Layla’s Got You: Developing a tailored contraception chatbot for Black and Hispanic young women

Abstract

Introduction: In Onondaga County, New York, around half of all births to Black and Hispanic teenage girls are unintended. The Layla’s Got You campaign consists of a chatbot and social media campaign designed to increase contraception knowledge among 16- to 25-year-old Black and Hispanic women in Onondaga County. Methods: The campaign was co-created with local women in the target audience and employed digital and grassroots community building strategies. Focus groups were conducted among 31 women, during which participants selected the campaign’s logo and chatbot name and created the tagline. Participants reviewed chatbot responses and designed Layla’s appearance and features, and Black/Hispanic women are featured in website and promotional photos. A community campaign manager pairs digital strategies with grassroots partnerships among a diverse group of stakeholders, including social media influencers, hair salons and health clinics. Results: Since implementation, the chatbot has received 4,390 messages related to contraception or sexual health. Across social media accounts, the campaign has showed 2,483,683 impressions, average daily reach of 1,710 for Facebook and 943 for Instagram, and 32,816 total engagements across all platforms. Conclusion: Layla’s Got You provides young women with a confidential place in which to find locally tailored and trustworthy information about contraception. By merging innovative technology-driven strategies, participatory creation techniques and grassroots community building, the initiative delivers impactful, easily updated health information on a large scale. This strategy has promising implications for increasing knowledge and positive attitudes towards contraception among specific at-risk audiences.