Using Media As a Training Tool to Enhance the Ability of Health Care Providers to Deliver Sexual Health Care to Adolescents

Background: Helping to build an adolescent’s motivation and capacity to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and adhere to treatment is crucial and health care providers can play a role in this. It can be difficult for providers to discuss sexual health with adolescents due to the lack of training or skills and to time constraints to attend trainings.

Objectives: To describe a provider-focused DVD on working with adolescents regarding sexual health.

Methods: The CDC-funded Region II STD/HIV Prevention Training Center (PTC) in collaboration with the Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health and Harlem Health Promotion Center at Columbia University developed a provider-focused DVD on working with adolescents to improve sexual health and is entitled “An Empowering Approach to Interviewing, Screening, Educating, and Counseling Adolescents At-Risk for Sexually Transmitted Infections”. The DVD describes a clinical encounter from a provider perspective; going through steps of where and how a provider can intervene to address the patient’s sexual health. An “Empowerment Approach” is used – identifying adolescents’ competencies and assets, helping to improve and increase adolescents’ decision-making skills, reinforcing adolescents’ health promoting behaviors, building adolescents’ self-efficacy and avoiding the tendency to blame problems on individual deficits.  

Results: To date, 250 DVDs have been distributed to adolescent providers and it has been well-received with many providers attending the PTC’s STD Adolescent Intensive trainings. It is in the process of being accredited for Continuing Medical and Nursing Education credits and we plan to conduct evaluation to assess provider impact.

Conclusions: Provider-focused media materials are useful and valuable for providers working with adolescents regarding sexual health and it is important to include the promotion and building of adolescent’s strengths

Implications for Programs, Policy, and Research: Using media as a training tool to inform providers regarding adolescents and sexual health may benefit both health providers and patients.