Presentation on the development of Plan A at the 2016 National Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention Conference

September 20, 2016 –Older adolescent African-American and Latina females experience disproportionately high rates of unintended pregnancies and STDs. We created a new video intervention for this population by adapting the model created for Safe in the City, a soap-opera style video found to reduce STD infections among clinic patients by nearly 10%. We developed Plan A from 2015 to 2016, using an iterative process including a reproductive health clinic staff survey (n=8) and feedback from several subject matter experts. The target audience of African-American and Latina women age 18-19 provided input throughout program development, beginning with 3 focus groups and subsequently through a 9-person review panel that provided detailed feedback on multiple script drafts and program elements. We hired a professional screenwriter and production company to produce a television-quality video. Safe in the City provided a model to create a new entertainment-education intervention for a different audience and to address pregnancy prevention as well as STDs. Heavy target audience involvement, input from stakeholders, and an iterative process were vital to developing the video. Plan A will be evaluated in a randomized controlled trial from 2016 through 2019.

Citations:

An Adaptation of Safe in the City to Prevent STDs and Unintended Pregnancies Among Older Adolescents

Plant A, Montoya J, Coyle K, Gaarde J, Rietmeijer C. Poster presented at: 2016 STD Prevention Conference; September 20-23, 2016; Atlanta, Georgia.