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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Donesha Pegues, BS, Health Education Department, Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties, 1873 Commercenter West, San Bernardino, CA 92408, (909) 890-5515 ext. 1, dpegues@pposbc.org

Rationale: Evidence has shown that peers can play a unique and effective role in encouraging other teens to develop responsible behaviors and attitudes towards sensitive issues, such as reproductive health.

Objectives: The program has two main objectives: 1) to create an environment where teens would feel comfortable accessing family planning services 2) to increase awareness of family planning by conducting community educational outreach.

Method: In 2002, PPOSBC established the T-ROC (Teens Realizing Opportunities and Choices) Teen Clinic at our Upland Medical Center. Local teens and young adults were trained to provide family planning services and health education to clients under the age of 19. Services included birth control, emergency contraception, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and more. Services were delivered in a “teen friendly” environment that was developed by the peer educators.

Results: From January 2002 to February 2005, T-ROC saw over 700 unduplicated clients. One percent of the clients were in junior high school, 47% were high school students, 36% were in college, and 16% were not students or had other educational situations. Half of the clients seen were white, 29% were Hispanic/Latino, and 8% were African-American. The majority of clients came to the clinic to obtain a birth control method and about a third visited for an STD test or treatment.

Conclusion: Based on our data, the T-ROC program has successfully met the unique needs of our teen clients by integrating “teen friendly” services and peer educators into the medical center.

Learning Objectives: