Trial reportBMJ open2022
Busting contraception myths and misconceptions among youth in Kwale County, Kenya: results of a digital health randomised control trial.
Trial report in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Assessing the impact of SMS-based interventions in promoting family planning uptake and modern contraceptive utilization in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- A village doctor-led mobile health intervention for cardiovascular risk reduction in rural China: cluster randomised controlled trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2025Trial
- Co-design of a digital health intervention to provide pharmacy-based, person-centered contraceptive decision support for youth in Kenya.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Exploring sexual myths and influencing factors among Muslim men in Turkey: a cross-sectional analysis.Basic and clinical andrology · 2025Article
- Article
- How do gender transformative interventions reduce adolescent pregnancy in low- and middle-income countries: a realist synthesis.Journal of global health · 2025Review
- The importance of reproductive health education for elementary school children: Long-term benefits and challenges in implementation - A literature review.Journal of education and health promotion · 2025Review
- Determinants of unmet family planning needs among women of reproductive age between 15 and 49 years in Siaya County, Kenya.The Pan African medical journal · 2025Article
- Impact of sexual and reproductive health interventions among young people in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review.Frontiers in global women's health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 6 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesThe objective of this randomised controlled trial in Kenya was to assess the effect of delivering sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information via text message to young people on their ability to reject contraception-related myths and misconceptions. DESIGN AND
settingA three-arm, unblinded randomised controlled trial with a ratio of 1:1:1 in Kwale County, Kenya. PARTICIPANTS AND
interventionsA total of 740 youth aged 18-24 years were randomised. Intervention arm participants could access informational SRH text messages on-demand. Contact arm participants received once weekly texts instructing them to study on an SRH topic on their own. Control arm participants received standard care. The intervention period was 7 weeks. PRIMARY OUTCOME: We assessed change myths believed at baseline and endline using an index of 10 contraception-related myths. We assessed change across arms using difference of difference analysis.
resultsAcross arms, <5% of participants did not have any formal education, <10% were living alone, about 50% were single and >80% had never given birth. Between baseline and endline, there was a statistically significant drop in the average absolute number of myths and misconceptions believed by intervention arm (11.1%, 95% CI 17.1% to 5.2%), contact arm (14.4%, 95% CI 20.5% to 8.4%) and control arm (11.3%, 95% CI 17.4% to 5.2%) participants. However, we observed no statistically significant difference in the magnitude of change across arms.
conclusionsWe are unable to conclusively state that the text message intervention was better than text message 'contact' or no intervention at all. Digital health likely has potential for improving SRH-related outcomes when used as part of multifaceted interventions. Additional studies with physical and geographical separation of different arms is warranted. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN85156148.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.