Document Type

Report

Publication Date

2012

First page number:

1

Last page number:

29

Abstract

In the fall of 2010 the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) was awarded funding from the Federal Office of Adolescent Health to implement an evidence based teen pregnancy prevention curriculum. They have partnered with the Department of Juvenile Justice Services and the Clark County Department of Family Services to offer this curriculum to the youth in juvenile detention, probation, and life skills classes for youth aging out of the foster care system. The Nevada Institute for Children’s Research and Policy (NICRP) has been contracted to complete the outcome evaluation for this program and is collecting data to help measure the program’s progress toward meeting its goals. The program will be implemented over a five year period with the goal of reducing teen pregnancy and birth rates, as well as the rate of sexually transmitted infections among adolescents in Southern Nevada. To achieve these goals, the SNHD selected two evidence based curriculums: Be Proud! Be Responsible! and ¡Cuidate!. Both are designed to educate youth about protecting themselves from sexual health risks. Adolescents who participated in the program also completed surveys to allow for an evaluation of the program’s impact on their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to sexual health.

There were 752 youth who participated in Year Two of the program and of those, 593 (78.9%) completed the course and the pre- and post-surveys required for the current evaluation. Youth from juvenile detention, probation, and foster care centers between the ages of 12 and 18 participated in the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. To date, 387 Year Two participants have become eligible for the 3-month follow-up survey and 175 have been completed for a 3-month follow-up survey response rate of 45.2%. There are 226 Year Two participants that have become eligible for a 6-month follow-up survey of which 98 have been completed, for a 6-month follow-up survey response rate of 43.4%.

Year One of this project was considered a “pilot” year to allow for adjustments in curriculum implementation, venues, and survey instruments. During Year One there were several iterations of the surveys used and therefore, the Year One Pilot data will not be included cumulatively with the Year Two dataset or with future project data. In the current report, comparisons are made to the Year One Pilot, when available and appropriate. Some comparisons are not available because the question used to measure a particular goal has been changed completely from Year One and some comparisons are not appropriate because the response options for a question were changed from Year One to Year Two. Going forward, it is expected that few, if any, adjustments to program implementation and survey instrumentation will be made. Therefore, future reporting on program outcomes will rely on a cumulative dataset beginning with Year Two.

Keywords

Nevada; Teenage pregnancy – Prevention

Disciplines

Health Services Research | Immune System Diseases | Maternal and Child Health | Public Health | Virus Diseases

Language

English

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