Start Date
30-11-2012 8:30 AM
End Date
30-11-2012 10:00 AM
Description
Background: In 2009, Lowell’s teen birth rate was 53 per 1,000 teens age 15-19 more than double the Massachusetts 2009 rate of 19.6. Teen births occur disproportionately to the most vulnerable teens, with racial and ethnic disparities being common.
Methods: A focus group qualitative methodology was used to capture the subjective experiences of parents of pre-teen and teen parents to explore adolescent utilization of reproductive health services and the issue of teen pregnancy. Focus group interviews (FGI) enabled the researchers to gather rich and detailed information. A diverse group of 10 women who met the selection criteria agreed to participate.
Results: Parents thought teen pregnancies occurred for a variety of reasons with peer pressure, lack of sex education and family discussion of sexuality, pressure from mate and cultural influences being the most common. When exploring barriers to accessing sexual health services, lack of transportation, teen invincibility, denial that they could get pregnant, misconceptions and faulty information were identified as contributing to teen pregnancies. Suggested solutions were: enhance parental communication with teens using techniques such as ―car talk‖ and ―backyard sharing‖; include preteen and teen sexual health discussions in pediatric visits; involve other community groups working with youth; normalize the discussion of sexual health and encourage absence.
Conclusions: The focus groups results will guide the building of teen programs that focus on specific characteristics of risk and resilience, the adolescent-parent relationships and youth development to build a community based intervention to prevent teen pregnancy and improve teen sexual health.
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A Parent Focus Group to Inform Improving Access to Adolescent Reproductive Health Services and the Prevention of Teen Pregnancy: A Community Participation Study
Background: In 2009, Lowell’s teen birth rate was 53 per 1,000 teens age 15-19 more than double the Massachusetts 2009 rate of 19.6. Teen births occur disproportionately to the most vulnerable teens, with racial and ethnic disparities being common.
Methods: A focus group qualitative methodology was used to capture the subjective experiences of parents of pre-teen and teen parents to explore adolescent utilization of reproductive health services and the issue of teen pregnancy. Focus group interviews (FGI) enabled the researchers to gather rich and detailed information. A diverse group of 10 women who met the selection criteria agreed to participate.
Results: Parents thought teen pregnancies occurred for a variety of reasons with peer pressure, lack of sex education and family discussion of sexuality, pressure from mate and cultural influences being the most common. When exploring barriers to accessing sexual health services, lack of transportation, teen invincibility, denial that they could get pregnant, misconceptions and faulty information were identified as contributing to teen pregnancies. Suggested solutions were: enhance parental communication with teens using techniques such as ―car talk‖ and ―backyard sharing‖; include preteen and teen sexual health discussions in pediatric visits; involve other community groups working with youth; normalize the discussion of sexual health and encourage absence.
Conclusions: The focus groups results will guide the building of teen programs that focus on specific characteristics of risk and resilience, the adolescent-parent relationships and youth development to build a community based intervention to prevent teen pregnancy and improve teen sexual health.