Michele K Perlman, MPH¹, Dorothy Farley, CSW¹, M. Lynnette Rivera¹, LaJon S. Daniels², and Stephanie Bloch, BS¹. (1) Teens P.A.C.T. (Positive Actions and Choices for Teens), Community Healthcare Network, 260 Broadway, 3rd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11211, 718-387-7426, mperlman@chnnyc.org, (2) Awarenest Films, 226 150th Street, #3H, New York, NY 10039

Youth development and comprehensive sexuality education share a common goal: to promote positive outcomes for young people by offering opportunities to establish relationships, explore attitudes and beliefs, and build competencies. Integrating these two approaches is essential to helping young people create a healthy future. Community Healthcare Network’s Teens P.A.C.T. program embarked multi-media youth development project that was designed to engage young people's diverse talents, skills, and interests to create a video that would positively impact the sexual health of youth throughout New York City. Teens PACT peer educators received training and actively participated in all elements of video production, including scene and script development through a series of improvisations. They developed videos that 1) reflect the challenges teens face communicating with partners about safer sex practices; 2) identify differences between unhealthy and healthy relationships and provide strategies to build healthy relationships; 3) deliver accurate information on STD/HIV and pregnancy prevention; and 4) offer access to additional resources and free reproductive health services. All stages of the youth’s participation were documented on film, which was later analyzed and compared with data collected in focus groups. Changes in knowledge, attitude, behavior, and competencies were identified from video footage as the project progressed, and these changes echoed the self-reported positive impact of participation on confidence, social competency, knowledge, attitude and behavior. These findings indicate that participation in a youth development project that incorporates comprehensive sexuality education can empower young people with the tools necessary to make healthy decisions for their future.

Learning Objectives: Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to

• Describe the key components of youth development and comprehensive sexuality education.
• Assess the impact of participation in this youth development project on adolescents' knowledge, attitiudes, self-esteem and self-efficacy.
• Apply the methods and findings of this project to other youth development projects.

Keywords: Adolescent Health, Youth

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Community Healthcare Network Awarenest Films NY State Department of Health
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.