The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #61219

Schrendria Burnett, MPH, CHES, South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 1511 Gregg Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-771-7700, sburnett@teenpregnancysc.org

Past evaluations of South Carolina community adolescent pregnancy prevention programs found that many programs provided primarily abstinence only education and that many advisory boards were non-functional. However, evidence-based research and "Best Practice" approaches identify that strong community advisory boards and comprehensive sex education as two key components of effective teen pregnancy prevention programs. Communities Caring for Teens is a CDC funded project that is designed to increase the capacity of South Carolina community adolescent pregnancy prevention programs. This capacity building model includes trainings provided by national experts in the BDI (behavior, determinants, interventions)-logic model, and evaluation, regional roundtable workshops, one-on-one technical assistance, weekly educational newsletters, and a three-day summer institute, that include national presenters who are experts in the area of teen pregnancy prevention. Communities Caring for Teens compares 2002 program proposals written under the old paradigm to the 2003 program proposals and looks for evidence increase. 2003 program proposals use the BDI logic model and grantees are required to identify and select one or more of the following behavioral goals: 1. Delaying the initiation of sex, 2. Reducing the frequency of sex among sexually experienced youth, or 3. Increasing the use of contraception. This project will work to accomplish the two interrelated issues of increased advisory board development and science-based comprehensive programs in their BDI logic models, which guide the planning, implementation and evaluation of the programs. Analysis of the 2003 programs will be completed by July and the difference will be calculated using a paired sample t-test.

Learning Objectives:

• To identify the ability of community adolescent pregnancy prevention programs to select, implement, and evaluate science-based programs that address local needs.
  1. To evaluate the leadership and effectiveness of community advisory boards.
     1. To develop an educational plan for community adolescent pregnancy prevention programs that will increase current knowledge of BDI logic model and best practices.

Keywords: Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Community Capacity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.