BrdsNBz: A Text-Messaging Forum for Improving the Sexual Health of Adolescents in North Carolina
Kay Phillips · North Carolina Medical Journal · 2010
The BrdsNBz Text Message Warm Line (hereafter, “BrdsNBz”) was launched by the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina (APPCNC) in February 2009 to address the sexual-health needs of our state’s teenage population. The primary objective of BrdsNBz is to provide a trusted forum for adolescents to ask questions and receive medically accurate information about their sexual health. Of importance, the program engages adolescents ‘‘on their turf,’’ using technology, social networking, and texting to ascertain their specific needs and provide targeted, positive messages promoting sexual health. The APPCNC accomplishes this by using a simple, yet highly effective platform—text messaging. BrdsNBz was initially designed to engage adolescents aged 14 to 19 years in areas of North Carolina where resources are limited. The service was also developed as a response to increased rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, to create a simple solution to the monumental problem of providing accurate information to youth in a format that is suitable to their lifestyle. BrdsNBz provides a safe and anonymous forum for adolescents to ask questions about their sexual health and receive informed, medically accurate, and prompt responses.