A Multipronged, Community-Partnered Intervention (The TALK) to Improve Parent-Adolescent Communication About Sexual Health and Racial Discrimination Among Black Male Adolescents and Young Adults and Their Caregivers: Protocol for a Feasibility and Acceptability Study.

The TALK intervention was designed as a multipronged, community-partnered, nurse-led, parent-centered eHealth program addressing sexual health and racial discrimination communication for Black male adolescents and young adults.

• The intervention integrates the intersectionality of race, gender, family, and social influences on sexual health
• The intervention is described as 'adolescent-involved' and targets parent-adolescent dyads
• Intervention components were developed in partnership with community partners in the first year of the project
• The project was funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and approved by Duke University School of Nursing IRB in September 2022 (Pro00105116)

The study protocol uses a three-phase mixed methods, community-engagement approach to develop and pilot the intervention.

• Phase 1 uses the dscout platform, a digital platform for virtual ethnographic research, to test early-stage user experience with parents and caregivers
• Phase 2 recruits parent-adolescent dyads for a pretest-posttest survey to examine usability, acceptability, and preliminary intervention outcomes
• Phase 3 examines real-world usability through promotion in barbershops and beauty salons across North Carolina using signage with QR codes
• Data collection for Phase 1 began in October 2022; Phase 2 began in July 2023 and ended in January 2024

Phase 2 outcome measures include frequency and quality of parent-adolescent sexual health communication, racial discrimination communication, HIV testing knowledge, and perceived racial identity among Black adolescents.

• The pretest-posttest design focuses on improvements in parent-adolescent conversations around racial discrimination and its impacts on sexual health
• Improved perceived racial identity among Black adolescents is included as a targeted outcome
• Improvements in knowledge of HIV testing are specifically listed as a measured outcome
• The study examines both usability and acceptability alongside these preliminary intervention outcomes

Phase 3 real-world usability will be measured through website metrics collected via barbershop and beauty salon promotion across North Carolina.

• Metrics to be collected include page views, average time on page, average session duration, pages per session, bounce rate, and traffic sources
• Promotion will use signage with a QR code to scan and access the website
• Barbershops and beauty salons were selected as real-world community settings for dissemination

Data analysis is scheduled for completion by July 2025, with primary and secondary results expected to be published by January 2026.

• The timeline indicates this is a protocol paper published prior to results being available
• The study was in the data analysis phase at the time of publication

The authors identify a gap in culturally tailored sexual health interventions that integrate intersectionality of race, gender, family, and social influences for Black male adolescents and young adults.

• Unsafe sexual behaviors among Black male adolescents and young adults are described as increasing susceptibility to negative health outcomes that 'widen persistent health disparities'
• Parent-adolescent relationships and communication are identified as capable of impacting sexual health behaviors
• The authors state that 'parents and adolescents often lack knowledge and effective tools to improve health outcomes'
• Culturally tailored interventions addressing these intersectional factors are described as 'limited yet needed'