Heart to Heart: Testing a Sexual Health Training for Foster and Kinship Caregivers

Seattle Children's Healthcare System

Status: Completed

Conditions: Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Conflict, Family; Family and Household; Sexual Behavior; Pregnancy Related

Treatments: Behavioral: Heart to Heart Training

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03331016

D-022514-S

Details and patient eligibility

About

Heart to Heart is a brief pregnancy prevention training program delivered to foster and kinship caregivers to prevent unintended pregnancy in foster youth. The training delivers easy to understand information on sexual health, contraception, and adolescent development. It also includes a brief behavioral training, and information on effective communication, monitoring strategies, and social support. The curriculum was piloted in Los Angeles. Investigators will test the intervention in a randomized control trial.

Full description

Dr. Ahrens and her team will evaluate the effectiveness of this training using a randomized stepped wedge study design with a target enrollment of 100 foster and kinship caregivers. Recruitment will be carried out in collaboration with the Los Angeles Department of Child and Family Services, foster family agencies and support groups. After completing a baseline survey, participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the waitlist control group. (With a target 1:1 ratio of controls to intervention subjects, but in consideration of greater levels of attrition in the waitlist control group due to the 6-month wait before being offered the training, participants will be randomized in a ratio of 4:3 to control vs intervention group). The intervention group will receive the training soon after enrollment, and will then complete 3 follow-up surveys over the following 6 months. Participants assigned to the waitlist control group will first complete 3 surveys over 6 months, receive the intervention at the 6 month mark, then take 3 follow-up surveys over the following 6-month period. Dr. Ahrens and team will use these survey data to measure the effectiveness of the training based on the outcome measures. Participants will be surveyed at multiple timepoints both because the different outcomes are expected to occur within different time intervals (e.g. knowledge may change right away, while behaviors will take longer), and to assess whether these outcomes change over time (e.g. whether knowledge gained in the training is lasting).

Enrollment: 62 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Is a foster or kinship caregiver in Los Angeles County.
• Has a youth age 11-21 who has lived with them for at least 3 months in the past year.
• Anticipates that at least one youth age 11-21 will continue to live with them for the next 12 months.
• Is available for either training group (immediate or in 6 months).

Exclusion criteria

• Does not anticipate youth will stay in their home for 12 months
• Does not have a youth age 11-21 in their home
• Cannot commit to being randomized to either training group.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

62 participants in 2 patient groups

Waitlist Control Group

Other group

Description:

Waitlist Control Group will serve as control group for 6 months, receiving no intervention during that time but completing periodic surveys to assess outcomes among controls (knowledge, attitudes, behaviors). They will also later receive the intervention (training program) and be followed for 6 more months.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Heart to Heart Training

Intervention Group

Experimental group

Description:

Intervention Group will receive the intervention (training program) right away, then will be followed for 6 months.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Heart to Heart Training