Improving low-income teen health behaviors with internet-linked clinic interventions

An exploratory study was conducted to determine if: (1) web-linked computer interventions can help low-income minority teens maintain or increase condom use; (2) directed use of computers for health purposes during clinic waiting room time is more helpful than is self-generated computer use. Teen clinics were randomly assigned to treatment and comparison conditions. Teens attending treatment clinics were directed to view one of two very brief condom-promoting PowerPoint presentations linked to teen-friendly health websites. Teens attending comparison clinics were allowed to use the computers for whatever purposes they chose. Treatment teens returning for follow-up appointments 3-6 months later knew more of the relevant information and were more likely to have "always" used condoms than comparison teens who did not have directed guidance in using the computers. This study suggests that to achieve meaningful outcome-based health education using computers and the Internet in clinics serving low-income minority youth, directed learning is likely to be more efficacious than unguided exploration or general use. Indeed, directed learning using technology may help reduce some of the health disparities experienced by low-income minority youth by increasing protective behaviors. Further research on this approach is merited. © 2011 Springer Science + Business Media, LLC.