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Tailoring Family Planning Services to the Special Needs of Adolescents

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

This intervention is concentrated on service delivery protocols for teenagers receiving reproductive health services in clinics.

Based on the idea that adolescents have special psychosocial needs pertaining to family planning, a committee from the Family Health Council of Central Pennsylvania developed family planning protocols geared specifically towards adolescents under the age of 18. These protocols encompassed a total service delivery system for adolescents from initial contact to follow-up. They incorporated age-appropriate education delivered in private sessions, in-depth counseling by staff members specially trained in adolescent psychosocial development, and guidelines for involving participation of parents or partners while stressing the right to confidentiality.

Goal / Mission

The goal of the study was to address the special psychosocial needs of adolescents and increase contraception use, equip adolescents with the education needed to make responsible decisions related to family planning matters, and decrease unintended pregnancies.

Impact

After a one-year follow-up, teens were less likely to be pregnant. Intermediate findings at six months showed that teens in the experimental group were more likely to continue using a birth control method and less likely to experience difficulty in dealing with contraceptive-related problems.

Results / Accomplishments

The study included 1,261 patients under the age of 18 in six non-metropolitan family planning clinics. After a six month follow-up visit, patients in the experimental group were statistically significantly more likely to have continued with their original method of contraception (p<0.01), were better equipped to deal with problems relating to contraception (p<0.01), and had a lower pregnancy rate than those in the control group (p<0.05).

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Family Health Council of Central Pennsylvania
Primary Contact
John Shields, Ph.D., Research Associate
Sociometrics Corporation
170 State Street, Suite 260
Los Altos, CA 94022-2812
(650) 949-3282 ext
jshields@socio.com
http://www.socio.com
Topics
Health / Health Care Access & Quality
Health / Family Planning
Health / Adolescent Health
Organization(s)
Family Health Council of Central Pennsylvania
Source
Urban Institute
Date of publication
Feb 1991
Geographic Type
Rural
Location
Central Pennsylvania
For more details
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2135397
http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/...
Target Audience
Teens, Women

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Related Content for: Tailoring Family Planning Services to the Special Needs of Adolescents

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.