Safetxt: a randomised controlled trial of a safer sex intervention
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Safetxt: A randomised controlled trial of an intervention delivered by mobile phone messaging to reduce sexually transmitted infections (STI) by increasing sexual health precaution behaviours in young people
IRAS ID
188241
Contact name
Caroline Free
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Sexually transmitted infections are common in young people. They can cause important health problems, like infertility. People are less likely to get an infection if they use condoms and get tested before they stop using condoms with a new partner. People with an infection are less likely to get another infection if they tell their partner. Young people can find it hard to do these things.
Interventions can help people use condoms and get tested. These interventions can reduce sexually transmitted infections. But, they do not appeal to young people. Few interventions have been carefully tested so, we do not know if they work.
Mobile phones are popular with young people. Support delivered by text message could help young people use condoms and get tested. The support could help them to tell partners.) about an infection. Text messages are cheap. Young people could get the support, wherever they are.
Interventions delivered by text message can help people change their behaviour. Randomised controlled trials are the best way of testing if an intervention works. In sexual health, until now, trials of interventions delivered by text message have been low quality. Interventions have not been ideal. The interventions have not tried to help people tell partners about an infection. Interventions have used very few tried and tested approaches to changing behaviour.We developed support for young people delivered by text message. The support is designed to reduce sexually transmitted infections. It is designed to help young people use condoms, and get tested. The support is designed to help people tell a partner about an infection. The support was developed with young people and experts. It uses tried and tested behaviour change approaches.
We conducted a pilot trial of our intervention. We showed it is possible to do a large scale trial. Young people were happy to join the trial. We recruited ahead of schedule. We were able to collect the samples we needed to test for sexually transmitted infection, one year later. Young people liked the messages. They felt that the messages increased their knowledge in how to use condoms. They said the messages helped them to tell a partner about an infection. Some women said they shared the messages with their partner to get them to use condoms.
Our trial will tell us if the intervention reduces sexually transmitted infections. We will find out if the intervention helps young people tell a partner about an infection. We will find out if it helps them use condoms and get tested. We will recruit 5000 young people. We will randomly (by chance) send people the support messages. Or, they will be in a control group.The research team includes experts in the design and management of trials, statistics, behaviour change and sexual health. The team has specific experience in designing, delivering and evaluating mobile phone based interventions.
REC name
London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/1665
Date of REC Opinion
16 Oct 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion