mSexual and Reproductive Health for Adolescent: An idea

According to the United Nations Population Fund report 2014, there are 1.8 billion adolescents in the world in the age group 10-19 years. They face significant challenges in their sexual and reproductive health including poor knowledge, lack of access to reliable information sources and pressure to engage in high risks behaviour. Most of them have or have access to a smartphone and they enter a new world without limits. This technology is a new opportunity for providing adolescents with information and communication to overcome their challenges related to sexual and reproductive health. Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices of adolescents who receive information on sexual and reproductive health through a culture specific mobile app. Materials/Patients and Methods: This study is a multicenter and multidisciplinary study to be developed in two phases in Iran, Bolivia and Nigeria. In the first phase, a mobile app will be developed with specific and appropriate content according to the age of adolescent: early adolescence 10-13 years old; middle 14-16 years old; and late adolescence 17-19 years old. The app will be a combination of games, text messages, and graphical and text information. The structure and topics of the app will be the same in the three countries but content will be presented embedded in a culture-based approach and according to age. The second phase of the research will be a quasi-experimental study on adolescents who are in the three aforementioned stages and have access to a smartphone. They will become users of the app for 6 months and have the possibility to ask questions and receive answers by a health professional (doctor/psychologist). Their knowledge will be evaluated in a KAP survey model (Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices) before and after the intervention (t0 and t1). Data will be analyzed based on analytical statistics by SPSS version 22 Conclusion: The app could be a way to reach adolescents and provide information for protection of negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes.