The majority of juvenile offenders are male but the extent of girls' involvement in juvenile delinquency is growing. In 1997, an estimated 737,958 girls, most 13- and 17- years old, were arrested across the country. More than 50% of all youths entering the juvenile justice system have health-related problems. Most health education efforts are geared towards males. Girls tend to have different health and social development issues than males; therefore, there is a need for gender-specific programs, which promote healthy attitudes, behaviors, and lifestyles for the adolescent female. The purpose of the Greenwood Girls Health Education Project is to develop, implement, and evaluate a gender-specific health education curriculum designed to meet the specific needs of girls incarcerated at a South Carolina female youth facility. All 60 residents will complete a baseline knowledge, attitudes, and behavior survey. At least four focus groups will be conducted, two for each age group, 12-14 and 15-17. A randomly selected group of the Center's staff will complete face-to-face key informant interviews to discuss their perceptions of health education needs. The focus groups, key informant interviews, and survey information will be used to design a nine-session health education curriculum. A stratified random sample of 20 girls will be selected to receive the intervention. The remaining 40 will serve as a comparison group. After the 9th session, all 60 residents will complete the posttest survey. It is important to provide health education and life skills to the female youth offender who will someday return to society.
Keywords: Adolescent Health, Public Health Education and Health Promotion
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: The Greenwood Center
South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice
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.