Abstract
Promoting Seuxal Health Among Oregon Juvenile Offenders
Staci Wendt, PhD1, Anthony Petrosino, PhD2, Pamela MacDougall2, Rebeca Cerna, MPH1, Lucyna Klinicka1, Colleen Carter1, Jonathan Nakamoto, PhD1, Trevor Fronius2 and Sarah Guckenburg3
(1)WestEd, Los Alamitos, CA, (2)WestEd, Woburn, MA, (3)WestEd, Woburn
APHA's 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo (Nov. 10 - Nov. 14)
Implementing sexual health education programs with justice-involved youth is challenging. Youth living apart from their families in residential settings administered by foster care or juvenile justice systems face risk factors including abuse and neglect, substance abuse, mental health, and behavioral issues that have been linked to sexual risk-taking behavior. (James et al. 2009; McGuinness et al. 2002). These youth report having first sexual intercourse at earlier ages with more sexual partners compared with other youth. This high need population is at greater risk for teen pregnancy, STDs and HIV which tax communities and public health and yet few resources are available to meet their needs and circumstance.
Twenty-two states have mandated sex education and or HIV/STD for school aged youth. Studies show however, that youth in this high-priority population have interrupted schooling and are likely to have missed school-based sexual health education courses.
WestEd is currently evaluating a tablet-based app specifically designed to educate young males (ages 14-19) in juvenile justice facilities across Oregon on puberty, sexual health, sexual consent, and healthy relationships through games, interactive scenarios and short videos. This app is one of the first such interventions designed specifically for young males in a juvenile justice environment.
This presentation will discuss how system-involved youth contributed to the development of the app and how it was tailored to work within the facilities. We will also discuss current study findings on the impact of youths’ perceptions of the impact of Healthy U.
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice