MYPEER: Implementation and Evaluation of an App to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health Among Immigrant Adolescents in Canada
Project Leads
Salima Meherali, Elizabeth Saewyc
Team Members
Simon Lebeuf, Abdul-Fatawu Abdulai, Monica Rana, Michael Safo Ofori
Immigrant youth in Canada often lack access to inclusive sexual and reproductive health education, and current school programs and apps fall short. Co-developed with immigrant adolescents, the MYPEER app delivers culturally relevant, expert-reviewed sexual and reproductive health content.
Objective
MYPEER, is a mobile app designed with immigrant adolescents using Community-Based Participatory Action Research and Human-Centred Design. Grounded in behavioural theories. It offers engaging, expert-reviewed content on puberty, contraception, STIs, gender identity, and healthy relationships. It also helps users find inclusive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services by filtering options based on language, accessibility, and 2SLGBTQIA+ friendliness. This study aims to assess the feasibility and acceptability of MYPEER as an SRH intervention among immigrant youth in Alberta and British Columbia, helping to inform scalable solutions for inclusive SRH education across Canada.
This project objectives are:
- Evaluating recruitment and enrollment processes across diverse communities;
- Monitoring participant retention and engagement over time;
- Assessing the practicality and clarity of survey tools and app usage metrics;
- Estimating preliminary changes in SRH knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors;
- Calculating effect sizes to inform sample size planning for a future RCT.
Research question(s)
- How effective are the recruitment and enrollment strategies in engaging immigrant adolescents from diverse communities in Alberta and British Columbia?
- To what extent do participants remain engaged with the MYPEER app and complete follow-up assessments over the study period?
- Are the survey tools and app usage metrics practical, culturally appropriate, and clearly understood by immigrant adolescents?
- What preliminary changes in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours are observed among users of the MYPEER app, and what are the estimated effect sizes to guide future RCT planning?
Methodology
This is a single-arm, pre-post feasibility study conducted over 15 months in Alberta and British Columbia. Participants will receive access to the MYPEER app and be followed over a 6-month period to evaluate engagement and potential outcome changes.
Related Projects
Population-Based Analysis to Inform Policy and Practice (Bridging Divides)
Co-designing a mobile application with immigrant adolescents for better sexual and reproductive health (Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Early Career Investigator Grants in Maternal, Reproductive, Child & Youth Health)
Status
As the second phase of a CIHR-founded project, this project is in the initial planning stage.
Key words
Immigrant adolescents, Sexual and reproductive health, digital tools, community based participatory research