Katherine Brown PhD C.PsycholApplied Research Centre for

Health & Lifestyle Interventions

Health psychology, eHealth and sexual health: Can we have impact?

Introducing some colleaguesProf Louise Wallace

Katie Newby

Julie Bayley

Puja Punj (nee Joshi)

Isher Kehal

Becky Judd

Alison Baxter

Dr Maddy Arden

Dr Keith Hurst

Prof Charles Abraham

Dr Mike Caley

Amy Danahay

Suzanne Hilton

SGI colleagues

Can we have impact?• Health Psychology• Applied Research• What do we mean by impact?• How do we measure it?

– Impact goals and how they are measured may differ for every project

• ARC-HLI focus = interventions • Goal = get intervention used in setting “a”

or by group of people “b”• Links to public health

Can we have impact?

• Stakeholders as partners• Not an easy process• Worthwhile though!• eHealth and sexual health• Why eHealth & e interventions?• Examples from some of our work and

lessons learnt!• Sharing part of our journey...

Learning Curve

• VoID – Volitional Intervention Development• Evidence based and researcher-led• Brown, Hurst & Arden (2011)• 85% adolescents report strong intentions to use

contraception• Only half report successful, consistent use• Behaviour changed for low intenders• Use of implementation intentions to support

translation of motivation into action• Where do you find YP already motivated to use

contraception?

VoID• Embed implementation intention style planning

into sexual health services?• Required feasibility work!• Developed prototype and gained funding from

the British Academy to get YP and HPs to have a go with it and feedback about usability, feasibility for practice and so on

• Allowed further funding to be secured for development

• Brown, Abraham, Joshi & Wallace (in press) reports on the health professionals responses and how their views were incorporated in development

VoID – Contraceptive planning

VoID• http://www.healthinterventions.co.uk/interv

entions/intro.aspx?section=5

• Developed a protocol funded by NHS Warwickshire to test the efficacy of the intervention in sexual health clinics

• Recruitment has been slow!• Lesson learned: engage HPs in efficacy-

trial protocol design, get their buy-in and their commitment

• Too keen not to be disruptive!

VoID• When we have enough data...• Basis for planning a full trial that takes into

account lessons learned re: protocol development and feasibility

• Web platform is more acceptable now than it was a few years ago so greater scope for embracing the approach...

• Public Health – can we use tablet/web technology in other PC settings to deliver behaviour change interventions?

PREPARE Serious Game

PREPARE Serious Game• Positive Relationships: Eliminating Pressure and Coercion in

Adolescent Relationships

• Researcher led • Funding sourced based on the idea of

using serious gaming for RSE delivery• But: development of intervention involved

stakeholders from the outset• Sexual health commissioners and

practitioners & young people’s groups• Used intervention mapping (Bartholomew et al., 2011)

PREPARE Serious Game

• Brown, Bayley & Newby (in press)• Processes still not perfect• Involved teachers sooner than we did!• The user engagement helps develop

impact• YP providing audio recordings – build

relationships with local organisations• Coventry City Council and ELCs• PSHE lead ‘support’ group

PREPARE Serious Game

• Still in development – prototype demo• Lesson plan and engaging structure• Aims to help adolescents;

– Recognise different types of coercion– Develop positive beliefs about acting to stop

coercion (to them or by them)– Develop feeling of peer support for acting to

stop coercion– Discuss and get opportunity to try out ways of

acting to stop coercion escalating

PREPARE

• Qualitative feedback from young people’s groups – iterative feedback and development process

• RCT evaluations in school RSE lessons• 2 (condition) x 2 (time) design• Assess change objectives – by condition

and time• Collect teacher/pupil feedback for further

development

Respect Yourself web app

• Public Health led project – we’ve partnered with them from outset

• Sought funding for a smart phone app to enhance access to sexual health services amongst young people

• Used an intervention mapping approach to scope evidence and engage end users

• Developed concept to include redevelopment of existing website www.respectyourself.info

Respect Yourself web app

• Web app means access not restricted to smart phone users

• Needs analysis and literature searches highlighted a range of beliefs about barriers to and facilitators of service access

• The web app will deliver tailored messages to encourage and support service access

• For example.....

Respect Yourself web app• Partners are commissioners in PH• Real impact will only come through YP’s

use of the app• Evaluation work with schools will help• But also need careful marketing plan• Using YP group to get the ‘hook’ right. • How can we make this something that

young people will want to access on their phone/tablet pc or laptop?

Can we have impact?• Yes and we should – but we need to work

harder and plan more carefully for it!• It’s not a one-way street either!• Mutual benefits• Evolving and iterative process• Hopefully I’ve pointed out some of the do’s

and don’ts!• Can we use new technologies to

effectively support the impact building process?

Thanks for listening!

k.brown@coventry.ac.uk

www.healthinterventions.co.uk