Pilot of an Online Sexual Health Program

This study proposes to pilot an online intervention to support father-teen health-promoting talk about sex and relationships using Social Cognitive Theory, and to evaluate this intervention's acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy, using an Intervention Mapping approach. This study involves conducting a pilot intervention with 50 pairs of fathers and their high-school aged teens. Feasibility and acceptability will be assessed through program data such as participants' pilot enrollment, lesson feedback, and program retention, survey data from Acceptability of Intervention Measure and Feasibility of Intervention Measure, and member checks through debrief interviews (5 father, 5 teens). Preliminary assessment of directionality of change in participants' health-related knowledge, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations over the course of the pilot intervention (pre- and post-intervention surveys) to determine whether a full-scale R01 is warranted. The investigators will recruit a diverse sample of father-adolescent pairs (N=50 pairs) through partnership with three community partner organizations. Fathers will be asked questions online to determine project eligibility and demographics (screener) and given an online consent form. If a father agrees to teens' participation, the teen will be sent an assent form for their own participation and a brief screener survey. If teens are 18 or older, the investigators will request their contact information from participating fathers and ask teens to provide their own consent. Only father/teen pairs who complete the screeners and consent/assent forms, meet eligibility criteria, and both agree to participate can join the study. All pilot participants will be given a pre-and post-intervention survey to assess any change in proximal outcomes. Participants will be asked to participate in 3 online modules over 6 weeks which include 3 online lessons (father and teens complete separately) and father/teen activities (fathers and teens complete together) and 3 father support group (father only). Each module will last one week and will include an online lesson and father-teen activity (fathers and teens) and online father support group session (fathers only). Lessons and support group sessions will include feedback questions (acceptability). Tracking of enrollment, retention, and duration of lesson participation will provide feasibility assessment. To obtain in-depth feedback on participants' responses to the intervention (acceptability), and to conduct member checks on pilot lesson feedback, the investigators will conduct debrief interviews with a purposive sample of pilot participants (5 fathers, 5 teens) with variation in: teen gender and level of intervention engagement. The 3 module, 3-week intervention will be delivered on Qualtrics and Zoom, accessible via computer or tablet. Online lessons will be self-paced within each week and will each include a father-teen activity, with text and e-mail reminders at the start and end of the week. Father support groups will occur online at a scheduled time planned based on fathers' schedules. Given the limited scope of the project, prototype technology will be relatively simple, with more advanced technology planned for a future R01.