Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #105791

Celeste A. Lemay, RN, BSN¹, Suzanne Cashman, ScD², Dianne S. Elfenbein, MD³, and Marianne Felice, MD³. (1) Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Massachusetts Medical School - Worcester, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA 01655, 508-856-6470, celeste.lemay@umassmed.edu, (2) Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Ave North, Worcester, MA 01655, (3) Pediatrics, Division of Adolescent Medicine, University of Massachusetts, Worcester, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA 01655

Adolescent mothers and their children experience economic, psychological, and social difficulties, in particular a lack of social support. Social support has been identified as an important factor in successful outcomes for young mothers, with families, partners, and friends identified as the most valuable sources of support. This study evaluated the effectiveness of providing comprehensive, interdisciplinary, “one-stop-shopping” model of care with a strong social work component to high-risk, primarily publicly insured (96%) adolescent mothers by measuring selected outcomes including repeat pregnancy rates and immunization status of infants 24 months postpartum. Intervention subjects were compared to adolescent mothers and their infants receiving services from a privately run nationally recognized HMO. Data were collected through extensive interviews and medical chart audits. Comparison mothers were more likely to be Caucasian (p=.026) and report receiving financial support from the baby's father (p=.031) and/or their own earnings (p=.001). There were no significant differences in age at conception or sexual debut, ethnicity, education, or living arrangements. Adolescent mothers in both groups reported similar maternal support and support and daily contact with father of baby. Twenty-four months postpartum, 20% of intervention subjects experienced a repeat pregnancy compared to 33% of comparison mothers; 100% of intervention infants were current with their immunizations compared to 77% of comparison infants. Providing comprehensive medical and social work support to high-risk adolescent mothers appears to contribute to more successful long-term outcomes as measured by repeat pregnancy and infant immunization status than standard medical care.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the differences in repeat pregnancy between mainly publicly insured adolescent mothers cared for through a one-stop-shopping medical and social work model of care and a group of adolescent mothers cared for through a privately run national HMO.
• Describe the differences in infant immunization status between mainly publicly insured children of adolescent mothers cared for through a one-stop-shopping medical and social work model of care and a group of children of adolescent mothers cared for through a privately run national HMO.

Keywords: Teen Pregnancy,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.