Developing and conducting a review of the evidence on programs to reduce teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and associated sexual risk behaviors

In 2010, a new Teenage Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program was established within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to address the high rates of teenage pregnancy in the United States. This two-tier program focuses on replicating evidence-based program models (Tier 1) and testing innovative approaches to teenage pregnancy prevention (Tier 2). This presentation will describe the process that HHS used to conduct a systematic, comprehensive review of the evidence on programs to reduce teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and associated sexual risk behaviors. The purpose of this review was to identify program models that are evidence-based, and therefore eligible for replication under Tier 1 of the TPP Initiative. The review process identified 28 evidence-based program models that were rated as either high or moderate in study quality and showed a significant impact on one of the behavioral outcomes of interest. The presentation will describe the steps involved in conducting the systematic evidence review and explain the criteria for assessing the quality of studies and determining evidence of program impact. In addition, the presentation will discuss the findings from the evidence review, including gaps in the research evidence. Limitations of the review and lessons learned will be discussed. Finally, the presentation will explain current plans for maintaining and updating the review over time.