title: A sex risk reduction text-message program for young adult females discharged from the emergency department.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To pilot test a text message (SMS) sex risk reduction program among at-risk young adult female patients discharged from an emergency department (ED).
  
  
  METHODS
  A convenience sample of 52 female patients with hazardous drinking behavior and recent risky sexual encounters were recruited from an urban ED and randomized to the SMS program (n = 23) or a control group (n = 29). All participants completed a web-based questionnaire in the ED and at 3-month follow-up. For 12 weeks, SMS participants were asked to report whether they had a risky sexual encounter in the past week, received theory-based feedback, and were asked if they were willing set a goal to refrain from having another risky encounter.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-nine percent of SMS participants completed all weeks of SMS reports, and noncompletion increasing from 12% on week 1 to a 33% by week 12. Three-month follow-up was completed in 56% of participants. In the intervention group, there was an increase in the proportion with condom use with last vaginal sex from 20% (95% CI 4%-48%) to 53% (95% CI 27%-79%) and an increase in always condom use over the past 28 days from 0% (95% CI 0%-22%) to 33% (95% CI 12%-62%). These changes were not statistically different from control participants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SMS programs may be useful to reduce risk for sexually transmitted diseases among at-risk young adults being discharged from the ED. Future trials should examine ways to improve adherence to SMS dialog over time and measure objective outcomes in a larger sample.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. suffbp@upmc.edu
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Suffoletto
authors.forename: Aletha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akers
authors.forename: Kathleen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: McGinnis
authors.forename: Jaclyn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Calabria
authors.forename: Harold C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Wiesenfeld
authors.forename: Duncan B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010414:Pennsylvania; D010865:Pilot Projects; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D060145:Text Messaging; D014505:Urban Population
keywords: Health promotion; Sexual health; Text messaging; Young adult