A Trial Assessing the Effectiveness of Text Messages in Improving Continuation of Birth Control (BC 2U)

December 20, 2013 updated by: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

A Text Message Support System for Effective Continuation of a Birth Control Method in Female Adolescents: 'BC 2U'

This study is a randomized controlled trial assessing the effectiveness in a series of educational text messages in improving continuation of a birth control method in comparison to the 'standard counseling', when girls initiate a new method of birth control. Girls aged 15-19 year olds who are attending for a reproductive health visit and who own a working cell phone will be approached and asked if they would like to participate. Following completion of a baseline questionnaire and consultation for initiation of a new birth control method they will be randomized to receive either the intervention or standard counseling.

If randomized to the intervention they will receive 3 messages per week for the initial 3 weeks, 2 messages per week for the following 5 weeks and then one message per week thereafter. Messages will be tailored to the birth control method the participant has initiated. At 4 months all participants will be contacted via telephone and asked to complete a questionnaire regarding continuation of use.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Hypothesis. A personalized text messaging program providing trustworthy, reliable information and support to female adolescents initiating a birth control method, will improve adherence and correct use of the method and so reduce unwanted pregnancies.

Methods. Female adolescents aged 15-19 year olds attending Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center (MSAHC) for initiating a birth control method will be asked if they are interested in participating in the trial.

The Intervention Group. Upon initiation of a birth control method patients will be signed up to the text messaging platform. Via this program they will receive personalized messages regarding their chosen method of birth control. Participants will receive 3 messages during the initial 3 weeks, 2 messages per week in weeks 4-8 and then one message a week thereafter for a period of 12 months. They will be signed up for reminders to take/change their method (as appropriate) and have access to a Healthcare Provider to ask questions via text message that they may have regarding their method. Participants will be reminded (via text message) to attend the clinic for a birth control refill (if necessary) at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months.

The Control Group. Participants randomized in to the control group will have standard care. This is the usual counseling by the Health Care Provider or Health Educator. Patients in the intervention arm will also receive this standard care.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

220

Phase

  • Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10128
        • Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

15 years to 19 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • female
  • Aged 15-19 years old
  • English speaking
  • owner of a working cell phone
  • patient must be wanting to start a birth control method and not have been on a method for preceding 3 months
  • no contra indications to initiating a birth control method

Exclusion Criteria:

  • male
  • younger than 15 years old, older than 19 years old
  • already on a birth control method
  • Not English speaking
  • No working cell phone in possession

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: No intervention
Experimental: Text messaging
Other: Text messaging
Text messages to cell phone with education messages about the specific birth control they are using

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Continuation of a birth control method
Time Frame: at 4 months
Birth control continuation will be assessed at 4 months by direct asking of the participant to see if participant has attended for a refill of her birth control method.
at 4 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in birth control method being used.
Time Frame: at 4 months
whether subjects continue with the initial method of birth control or discontinue a method at the 4 months.
at 4 months
Pregnancy
Time Frame: at 4 months
at 4 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Jenny Francis, MD, Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

March 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 28, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 6, 2012

First Posted (Estimate)

March 7, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

December 24, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 20, 2013

Last Verified

December 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • GCO 11-1385
  • HS#: 11-01558

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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