Adolescent Health Website: Laying the Foundation for Healthy Reproduction: A Lifecourse Approach to Prevention of Preterm Birth through Engaging and Empowering Adolescents
WINK – a comprehensive and inclusive online sexual and reproductive healthcare guide for teens
The Problem
It is well known that teens don't always receive enough information during school sex education classes. Many teens rely on the internet to find health information, so it's important to have reliable and helpful resources about sexual and reproductive health to help them make healthy choices about their sexuality.
Additionally, teens often start seeking healthcare services related to sexual and reproductive health on their own, without involving their parents or guardians. Their experiences with healthcare at this stage can shape how they interact with the healthcare system in the future, especially when it comes to reproductive health. This can affect their ability to receive the healthcare they need and may have long-term consequences for their overall health and well-being.
A potential solution
WINK (What I Need to Know) is a mobile-optimized website made for teens to learn about their health. It provides a wide range of information about sexual and reproductive health, as well as practical advice on how to access healthcare services. The content is designed to empower teens and covers topics like sex, relationships, and reproduction. It also helps them understand how to navigate healthcare on their own, what to expect during visits, and offers tools to support communication with healthcare providers regarding sexual and reproductive health. 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.
What did the pilot study find?
In our pilot study of California teens, we found that teens who engaged with the site reported increased confidence in navigating healthcare, such as in knowing how to find a provider and how to ask sexual and reproductive health questions of providers, after one-month of engaging with WINK. The graphics, tone, and breadth of information made the site appealing to teens, and most reported that the information provided on the site was useful and that they would recommend the site to a friend.
In interviews, participants shared that WINK fills multiple critical gaps in educational resources available to teens to support their healthcare utilization (e.g. how to start conversations with providers or information on their healthcare rights) and their sexual and reproductive lives (e.g. signs of an unhealthy relationship).
Current status:
We are currently seeking funding for a larger evaluation of WINK, and partnerships to distribute WINK