Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42752571›Full record

ArticlePLOS global public health2026

Co-design of a digital health intervention to provide pharmacy-based, person-centered contraceptive decision support for youth in Kenya.

Elizabeth K Harrington, Lisa Orii, Nelson K Cheruiyot, Merceline Awuor, Cellestine Aoko, Dismas C Ouma, Christine Dehlendorf, Richard Anderson, Elizabeth A Bukusi, Serah W Gitome

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLOS global public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Elizabeth K HarringtonDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8196-069X
Lisa OriiPaul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6490-4776
Nelson K CheruiyotIndependent Design Consultant, Nairobi, Kenya.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5436-3102
Merceline AwuorCentre for Microbiology Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.
Cellestine AokoCentre for Microbiology Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.
Dismas C OumaCentre for Microbiology Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6830-913X
Christine DehlendorfDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America.
Richard AndersonPaul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
Elizabeth A BukusiDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
Serah W GitomeCentre for Microbiology Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.

Funding

WOMEN'S REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESEARCH CAREER DEVELOPMENTK12HD001264 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI Barbara Ann Goff · 1998 to 2026
$8.6M
NICHD NIH HHS K12 HD001264
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW; age 15-24 years) face intersectional barriers to undesired pregnancy prevention, with profound health consequences. Community pharmacies remain a relatively untapped opportunity to improve the reach and quality of contraceptive care for youth. The purpose of this study was to co-design and prototype a digital health, person-centered contraceptive decision support application (the Mara Divas App) tailored for Kenyan AGYW. We engaged AGYW with recent experience seeking contraception in a pharmacy, and pharmacy providers who dispense contraceptive methods, to participate in full-day human-centered design workshops. The design team analyzed visual artifacts, official written notes, and transcripts to generate insights, which were used by the technical team to modify the prototype between and after workshops. We conducted four co-design workshops among AGYW (n = 33), and pharmacy providers (n = 10). Journey mapping highlighted AGYW anxiety rooted in social stigma throughout their pharmacy experience and limited contraceptive knowledge. Friendly, nonjudgmental providers and respect for privacy were critical to engaging AGYW despite their tendency to avoid interaction and make purchases at "rocket speed." Emergency contraception seekers need a "hook" motivating them to engage with the app, as they have low motivation to engage in contraceptive counseling due to perceived limited options. All content could be engaged in three languages by screen; AGYW switched languages frequently during app use. AGYW preferred video and visual content to text, though audio narration of text was popular. Additional features were added to enhance navigability, which was initially limited among the youngest participants. AGYW desired the app to project a confident, powerful "diva." We used human-centered design approaches to generate key design insights related to engaging youth seeking emergency contraception in pharmacies, overcoming literacy challenges with multilingual audiovisual content, and addressing negative contraceptive beliefs. Future research is needed to study the feasibility and determinants of app implementation.

Identifiers

PMID42752571
PMCPMC13585247

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.