Personalized Trials Platform for Columbia University Medical Center

Transforming Adolescent Sexual Health Through a Scalable Digital Platform

Dom & Tom partnered with Columbia University Irving Medical Center to build a mobile-first sexual health intervention for adolescent males in urban emergency departments, improving engagement, knowledge retention, and scalability for public health research.

Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC)
Healthcare · Academic Medical Research · Public Health Innovation

Columbia University Irving Medical Center is a world-renowned academic medical institution at the forefront of pediatric emergency medicine, behavioral health research, and evidence-based public health interventions. CUIMC conducts federally funded research focused on improving outcomes for underserved and high-risk populations through scalable, technology-enabled care models.

Adolescent and young adult males - particularly those in underserved urban communities - face persistent barriers to accessing accurate, judgment-free sexual health education. Traditional programs struggle with scalability, engagement, and contextual relevance in high-stress clinical settings such as emergency departments (EDs).

CUIMC identified the ED as a critical intervention point, but needed a confidential, mobile-first digital platform that could function simultaneously as:

• A culturally resonant sexual health education tool
• A validated behavioral health research instrument
• A scalable system deployable across clinical settings

The goal was to meet urban male youth (ages 15–24) where they already were - without disrupting clinical workflows or compromising privacy.

CUIMC partnered with Dom & Tom to design and build a Q&A-based mobile intervention platform that delivers sexual health education in a tone that feels peer-driven, supportive, and non-clinical.

The platform guides users through interactive scenarios focused on:

• Condom use and effectiveness
• Partner communication
• Birth control awareness
• Real-world decision-making

• Mobile-first interactive Q&A experience optimized for short ED dwell times
• Scenario-based learning flows informed by formative research
• Custom CMS with conditional logic allowing CUIMC researchers to update content without engineering support
• Anonymous data capture to support research outcomes without storing personally identifiable information (PII)
• SMS-based follow-up to extend engagement beyond the ED visit
• Planned live office hours integration for real-time expert interaction

Dom & Tom applied a rigorous user-centered design (UCD) methodology aligned with the research framework published in *JMIR Formative Research (2024)*. Iterative prototyping and direct feedback from urban youth ensured the UX and content felt natural, respectful, and culturally attuned.

A pilot evaluation of the digital intervention demonstrated strong engagement and measurable outcomes:

• 95% completion rate among youth participants in the ED setting
• Statistically significant increase in condom knowledge post-intervention
• 70%+ of users expressed interest in future digital health follow-ups
• High usability scores with strong qualitative feedback on clarity, tone, and trust

The platform successfully operated within the constraints of a fast-paced emergency department while maintaining research validity.

This project succeeded by integrating medical research rigor with human-centered digital product design.

Dom & Tom collaborated closely with CUIMC researchers to:

• Translate sensitive health topics into approachable, conversational UX
• Design for emotional safety, privacy, and anonymity
• Respect cultural context without diluting scientific integrity

The result was a platform that felt less like a lecture and more like a trusted conversation.

“The app was super clear and not awkward. It didn’t feel like a lecture.”
— Pilot Participant, Age 17

“The team was consistently professional, accessible, patient, and organized.”
— Dr. Lauren Chernick, Project Lead, Professor of Pediatrics (Emergency Medicine), Columbia University Irving Medical Center

With a validated content architecture and flexible backend, CUIMC is positioned to scale this digital intervention into:

• Additional emergency departments
• School-based and community health programs
• Broader public health education initiatives, including STI prevention and mental health

The platform’s modular design enables rapid adaptation to new research questions without rebuilding core infrastructure.

This partnership between Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Dom & Tom demonstrates how thoughtful digital product design - grounded in real-world research - can turn sensitive health education into measurable public health impact.

By uniting behavioral science, clinical insight, and modern UX, the team delivered a scalable intervention that meets young people where they are - and earns their trust.