younger ages than their urban peers. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the initial usability and acceptability of a low-cost, technology-based approach to delivering effective, culturally tailored, integrated substance use disorder (SUD) and HIV risk behavior prevention programs to African American female youth to inform the use of this intervention via telemedicine for rural youth. Methods: Effective SUD prevention strategies and emotion regulation skills were integrated into an existing evidence-based HIV risk reduction program culturally tailored for African American female adolescents—Sisters Informing, Healing, Living, and Empowering (SIHLE)—and delivered to 39 African American female youth via group telehealth. The evaluation of the resulting program, 12-session SIHLEplus, was completed by 27 girls who also completed self-report measures that assessed sexual risk behaviors (eg, number of partners and age of sex initiation), substance use, exposure to traumatic events, and emotion regulation. Results: The descriptive and qualitative results of the pilot study demonstrate the initial usability and acceptability of delivering evidence-based prevention successfully via telehealth to help address health disparities in this vulnerable population. Conclusions: Although more research is needed, the findings from this study suggest that SIHLEplus has demonstrated initial usability and acceptability. 
SN  - 1438-8871
UR  - http://www.jmir.org/2020/8/e16725/
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/16725
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32780022
DO  - 10.2196/16725
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/16725
ER  -