Technology-based Training Tool for an Empirically-Supported Group-Based HIV and STI Prevention Intervention for Juvenile Offenders

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Project Summary Youth under age 18 involved in the criminal justice system are disproportionately minorities and affected by substance abuse, mental illness, and HIV/STI. Most young offenders are released on community supervision without the STI, mental health, or substance use screening, diagnosis, and treatment afforded detained youth, despite similar rates of risk behavior. Their long-term trajectory is poor, the costs to society are high, and lasting effects on community well-being and individual employment prospects are profound. Altering this trajectory is a public health priority. Preventing HIV Among Teens (PHAT) Life is an evidence-based program that meets the need in juvenile justice to address youths' co-morbid health problems. The next––and perhaps most critical–– step in ensuring that this decade-long line of research produces actual, real-world improvements in the lives of probation youth is to develop a PHAT Life training strategy that is effective, cost-effective, and sustainable within juvenile justice settings. This private/public collaboration between Oregon Research Behavioral Intervention Strategies and the University of Illinois at Chicago will leverage existing resources and competencies to create a commercially viable technology-based training tool for PHAT Life with great potential for sustainability and cost-effectiveness. Building on SBIR Phase I research, in this Phase II application proposes to use a formative process to refine, enhance and complete the technology-based training tool to include: (a) an interactive multimedia web browser and mobile application, (b) dynamic multimedia presentations and interactive queries, (c) video examples of mock intervention delivery, (d) audio narration along with scripted language, (e) brief quizzes to ensure comprehension and knowledge acquisition, (f) opportunities to “learn more” by clicking on tabs for supplemental information, (g) targeted referrals to appendix materials, (h) games to promote engagement, and (i) other adaptations based on Phase I feedback. The proposed technology-based training tool should be highly sustainable, because it (a) relies on “indigenous” personnel to deliver the intervention, (b) is likely to prove cost-effective since we will utilize a technology that can deliver training at scale, and (c) will improve fidelity by leveraging technology to provide consistent training experiences to para-professionals. We will evaluate the training tool via a 2-arm RCT with 130 individuals who work with justice-involved youth. All trainees will receive the technology-based training tool and half will be randomized to receive supervision prior to real-life delivery. We will evaluate facilitator knowledge and satisfaction, and fidelity to PHAT Life following real-time intervention delivery. We will assess key implementation outcomes, including cost, feasibility, acceptability and sustainability. The proposed study is highly significant with strong commercialization opportunities for a scalable training solution that supports implementation fidelity and program sustainment addressing a key public health imperative.