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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Mary Aruda, PhD, RN, PNP, William F Connell School of Nursing, Department of Maternal Child Health, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Cushing Hall, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, 617 552 8053, mary.aruda@bc.edu, Pamela Burke, PhD, RN, FNP, PNP, Department of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, and Margaret McCabe, RN, DNSc, PNP, Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.

Headlines regarding the decreases in adolescent pregnancy rates can be confusing for clinicians working on the front lines with large numbers of pregnant teens. National data are based on actual birth records, yet there is no uniform reporting for adolescent pregnancy. Information on teen pregnancy at the clinical service level is particularly scarce. In this unique study, four years of clinical evaluation data on over 400 pregnant teens will be presented. Preliminary analysis from the first three years (2000-2002) examined adolescent pregnancy diagnosis and transition to referral services using data from clinical logs of 318 pregnant teens. Significant differences between teens continuing their pregnancy versus teens choosing to terminate were found in the gestational age at the date of initial diagnosis (p=0.026) and in the amount of time between the initial diagnosis and the date of follow-up at a referral site (p=0.0001). Adolescents who chose to continue their pregnancy were diagnosed later and had a longer interval until referral. This presentation will include all four years of data as well as current practice guidelines based on these findings. Case exemplars will illustrate the complexity of current cases, highlighting lessons learned and common pitfalls in counseling pregnant teens through complex family, legal and financial scenarios. The authors will underscore the need for continued vigilance and advocacy regarding potential barriers to adolescents seeking health care, especially for pregnancy diagnosis and early initiation of prenatal care in accordance with the Healthy People 2010 goals.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.Participants will gain an understanding of the complexity of early prenatal diagnosis and referral for adolescents clients, through the results of four years of analysis of clinical data, as well as case exemplars.
• 2.Participants will leave with a model for an adolescent pregnancy followup clinic conducted within an urban primary care clinic in a large teaching hospital.

Keywords: Adolescent Health, Pregnancy Outcomes

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered