H.O.T. Spot Initiative: After-school programs as a tool for reducing the risk for teen pregnancy

Opportunities for young people to be involved in structured and meaningful after school activities decline as they approach the critical middle and high school years. The H.O.T. Spot Initiative, administered by the California Family Health Council, Inc., sought to fill this gap. The goals of the H.O.T. Spot Initiative were to 1) reduce teen pregnancy in census tracts that were identified as “teen birth rate hot spots” and 2) increase access to reproductive health services through partnerships between family planning clinics and after-school or other out-of-school programs. Anonymous, self-administered pre-test and post-test questionnaires were collected from high-risk youth (both girls and boys) ages 11-18 who participated in after-school programs. These programs were designed to deliver reproductive health-related curricula or programs with the primary goal of preventing pregnancy. Questionnaires were designed to measure risk reduction between pre- and post-test. Risk reduction was defined by a) a high proportion of the non-sexually active participants continuing to delay the onset of sexual activity; b) an increase in the frequency of condom and/or hormonal contraceptive use among sexually active participants; and/or c) a reduction in the frequency and/or number of sexual partners among sexually active participants. Analyses of changes in risk reduction will be presented by age, gender, and race/ethnicity.