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Safetxt: a safer sex intervention delivered by mobile phone messaging on sexually transmitted infections (STI) among young people in the UK - protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Free, C; McCarthy, OL; Palmer, MJ; Knight, R; Edwards, P; French, R; Baraitser, P; ... Potter, K; + view all (2020) Safetxt: a safer sex intervention delivered by mobile phone messaging on sexually transmitted infections (STI) among young people in the UK - protocol for a randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open , 10 (3) , Article e031635. 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031635. Green open access

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Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Young people aged 16 to 24 have the highest prevalence of genital chlamydia and gonorrhoea compared with other age groups and re-infection rates following treatment are high. Long-term adverse health effects include subfertility and ectopic pregnancy, particularly among those with repeated infections. We developed the safetxt intervention delivered by text message to reduce sexually transmitted infection (STI) by increasing partner notification, condom use and (STI) testing among young people in the UK. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A single-blind randomised trial to reliably establish the effect of the safetxt intervention on chlamydia and gonorrhoea infection at 1 year. We will recruit 6250 people aged 16 to 24 years who have recently been diagnosed with chlamydia, gonorrhoea or non-specific urethritis from health services in the UK. Participants will be allocated to receive the safetxt intervention (text messages designed to promote safer sexual health behaviours) or to receive the control text messages (monthly messages asking participants about changes in contact details) by an automated remote online randomisation system. The primary outcome will be the cumulative incidence of chlamydia and gonorrhoea infection at 1 year assessed by nucleic acid amplification tests. Secondary outcomes include partner notification, correct treatment of infection, condom use and STI testing prior to sex with new partners. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval was obtained from NHS Health Research Authority - London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee (REC reference: 15/LO/1665) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. We will submit the results of the trial for publication in peer-reviewed journals. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: International Standard Randomised Controlled Trials Number: ISRCTN64390461. Registered on 17th March 2016. WHO trial registration data set available at: http://apps.who.int/trialsearch/Trial2.aspx?TrialID=ISRCTN64390461. TRIAL PROTOCOL VERSION: 12, 19th July 2018.

Type: Article
Title: Safetxt: a safer sex intervention delivered by mobile phone messaging on sexually transmitted infections (STI) among young people in the UK - protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031635
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031635
Language: English
Additional information: © Author(s) (or their employer[s]) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: mHealth, randomised controlled trial, sexual behaviour, sexually transmitted infection, text message, young people
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Social Research Institute
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Inst of Clinical Trials and Methodology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Inst of Clinical Trials and Methodology > MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute for Global Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Primary Care and Population Health
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10093406
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