This K01 proposal, ?mHealth Intervention via Mentors: Preventing Substance Use, Sexual Risk, and Violence among Inner City Baltimore Youth through Technology-Enhanced Mentoring,? addresses two fields of study relevant to adolescent health that deserve further attention, particularly in how they can intersect to improve public health: youth mentoring and mobile health (mHealth) prevention interventions. Adolescents growing up in low-income urban areas such as Baltimore are at particularly high risk for unhealthy practices such as substance use, sexual risk, and engagement in violence. For adolescents who lack socially protective resources such as parents, attentive teachers, or community networks, mentors can play a significant role in helping to reduce stress, prevent negative health behaviors, and model positive health behaviors. However, little is known about the pathways by which mentee health behavior change occurs, especially for the prevention of substance use, how matched mentors can effectively communicate health promotion messages, or how mHealth technology might be leveraged to enhance existing mentoring models. Utilizing knowledge and training gained through this award in the areas of adolescent substance use, mHealth interventions, and analysis of dyadic and ?big? social media and smartphone data, the goal of the proposed study is to develop a prevention intervention in the form of a smartphone application (app), as well as training materials for using the app, to enhance existing mentoring models for highly vulnerable African American male adolescents in urban Baltimore. The training, professional development, and pilot data gained under this award will allow me to propose an R01 to conduct a naturalistic study or randomized controlled trial to measure effect sizes in the reduction of substance use and related health risk behaviors among mentored adolescent males. Support under a K award and the linked career development experiences will allow me to become an independent investigator focused on a new area of expertise?substance use prevention with urban American youth using mHealth?and to learn the skills required for successfully pursing NIH research funding. My long-term career goal is to answer the following research questions: 1) How can mentoring help improve health outcomes for at-risk adolescents and reduce health disparities in adulthood? and 2) How can mHealth be used in prevention intervention with this population? Fully understanding how to set up a systematic research program that intersects the fields of youth mentoring and effective mHealth intervention has great potential to lead me towards an innovative and productive independent research career in a new area. My intermediate career goals under this training grant are to focus work locally with African American adolescent males in Baltimore City, understand how technology-enhanced mentoring can serve as a universal prevention tool for urban male adolescents, build capacity to analyze dyadic data and data produced by social media and smartphone applications, and to develop collaborations with leading investigators in substance use prevention, youth mentoring, and mHealth research.

Public Health Relevance

For adolescents who lack socially protective resources such as parents, attentive teachers, or community networks, mentors can play a significant role in helping to reduce stress, prevent negative health behaviors, and model positive health behaviors. However, little is known about the pathways by which mentee health behavior change occurs, especially for the prevention of substance use, how matched mentors can effectively communicate health promotion messages, or how mobile health (mHealth) technology might be leveraged to enhance existing mentoring models. The goal of the proposed study is to develop a prevention intervention in the form of a smartphone application (app), as well as training materials for using the app, to enhance existing mentoring models for highly vulnerable male adolescents in urban Baltimore.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Research Scientist Development Award - Research & Training (K01)
Project #
1K01DA042138-01A1
Application #
9314128
Study Section
Psychosocial Development, Risk and Prevention Study Section (PDRP)
Program Officer
Lloyd, Jacqueline
Project Start
2017-08-15
Project End
2022-07-31
Budget Start
2017-08-15
Budget End
2018-07-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Johns Hopkins University
Department
Public Health & Prev Medicine
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
001910777
City
Baltimore
State
MD
Country
United States
Zip Code
21205
Tobian, Aaron A R; Dam, Kim H; Van Lith, Lynn M et al. (2018) Providers' Perceptions and Training Needs for Counseling Adolescents Undergoing Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision. Clin Infect Dis 66:S198-S204
Van Lith, Lynn M; Mallalieu, Elizabeth C; Patel, Eshan U et al. (2018) Perceived Quality of In-Service Communication and Counseling Among Adolescents Undergoing Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision. Clin Infect Dis 66:S205-S212
Kaufman, Michelle R; Patel, Eshan U; Dam, Kim H et al. (2018) Impact of Counseling Received by Adolescents Undergoing Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision on Knowledge and Sexual Intentions. Clin Infect Dis 66:S221-S228
Patel, Eshan U; Kaufman, Michelle R; Dam, Kim H et al. (2018) Age Differences in Perceptions of and Motivations for Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Among Adolescents in South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Clin Infect Dis 66:S173-S182
Kaufman, Michelle R; Dam, Kim H; Sharma, Kriti et al. (2018) Females' Peer Influence and Support for Adolescent Males Receiving Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Services. Clin Infect Dis 66:S183-S188
Dam, Kim H; Kaufman, Michelle R; Patel, Eshan U et al. (2018) Parental Communication, Engagement, and Support During the Adolescent Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Experience. Clin Infect Dis 66:S189-S197
Kaufman, Michelle R; Patel, Eshan U; Dam, Kim H et al. (2018) Counseling Received by Adolescents Undergoing Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision: Moving Toward Age-Equitable Comprehensive Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention Measures. Clin Infect Dis 66:S213-S220
Mavhu, Webster; Hatzold, Karin; Dam, Kim H et al. (2018) Adolescent Wound-Care Self-Efficacy and Practices After Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision-A Multicountry Assessment. Clin Infect Dis 66:S229-S235
Campbell, Jacquelyn C; Sabri, Bushra; Budhathoki, Chakra et al. (2017) Unwanted Sexual Acts Among University Students: Correlates of Victimization and Perpetration. J Interpers Violence :886260517734221