The National Institutes of Health recently awarded a $2 million grant to a campaign that brings safe sex awareness to women via cell phone soap operas. Funding will be used for a study to assess the effectiveness of this innovative educational method on risky sexual behavior.

According to Rachel Jones, RN, PhD, assistant professor, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey College of Nursing, Newark, and the study’s principal investigator, the infrastructure for the randomized control trial is on schedule; it will begin within the year.

Initially, with the help of a Healthcare Foundation of N.J. grant, Jones filmed a series of 12- to 20-minute episodes, using professional actors and scripts based on focus groups of women in Newark and Jersey City. Success of the pilot video, which demonstrates the need for a novel approach, can be measured by the worldwide response in media publications, demands for the initial video, and requests to be included in or collaborate with the research study, says Jones. The study is nurse-led, which adds unique value, says Jones.

For more information, go to Nurse.Com at: http://include.nurse.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008311040005.