Sustaining teen pregnancy prevention programs in schools: Needs and barriers identified by school leaders

Background: Schools are an appropriate setting for teen pregnancy prevention programs, especially since school-based programs are designed to reach youth where they learn. However, in order to impact rates of teen pregnancy, prevention programs must be consistently available to large numbers of youth. Regardless of the necessity for continuation of services, prevention efforts have been historically conducted with little emphasis on ensuring program sustainability. Objective: To examine the needs and barriers school leadership identify to sustaining teen pregnancy prevention programming in schools after grant support has ended. Methods: Eleven qualitative interviews were conducted between June and September 2012 with middle school leaders involved in the current implementation of a teen pregnancy prevention program in South Carolina. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically coded using NVivo 9. Results: Frequently mentioned barriers to program sustainability included: lack of resources (e.g., computer equipment, curriculum), insufficient funding (at the school and district level), lack of support and/or parental opposition, and other school/district priorities. School leaders also identified several facilitating factors to continue teen pregnancy prevention programming, including: continued funding, training for staff, outcome/effectiveness data to support the program, and regularly updated curriculum. Conclusion: Identified needs and barriers to sustainability varied across schools. Differences in perceived needs and barriers may indicate different likelihoods of sustainability. Knowledge gained through this research may be utilized to inform future interventions and sustainability planning efforts, allowing us to maximize teen pregnancy prevention programming.