Evaluating the Impact of CHOICE-AYA on Contraceptive Use, Continuation and Satisfaction

This is a prospective study involving two phases: 1) adaptation and 2) intervention, in adolescents aged 14-21 experiencing homelessness. The overarching goal is to develop and evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of a counselling intervention to improve access to contraception among AYA experiencing homelessness. During the first phase, referred to as the adaption phase, we will rely on collective input from formative groups of AYA experiencing homelessness to adapt the CHOICE counselling intervention for this underserved and under-resourced population. In the second phase, referred to as the intervention phase, we will evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of the adapted intervention (CHOICE-AYA).

This study will adapt an evidence-based contraceptive counseling intervention (CHOICE) using input from the formative groups of AYA experiencing homelessness and study the impact of the adapted counseling (CHOICE-AYA) on contraceptive use, continuation, and satisfaction in a specialized community care setting. After informed consent is obtained, participants will receive the CHOICE-AYA counseling intervention by trained clinic staff. Provision of contraception based on participant choice will occur through the clinic provider same day. Participants will be sent links to complete the follow-up surveys at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. In addition, Clinic staff (e.g., prescribers and nurses) will be sent electronic surveys following randomly selected study visits. Findings will inform best practices for this vulnerable population and provide foundational evidence for future studies focused on expanding care to other sites that serve this group.