The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #43778

Gale A. Spencer, RN, PhD and Dianne C Miner, RN, PhD. Decker School of Nursing, Binghamton University, PO Box 6000, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, 607-777-6003, gspencer@binghamton.edu

Adolescent pregnancy has become a serious social problem of considerable interest to communities across the nation. Each year in the United States nearly four in ten adolescent girls become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20. Eighty percent of these pregnancies are unintended and 79 percent are to unmarried adolescents (Henshaw, 1998). Adolescent pregnancy burdens the economy and costs the US at least 7 billion dollars per annum (National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 1997). Many adolescent pregnancy prevention programs have been developed, but few have been effectively evaluated. The most successful of the programs are developed by a combination of community agencies, healthcare and social work professionals, teachers, parents, adolescents, and other community stakeholders. Parents are an important part of this equation, and adolescents, the target population, are most important. Tailoring programming to the needs of parents and adolescents is paramount. Issues of acceptability must be considered. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and acceptability of pregnancy prevention services in an upstate New York county. Nine focus groups (3 Teen groups, 3 Pregnant/Parenting Teen groups, and 3 Parent/s of Teens groups) were held in both urban and rural settings. A predetermined set of questions was developed for each of the three types of groups. The findings from each of the three types of focus groups will be discussed individually. Common themes from the three groups and implications for program planning and development will be addressed.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• identify the differences in pregnancy preventions service needs between rural and urban teens.
• identify the similarities between teens and parenting teens regarding barriers to obtaining pregnancy prevention services.
• identify the differences in perceptions regarding pregnancy prevention services between parents of teens and teens.
• discuss the implications of the findings of this project for program development.

Keywords: Access and Services, Adolescent Health

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.