Sentient Research (www.sentientresearch.net) is a full-service consulting firm specializing in innovative research, program planning, program evaluation, and communications. Since 2007, we have worked across the U.S. and internationally with non-profit organizations and government agencies on exceptional projects in public health, education, and public policy. Our clients include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, Office of Population Affairs, California Department of Public Health, Los Angeles Unified School District, the American Heart Association, Wake Forest University, University of Southern California, and UCLA, among others. Our staff have published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and presented extensively on entertainment-education, technology-based interventions, human-centered design, and program evaluation.
Sentient Research has an extensive track record of developing effective, national scale entertainment-education interventions. This includes multiple, brief, stand-alone interventions, as well as a telenovela that aired on prime-time television across Latin America and the U.S. and was viewed by over 10 million people.
A brief, engaging entertainment-education video to prevent harms related to heavy and binge drinking, increase harm reduction strategies, and promote bystander behaviors among college-age youth. Party Foul was developed using human-centered design in a collaboration between Sentient Research and Laura Lloyd.
A 47-episode telenovela (serial drama) designed to increase the use of contraception and uptake of reproductive health services among adolescents while promoting parent-adolescent communication and parental support for reproductive health in Mexico. Extensive qualitative research was conducted with the intended audience to inform the development of characters and storylines. Vencer el Miedo aired on prime-time television on Televisa’s Canal de las Estrellas, reaching an average of 3.5 million viewers each night and a total reach of 5.1 million viewers.
Vencer el Miedo subsequently aired in the U.S. market and across Latin America, reaching over 10 million additional viewers. An evaluation of the program found that adolescent viewers were more likely to use dual contraception compared to non-viewers, and parent viewers were more likely to engage their adolescent children in conversations about sexual and reproductive health.
A brief and engaging video that uses three dramatic stories to improve sexual and reproductive health behaviors among young women. Qualitative research was conducted and a guidance panel was established with young women to inform the development of storylines and characters and provide feedback on multiple aspects of the video.
Plan A was evaluated in a large-scale randomized controlled trial (n=1,770) and was found to impact multiple outcomes. At 3 months post-intervention, Plan A viewers had increased: HIV/STI risk perception, HIV and STI testing, contraceptive knowledge, and long-acting reversible contraception use. At 9 months post-intervention, Plan A viewers had increased condom use. Plan A is recognized as an evidence-based adolescent pregnancy prevention intervention by HHS and is included in the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Evidence Review (TPPER).
Taking Care of Me is a brief, engaging video that uses three entertaining storylines featuring relatable characters who model behaviors for overcoming common challenges in HIV care, along with two animated segments that reinforce key information. The video is designed to improve HIV care outcomes by encouraging treatment initiation and supporting adherence among people living with HIV.
The script and key elements of the video were informed by extensive formative research conducted with HIV clinic managers and people living with HIV. A rigorous evaluation conducted in two HIV clinics (N = 2,023) between 2016 and 2017 found that exposure to the video was associated with a 10% increase in treatment initiation and a 6% improvement in viral suppression. Taking Care of Me is included in the Compendium of Evidence-Based Interventions and Best Practices for HIV Prevention developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Suresh S, Demetriades SZ, Walter N, Montoya JA, Plant A, Barker K, Orvañanos C, Carranza J. From Watching to Calling: Linking Variations in an Entertainment-Education Storyline with Calls to a Health Hotline. Health Communication. 2023. [e-Publication ahead of print].
Montoya JA, Plant A, Neffa-Creech D, Orvañanos C, Barker K. Overcome the Fear (Vencer el Miedo): using entertainment education to impact adolescent sexual and reproductive health and parent-child communication in Mexico. BMC Public Health.2022;22(1):2366.
Suresh S, Walter N, Montoya JA, Plant A, Barker K. Drama, Intrigue, and Discussion: The Role of Telenovelas in Facilitating Conversations about Reproductive Health in Mexican Households. Journal of Health Communication. 2022; 27:1-11.
Saucier CJ, Suresh S, Brooks JJ, Walter N, Plant A, Montoya JA. The Effect of an Entertainment-Education Intervention on Reproductive Health of Young Women of Color. Health Communication. 2021:1-11.
Neumann MS, Plant A, Margolis AD, Flores SA. Observed Reactions Among Patients Attending HIV Treatment Facilities to a Brief Video Intervention on Treatment Initiation and Adherence. AIDS Care. 2020;32(5):656-665.
Plant A, Montoya JA, Snow EG, Coyle K, Rietmeijer C. Developing a Video Intervention to Prevent Unplanned Pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Older Adolescents. Health Promotion Practice. 2019;20(4):593-599.
Neumann MS, Plant A, Margolis AD, Borkowf CB, Malotte CK, Rietmeijer CA, Flores SA, O’Donnell L, Robilotto S, Myint-U A, Montoya JA, Javanbakht M, Klausner JD. Effects of a brief video intervention on treatment initiation and adherence among patients attending human immunodeficiency virus treatment clinics. PLoS One. 2018;13(10):e0204599.
Plant A, Neffa Creech D, Kumar M, Orvañanos C, Cereser N, Montoya J. Evidence-based entertainment-education programs to improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health in the United States and Mexico. Presented at: American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting & Expo; October 27-30, 2024; Minneapolis, MN.
Kumar M, Plant A. Plan A and Young United Parents! Innovative Approaches to Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention. Presented at: Title X Grantee Conference; July 11-13, 2023; Baltimore, MD.
Plant A, Kumar M. A Brief Entertainment-Education Video Intervention to Prevent Unintended Pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Young Women. Presented at: 2023 Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Conference; May 23-25, 2023; Atlanta, GA.
Suresh S, Demetriades S, Walter N, Montoya J, Plant A, Barker, K Carranza J, Orvañanos, C. In Search of Entertainment-Education’s Effects: Linking Variations in a Telenovela’s Storyline with Calls to a Sexual and Reproductive Health Hotline. Oral presentation at: 73rd Annual International Communication Association Conference, Reclaiming Authenticity in Communication; May 25-29, 2023; Toronto, Canada.
Suresh S, Stefanie Z. Demetriades SZ, Walter N, Montoya JA, Plant A, Barker K, Orvananos C, Carranza, J. From watching to calling: Linking variations in an entertainment-education to calls to a health hotline. Presentation at: Northwestern School of Communication; May 17, 2023: Chicago, Illinois.
Henley C, Plant A. Results from a randomized trial of a brief video intervention on the sexual behaviors of Black and Hispanic adolescent females. Presented at: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau, Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Grantee Conference; June 14 – 17, 2021; Virtual.
Henley C, Plant A. Plan A: An Effective, Brief Entertainment Education Video Intervention Designed to Reduce Unplanned Pregnancies and STIs Among Young Women of Color. Presented at: Title X Grantee Conference; July 13-16, 2021; Virtual.
Neffa-Creech D, Plant A, Snow E, Montoya JA. Clinic Staff Perceptions of a Sexual Health Entertainment-Education Intervention for Young Women of Color. Presented at: The 6th Biennial D.C. Health Communication Conference (DCHC); April 23-24, 2021; Virtual.
Saucier C, Suresh S, Brooks J, Walter N, Plant A. (Un)like strategies: Combining narratives and didactic messages to improve attitudes toward effective contraception. Presented at: Kentucky Conference on Health Communication; April 2-4, 2020; Lexington, KY.
Saucier C, Suresh S, Brooks J, Walter N, Plant A. Plan A: Remedying Racial Disparities in Long-Acting Reversible Contraception. Presented at: ICA Annual Conference, May 20-26, 2020; Virtual Conference.
Plant A, Montoya JA, Falk G, Walsh S, Demby H, Rietmeijer C. Acceptability of Plan A: An Entertainment-Education Video Intervention to Prevent STIs and Unintended Pregnancies Among Young African-American and Latina Women. Presented at: American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting; November 10-14, 2018; San Diego, CA.
Plant A, Montoya JA, Snow E, Coyle K, Rietmeijer C. Plan A: An Entertainment-Education Intervention to Prevent Unplanned Pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Young Women. Video screened at: 2018 American Public Health Association (APHA) Global Public Health Film Festival; November 10-14, 2018; San Diego, CA.
Plant A, Walter N, Murphy S, Montoya J, Rietmeijer C. Acceptability of a Brief Entertainment-Education Video Intervention to Prevent STIs and Unintended Pregnancies Among Older Adolescents. Presented at: 2018 STD Prevention Conference; August 27-30, 2018; Washington DC.
Neumann M, Plant A, Margolis A, Borkowf C. Taking Care of Me, Educating and Empowering Persons Living with HIV. Video screened at: American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting; November 4-8, 2017; Atlanta, GA.
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