California has the nation’s second highest teen pregnancy rate. This predominantly Latino community in Los Angeles County is a teen pregnancy “hot spot.” Studies indicate that interventions featuring multiple partners and strategies may be more likely to successfully reduce teen pregnancy. This community action site mobilizes diverse stakeholders to change environmental conditions in ways to prevent teen pregnancy. Local adults, teens, agencies, schools, faith and business people engaged in focus groups, meetings and voting to create a community action plan. A random door-to-door survey was conducted in 287 households where at least one adult and one teen resided to investigate adult-teen communication about sex, sexuality education in schools, perceptions about teen pregnancy and awareness of both family planning and career resources. Survey results were used to refine the action plan. Current implementation of the plan includes the following youth-focused activities 1) producing a magazine by teens for teens; 2) peer outreach, condom distribution, educational workshops and theater in numerous community settings and in collaboration with other agencies; 3) a “teen friendly” assessment of local family planning clinics. Community-focused activities include 1) joint meetings for adult-teen dialogue; 2) health promoter training for community adults who provide culturally, linguistically-appropriate peer health education; 3) work with local schools to enhance sexuality education; 4) community stakeholder meetings to share information and work on project-related tasks; 5) local media and public relations saturation with information/resources for teen pregnancy prevention. Concurrent evaluation will assess project impact for best practices in community-level teen pregnancy prevention.
Learning Objectives: N/A
Keywords: Adolescent Health, Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.