Abstract: SkillTalk
Sexual risk behaviors continue to place adolescents at risk for HIV infection, other sexually transmitted
infections (STIs), and unintended pregnancy. U.S. adolescents account for about 50% of the cases of STIs
each year, and 21% of new HIV cases are in youth 15-24, which is unsurprising given that only 54% of teens
report using a condom at last sex. In the effort to reduce teen pregnancy, HIV and STIs, both teachers and
parents play vital roles. At school: A variety of sexual health education programs and curricula are being
provided in schools across the U.S. Regardless of the curriculum, whether evidence-based or teacher
designed, the quality of the instructor skills to lead the curriculum activities is vital. Unfortunately, the vast
majority of those who teach sexual health education are not sexuality educators (physical education teachers
actually account for the largest number of those providing sexuality education) and have not received formal
training. At home: research reflects both the importance of parent/adolescent communication about sexual
health, but also the varied challenges parents face broaching these topics with comfort and confidence in their
knowledge. The goal of this Phase II project is to fully develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a robust
Microskills video training library (SkillTalk). The library is designed for a) teachers of sexual health for 14-18
year olds to help improve skills and confidence in implementing sexual and reproductive health curricula; and
b) parents of adolescents to help improve skills and confidence in communicating about sexual health topics.
The resource will provide video modeling of critical educator and parent Microskills (the smaller skills that make
up a larger skill needed for effective education) in a way that is highly engaging, instructionally sound, and
encourages repeat and continued use for reinforcement. When complete, the site will include 500+ Microskill
video clips, grouped into skill clusters, such as engaging youth in sensitive discussions and creating a safe and
inclusive learning environment, that each model a Microskill in 30–120 seconds. Other features include tailored
video recommendations, accompanying instructions/printable learning materials, like and comment functions, a
learning community (teachers only) that allows user video upload and encourages educators to constructively
assess the skills demonstrated in the video. Phase II will enable 1) video development with the creation of
approximately 500 videos added to the site with input from a diverse group of sexual and reproductive health
training experts, parents and subject matter experts recruited from across the country; 2) site enhancements
such as the creation of user learning communities, user submitted videos of Microskill demonstrations, links to
current information resources, and assessments to focus learning on most needed skills; and 3) a randomized
controlled evaluation to assess the effectiveness of SkillTalk to: enhance educators’ demonstratable skills for
teaching sexual health topics; improve parental communication; and impact student outcomes.
