Replicating ¡Cuídate!: 6-Month Impact Findings of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Adolescent Health
• Health Behavior Interventions

Background:

• Sexual risk behaviors among Hispanic youth are a significant public health concern.
• Culturally adapted interventions are crucial for effectively engaging diverse adolescent populations.
• The ¡Cuídate! program was developed to address the specific needs of Hispanic youth regarding sexual health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the culturally adapted ¡Cuídate! program on sexual risk behaviors in Hispanic youths.
• To assess the program's impact on knowledge, attitudes, and skills related to sexual health.
• To identify potential subgroup effects within the study population.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 2169 primarily Hispanic participants across three US states.
• Participants were assigned to either the ¡Cuídate! intervention group or a control group.
• Data were collected at baseline and 6-month follow-up using surveys, with pooled and subgroup analyses performed.

Main Results:

• No significant impact was observed on primary outcomes: recent sexual activity or recent unprotected sexual activity.
• The program significantly improved participants' sexual health knowledge (10%-20% increase) and attitudes (effect size = 0.24).
• Improvements in sexual health skills were also noted (effect size = 0.14), with exploratory analyses suggesting varied effects across subgroups.

Conclusions:

• The ¡Cuídate! program effectively enhanced knowledge and attitudes toward sexual health among Hispanic youth.
• Despite improvements in knowledge and attitudes, these changes did not translate into reduced sexual risk behaviors at the 6-month follow-up.
• Further investigation is warranted to understand the factors influencing behavior change and to refine interventions for this population.