Ranney, M. L., Choo, E. K., Spirito, A., & Mello, M. J. (2013). Adolescents’ Preference for Technology-Based Emergency Department Behavioral Interventions: Does It Depend on Risky Behaviors? Pediatric Emergency Care, 29(4), 475-481.
This study aimed to (1) determine the prevalence of technology use and interest in technology-based interventions among adolescent emergency department patients and (2) examine the association between interest in an intervention and self-reported risky behaviors. Adolescents aged 13–17 years presenting to an urban pediatric emergency department completed a survey regarding baseline technology use, risky behaviors, and interest in and preferred format for behavioral health interventions. Descriptive statistics and χ2 tests were calculated to identify whether self-reported risky behaviors were differentially associated with intervention preference. Of 234 patients, almost all used technology, including computers (98.7%), social networking (84.9%), and text messaging (95.1%). Most were interested in receiving behavioral interventions (ranging from 93.6% interest in unintentional injury prevention, to 73.1% in smoking cessation); 45% to 93% preferred technology-based (vs in person, telephone call, or paper) interventions for each topic. Proportion interested in a specific topic and proportion preferring a technology-based intervention did not significantly differ by self-reported risky behaviors. Patients endorsed interest in receiving interventions for risky behaviors, regardless of whether they reported the behavior.