Taylor Hooton Foundation Collaborates with Kognito to Reduce Teen Steroid Use with Virtual People

The Taylor Hooton Foundation (THF), in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP), have collaborated with healthcare software company Kognito to create a behavioral app designed to help pediatricians and other healthcare providers identify teenage patients who are using anabolic steroids and/or performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).

The role playing program is called “Kognito Artificial Perfection: Talking to Teens about Performance Enhancement”. The simulation teaches and prepares healthcare professionals how to have “real-life conversations with teens” about body image concerns, steroids, stimulants and other PEDs. 

“There's no question in my mind that if a program like this existed, there would have been a much better chance that our family physician would have been able to know, to look for the problem,” said THF President Don Hooton. “We've made a lot of progress in a lot of areas, talked to over a million kids, the rules in professional sports have changed, they're much tougher. Testing regimens have improved, but one area that is still in significant need is in the medical community.”

The goal of the conversation simulations is to improve the practitioner’s “diagnostic and motivational interviewing skills”. The sooner they are able to identify teen steroid users, the better chance they have to help teens stop using the muscle-building drugs.

Hooton took his son Taylor to four different doctors and psychologists before one of them figured out that he was using steroids. And even then, the psychologist felt the best solution was to have Taylor stop “cold turkey”. Taylor committed suicide a few weeks after he was instructed to abruptly discontinue his steroid cycle in this manner..

The role playing simulation runs approximately 35 minutes. Users engage in role-playing conversations with three different “virtual patients”. Each virtual patient has its own unique facial expressions and body language with several different interactive conversation paths. 

Most importantly Kognito prides itself on integrating evidence-based research from the fields of neuroscience and social cognition into the development of the role playing programs. The “Artificial Perfection: Talking to Teens about Performance Enhancement” app is one of several healthcare simulations offered by the company. At least three of the simulations – Kognito At-Risk for High School Education, Kognito At-Risk for College Students and Kognito Family of Heroes – have been recognized and listed in the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP) of the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Serrvices Administation (SAMHSA) website.

The NREPP currently only lists one anabolic steroid-related intervention in its database – Linn Goldberg’s ATLAS (Athletes Training and Learning To Avoid Steroids). Hopefully, the Kognito Artificial Perfection intervention will be added soon.

The AAP already has full confidence in the Kognito teaching simulation about steroids. It has already started promoting and awarding continuing medical education credit (CME) to its members who successfully complete the Kognito Artificial Perfection app. The program is also available to the general public.

Source:

Castro, B. (January 24, 2017). Spotting Signs of Steroid Use In Teens. Retrieved from http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Spotting-Signs-Of-Steroid-Use-In-Teens-411700925.html