The birds & the bees are back – take “the talk” to the next level

As vaccination rates increase so do the interactions between teens…along with an increase in sexual health risks! We know it’s never easy to engage teens in conversations about sex. And that might be one of the reasons sexual health screening and counseling isn’t provided to 1/3 of youth seeking healthcare services. But it remains a critical issue – because unsafe sexual health behaviors are consistently in the top youth risks.

Q: How do we address youth sexual health risks effectively, with an evidence-based approach that standardizes screening and risk reduction counseling for every youth, every time?

A: Technology! We’re coming out of a year when almost everything we do has moved to cloud – so why not partner with a virtual health educator and take “the talk” online too?

Here’s 3 (of the many) reasons why an online approach to screening & counseling of sexual health risks benefits youth, as well as the professionals that work with them:

  1. Youth are more receptive and truthful with technology-based screening on sensitive topics like sexual health. Technology leads to more risks accurately identified, but the benefits don’t stop there. Engaging youth with a tech-first approach, that embeds digital empathy – computer mediated concern and empathy, also opens the door to more meaningful, two-way conversations going forward.
  2. Standardization of care. Using technology ensures every teen is screened and receives automated, tailored risk reduction counseling according to evidence-based guidelines – in the same way, every time. And there’s no subconscious biases, body language, or tone-of-voice that might influence their answers.
  3. More time. The ACT sexual health screening and risk reduction coaching can be completed by youth in as little as 7 minutes. And it can be completed remotely before an appointment (whether televideo or in person) via text or email. The ACT virtual health educator does the heavy lifting, giving you more time to connect youth with the referrals and resources they need.

“With ACT-SH our community health workers can focus on his or her area of expertise – engaging adolescents as a trusted adult on these important risk topics. While at the same time ACT-SH ensures we are delivering standardized, evidence-based sexual health risk identification, counseling and referrals. And we’re able to track and highlight success, which simplifies the reporting process.” – Adolescent Health Project Associate (Read the full case study to learn more)

Interested in learning more about how you can take “the talk” online for a more effective, engaging and standardized approach to reducing sexual health risks among teens? Join us for a 20-minute webinar at 3pm EST on Wednesday, May 26 where we will be providing a short demonstration of our Adolescent Counseling Technology (ACT) for Sexual Health (SH).

ACT-SH is an online platform designed to partner with professionals to identify and reduce sexual health risks. ACT-SH functions as a virtual health educator – providing interactive and engaging, evidence-based counseling to guide youth in identifying sexual health risks and creating personalized safer sex action plans.

Register for the ACT-SH webinar here.