Developing Culturally Tailored mHealth Tools to Address Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes Among Black and Latina Women: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background In addressing the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) disparities for Black and Latina women, there is a need for the development of innovative programs, framed using theoretical underpinnings that are culturally and contextually tailored so that they align with lived experiences. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions offer considerable potential as a means of providing effective SRH education and services. However, there has been a lack of research assessing culturally and contextually tailored mHealth SRH interventions for Black and Latina women. Method A comprehensive literature search was undertaken using PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. Literature was reviewed to evaluate whether a culturally and contextually tailored approach was utilized in the development and implementation of mHealth interventions for Black and Latina women. Results A total of 12 articles were included in our synthesis, which encompassed mobile phone–, telephone-, and computer-based mHealth interventions for Black and Latina women. Cultural and/or gender-specific tailoring was included in 10 studies. Reduction of risky sexual behaviors and increased contraception usage were reported in 92% ( n = 11) of the studies. Interventions that incorporated tailored content and fostered interaction reported high rates of follow-up. Conclusions Tailored mHealth interventions can be effective in promoting behavior change and improving SRH outcomes for Black and Latina women. However, there is a need for more research assessing user engagement and retention for Black and Latina women, and whether improvements in SRH outcomes are sustainable over the long term.

Appealing to Motivation to Change Attitudes, Intentions, and Behavior: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 702 Experimental Tests of the Effects of Motivational Message Matching on Persuasion

“…Samples were also drawn more frequently from college/university student populations than from any other sampling frame, making our summary estimates unlikely to represent the diverse demographics that exist within countries. Though there is evidence, both from our own results and from past reviews (e.g., Chandler et al, 2022;Huang & Garcia, 2018;Wadi et al, 2022), that motivational matching can be effective for underserved populations within countries, most of this data comes from the aforementioned overrepresented countries (e.g., the United States), and the benefits of motivational matching could vary across groups (e.g., we found smaller effects for at risk populations; Figure 9). Increasing efforts to conduct research with diverse samples may, over time, provide correctives to these limitations of the literature.…”

Can an online educational video broaden young women’s contraceptive choice? Outcomes of the PREFER pre-post intervention study

“…Inequities according to age may be inferred by the confounding effect of this variable on contraceptive use outcomes (table 3). Using multiple social media platforms, language translations and an in-depth co-design process22 23 may have improved the reach, relevance and effectiveness of the intervention for different population groups, including those born outside of Australia who were underrepresented among our participants. However, these strategies would not reasonably mitigate systemic barriers to healthcare.…”

Designing illustrative social media stories to promote adolescent peer support and healthy sexual behaviors

“…Media programs should consider incorporating peers and local community members to speak to the needs and experiences of the target audience, as their participation can also lead to designing more relatable, and in effective, impactful interventions. 60 – 63 For example, in a recent literature review of culturally and contextually mobile health sexual and reproductive health interventions for Black and Latina women the authors concluded that we need to create programs that are “culturally and contextually tailored so that they align with lived experiences.” 64 The authors go on to explain that, when interventions that are developed with these components in mind, they can offer promising solutions in providing content to those who otherwise would not have access to such information.…”

“…[60][61][62][63] For example, in a recent literature review of culturally and contextually mobile health sexual and reproductive health interventions for Black and Latina women the authors concluded that we need to create programs that are "culturally and contextually tailored so that they align with lived experiences." 64 The authors go on to explain that, when interventions that are developed with these components in mind, they can offer promising solutions in providing content to those who otherwise would not have access to such information. Second, we aimed to amplify functional social support using a relatable form of digital technology with a goal to influence adolescent sexual behavior.…”