Communicating with tech-savvy teenagers.(BEHAVIORAL PEDIATRICS)

As today's teens text, Twitter, AIM, and blog, they're likely to run into messages from adolescent medicine specialists, who are using cybertechnology as never before to communicate directly with youth

Studies presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Adolescent Medicine demonstrated the following creative and customized ways to generate health information and educate teens on health issues:

* University of Michigan researchers sent tailored text messages to adolescents in their outpatient weight reduction program to prompt specific lifestyle changes. For example, a teenager who indicated on intake questionnaires that she hardly ever eats breakfast might get the text message: "Skipping breakfast makes it harder to lose weight."

* Adolescents who received oral contraceptives at an urban family planning clinic could opt to receive text messages on their cell phones reminding them to take their pills. The program, a joint effort of Columbia University's department of obstetrics and gynecology and Planned Parenthood of New York City, reported high success rates among the small numbers of teenagers in their pilot study. Just I teen of 22 missed more than one pill the first month, and only 4 missed more than one pill the third month, reported Dr. Paula M. Castano of Columbia University, New York.

* A high-tech sex education and HIV/STD prevention organization called ISIS Inc. offers HIV clinic referrals, sexual facts, and weekly tips on food, fitness, sex, and health by encouraging teens to text their requests. If the teens text their zip codes to "KNOWIT," they receive a list of HIV testing centers near their neighborhoods. Texting "SexINFO" to 61827 prompts a return text with facts and area youth-friendly clinics, and texting "TeenHealth" to 61827 brings a variety of health tips.

The messages use the "text-ese" lingo practiced by their target audience: "If u think s/he's Cheating on u, get a checkup 2day. STDs can go backnforth most times there's no symptoms drop-in City Clinic 356 7th St., 415-387-5500."

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