Thinking globally and acting locally on teenage pregnancy prevention: Intervention programs and best practices in the United States, England, Australia, Canada, and the Philippines

Background: Teenage birth rates are higher in the United States than England, Australia, Canada, Philippines. Sexual activity contributes to teenage pregnancy/health problems. This presentation describes: intervention programs/practices to prevent/reduce teenage pregnancy in USA/other countries; outcomes for an evidence-based intervention program promoting sexual abstinence; compares outcomes of intervention and comparison participants. Bandura's Social Learning theory guided the intervention on discussions, mentoring, health/fitness classes, cultural events, community service, recognition ceremony. Methods: Pretest post-test design. Four intervention schools(n=230 girls;221 boys) and five comparison schools (n=134 girls; n=110 boys) with 6th to 8th graders, primarily of African American ethnicity. Intervention participants were randomly selected. Comparison participants were convenience sample. Comparison and intervention schools were matched on grade/ethnicity/socioeconomic status. Instruments: AFL Core Baseline/Follow-up and Demographic Questionnaires. Pearson Chi Square and Mann Whitney U statistical tests and .05 level of significance were used. Results: Abstinence education, comprehensive sex education, health promotion are used to prevent/reduce teen pregnancy in USA/other countries. Post-Test III: Significantly more intervention than comparison participants: talked about no sex(p=.005); said no to wrong activities(p=.012); reported self-confidence(p=.001);importance of marriage/family(p<.001)/remaining abstinent (p<.001)/future spouse remaining abstinent (p<.001);abstinence prevents STDs/pregnancy/health problems(p<.001). Significantly more comparisons than intervention participants reported: sex okay if dating long time(p<.001). More intervention than comparison girls reported remaining abstinent (p<.001)/abstinence prevents STDs/pregnancy/health problems(p<.001). Conclusions: Intervention participants have more significant outcomes related to abstinence behaviors/attitudes than comparison participants. Findings suggest the intervention promotes abstinence and prevents teenage pregnancy. Findings have implications for development of intervention programs which promote abstinence attitudes /behaviors in teenagers.