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February 2005, Vol 95, No. 2 | American Journal of Public Health 331-337
© 2005 American Public Health Association
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2003.028357

RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

A Community-Based Intervention Designed to Increase Preventive Health Care Seeking Among Adolescents: The Gonorrhea Community Action Project

Nancy L. VanDevanter, DrPH, Peter Messeri, PhD, Susan E. Middlestadt, PhD, Amy Bleakley, MPhil, MPH, Cheryl R. Merzel, DrPH, Matthew Hogben, PhD, Rebecca Ledsky, MBA, C. Kevin Malotte, DrPH, Renee M. Cohall, ACSW, Thomas L. Gift, PhD and Janet S. St. Lawrence, PhD

Nancy L. VanDevanter, Peter Messeri, Amy Bleakley, Cheryl R. Merzel, and Renee M. Cohall are with the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY. Susan E. Middlestadt is with the Academy for Educational Development, Washington, DC, as was Rebecca Ledsky at the time of this study. Matthew Hogben, Thomas L. Gift, and Janet S. St. Lawrence are with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga. C. Kevin Malotte is with the Department of Health Science, California State University, Long Beach.

Correspondence: Request for reprints should be sent to Nancy L. Van-Devanter, DrPH, Center for Applied Public Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 W 168th St, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10032 (e-mail: nlv1{at}columbia.edu).

Objectives. We evaluated the effectiveness of an intervention designed to increase preventive health care seeking among adolescents.

Methods. Adolescents and young adults aged 12 to 21 years, recruited from community-based organizations in 2 different communities, were randomized into either a 3-session intervention or a control condition. We estimated outcomes from 3-month follow-up data using logistic and ordinary least squares regression.

Results. Female intervention participants were significantly more likely than female control participants to have scheduled a health care appointment (odds ratio [OR]=3.04), undergone a checkup (OR=2.87), and discussed with friends or family members the importance of undergoing a checkup (OR=4.5). There were no differences between male intervention and male control participants in terms of outcomes.

Conclusions. This theory-driven, community-based group intervention significantly increased preventive health care seeking among female adolescents. Further research is needed, however, to identify interventions that will produce successful outcomes among male adolescents.






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