Sexual risk reduction interventions in young people: a systematic review

Abstract

Background: Young people are at high risk of contracting STIs. In order to identify effective in-service interventions for this group, a systematic review of RCTs of waiting-room-delivered, self-delivered and brief-healthcare provider-delivered interventions was conducted. Methods: MEDLINE, PsycInfo, EMBASE, CINAHL and Cochrane databases (including CENTRAL and DARE) were searched from January 2000 to October 2014 Findings: 17,916 articles were screened. 22 RCTs met our inclusion criteria, were quality appraised independently by two reviewers using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool, and were found to be of generally high quality. Increased effectiveness for reducing risky sexual behaviour compared to control was found in 4 out of 6 RCTs for interactive digital interventions, 1 out of 6 RCTs for one-to-one counselling, and 3 out of 5 RCTs of interventions involving video. Significant improvements in STI events compared to control were found in 5 RCTs of interventions that contained either video (both with and without counselling), brief one-to-one counselling or a STI home test kit. Discussion: These potential effective interventions can be used to guide development of in-service STI preventive interventions for young people.