Reducing Adolescent Pregnancy through School and Community-Based Education

A Review of Collaborative Partnerships as a Strategy for Improving Community Health

“…The South Carolina School/Community Program for Sexual Risk Reduction Among Teens found a 52% reduction in the incidence of adolescent pregnancy within 2 years (122). This preinitiativepostinitiative difference in the intervention community was statistically significant when compared with change in three other similar communities (69,122). In a systematic replication of the South Carolina program in three intervention communities, the School/Community Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Partnerships in Kansas found a 9-12% decrease in estimated pregnancy rates and a 13% decrease in birth rates in 14 to 17 year olds within 2 years (92a).…”

“…All of the studies reported evidence of new programs, services, and practices that were facilitated by collaborative partnerships. For instance, some reported new public health information programs in specific sectors, such as schools (76,122), businesses (41,124), or more broadly across the entire target community, such as radio messages for the prevention of human immunodeficiency virus infection (130). Other examples included preventive health services, such as cholesterol screenings (8), immunizations (7,103), and skill enhancement workshops for weight control (8,44) and smoking cessation (119).…”

School-Based Health Clinics: Remaining Viable in a Changing Health Care Delivery System

“…However, prevention programs have been shown to be successful with adolescents in a number of areas, including tobacco, drug, and alcohol abuse prevention and adolescent pregnancy prevention (17,24,25). Thus, investing in adolescent health by lowering risks, or by facilitating the successful negotiation of risk, emerges as imperative.…”

Timing of first sexual intercourse: The role of social control, social learning, and problem behavior

“…A recent survey of junior high school students in three Eastern rural counties, however, indicated high rates of sexual activity, with over 40% of White eighth graders and 70% of Black eighth graders reporting intercourse (Alexander et al, 1989). Furthermore, teenage pregnancy is common in some rural communities (Vincent et al, 1987). Thus, many rural youth are sexually active at young ages and potentially at risk for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.…”