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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2025 Jan;76(1):140-147.
doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.08.020. Epub 2024 Oct 11.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Digital Intervention to Improve the Sexual Health of Adolescent and Young Adult Male Emergency Department Patients

Lauren S Chernick  1 , Mona Bugaighis  2 , Daniel Hochster  2 , Victoria Daylor  2 , Prakash Gorroochurn  3 , Rebecca Schnall  4 , Melissa S Stockwell  5 , David Bell  5
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Digital Intervention to Improve the Sexual Health of Adolescent and Young Adult Male Emergency Department Patients

Lauren S Chernick et al. J Adolesc Health. 2025 Jan.

Abstract

Purpose: To assess implementation outcomes and potential efficacy of a user-informed, theory-based digital health intervention developed to improve adolescent and young adult (AYA) male sexual health.

Methods: We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial of sexually active male emergency department (ED) patients aged 14-21 years. Participants were randomized to the intervention (Dr. Eric, Emergency Room Interventions to improve Care) or usual care. Dr. Eric consists of an ED-based sexual health app followed by 3 months of interactive text messages. We assessed the feasibility, adoption, and fidelity among users. Condom use, defined as the number of sexual encounters with condoms divided by the total number of sexual encounters over the past 4 weeks, was the primary efficacy outcome.

Results: We enrolled 119 patients; mean age was 17.9 years, 87% were Hispanic, and half used condoms at last intercourse. Dr. Eric demonstrated feasibility, with high rates of consent (86.2%) and follow-up (81.5%). Intervention participants found Dr. Eric acceptable, liking (86.2%) and recommending (87.9%) the program. 98% of intervention participants interacted with all five app modules; one-quarter opted out of text messaging. At 6-week follow-up, the intervention group more often used a condom compared to the control group [OR 3.57, 95% confidence interval (1.93, 6.60)], p < .001]; however, this significant difference did not sustain at 13 weeks.

Discussion: Dr. Eric was feasible to deliver and acceptable to male AYA patients. To our knowledge, Dr. Eric is the first intervention to demonstrate evidence of short-term efficacy for improving condom use among male AYA in the ED.

Keywords: Adolescent behavior; Condoms; Digital health; Emergency medicine; Health planning; Mobile health; Pregnancy prevention; Sexual behavior; Sexual health; Teenage pregnancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have nothing to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Image of the landing page of the Dr. Eric app.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
CONSORT Diagram of the Dr. Eric trial.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed April 14, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/condomeffectiveness/brief.html.
    1. Cairns C, Kang K. National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2021 emergency department summary tables. Accessed April 14, 2024. https://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/NHA....

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