Teens don't always receive enough information during school sex education classes, and increasingly rely on the internet to find health information. Therefore it is important to have trusted, accurate and empowering resources about sexual and reproductive health to meet their information needs and promote healthy sexuality.
Additionally, teens often have their first contact with healthcare providers independent of their parents or guardians as they seek out sexual and reproductive services, and face unique challenges when they do. Their experiences navigating health care can shape how they engage with the healthcare system in the future, and particularly with reproductive health providers. This has implications for their ability to receive the health care they need and therefore may ultimately have an impact on their long-term health and well-being.
WINK (What I Need to Know) is a mobile-optimized website designed to equip teens with the knowledge, resources, and support needed to engage in their healthcare. It connects a wide range of information about sexual and reproductive health with practical advice about accessing and receiving health care for a teen audience. Our empowerment-focused content covers an array of topics relevant to teen well-being and health decision-making, such as sex, relationships and reproduction, contraception, information on how to access healthcare on their own, what to expect from visits and tools to support engagement with providers on sexual and reproductive health topics.
The website is interactive and includes features like quizzes, diagrams, a virtual clinic tour, and a tool to find nearby clinics. To make sure the website meets the needs of teens, it was developed in collaboration with youth advisors who provided input on what topics should be covered, the tone of the content, the branding, and the overall design and navigation of the website.