Case Study on "Teenage Pregnancy Has Been on the Decline"

Case Study 15 pages (3993 words) Sources: 6

[EXCERPT] . . . .

teenage pregnancy has been on the decline in the U.S. generally, there is a very high rate of teenage pregnancy in some specific locations. An evaluation study of teenage pregnancy shows that the rate of teenage pregnancy is specifically high among the unmarried teens. This is however despite the fact that most of the evaluation studies in existence are however ineffective. This evaluation document presents a holistic approach to issue of tackling teenage pregnancy with a focus on the teenagers of Coconino County in the state of Arizona. The paper presents an evaluation of the program in accordance to its objectives. The degree of success of the program is evaluated with the use of the right metrics in order to capture the process as well as the outcome of the project objectives. Our focus is on the Department of Health Services which is mandated to aid in the prevention of out of wedlock teen pregnancy while encouraging adolescent abstinence by means of educational programs. This paper evaluates three major practices that are crucial to its success; youth development portion, level of family involvement as well as the cultural dimensions to the problem at hand. The implications of the program are also discussed.

Introduction

The U.S. has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy among the various industrialized nations. Arizona has continued to be among the states with the highest rates of teenage pregnancies across the nation. This is despite the fact that there has been a recorded decline in the number of teenage pregnancies since 1991. The rate has however continued to soar for teenagers who are out of wedlock. This group forms the most vulnerable members of the society to be affected by the unplanned pregnancy. A report by the Alan Guttmacher Institute (2004) ranked Arizona as the 32nd state in terms of teenage pregnancy rates. The report clearly indicated that the rate of teenage pregnancy had declined by 21.9% within a period of eight years (1998-2000).generally there has been a reduction in the number of teen pregnancies among all races (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 1998).

This paper creates a primary framework to be used in the reduction of teenage pregnancies among the youth of Coconino County in the state of Arizona. The aim is to provide certain indicators to be used in tackling the problem from a broader perspective. There are guidelines that are generated in the process. The various guidelines that are used in measuring the success of the program as well as its impact in the greater Arizonian community are also presented. This is done in order to come up with plausible and comprehensive recommendations that are geared towards achievement of practical alternatives and solutions to the teenage pregnancy in the County. Future programs can therefore rely on this framework with chances of very little amendments.

This would result in a drastic reduction in the number of teenage pregnancies in Coconino County in the state of Arizona.

The following are the six main frameworks that are to be evaluated in order to gauge the rate of success as well as the impact of the teenage pregnancy curbing initiative.

1. Monitoring of the general Performance of the Program

2. Monitoring of the program Process

3. Evaluation of the expected program Outcomes/Results

4. Evaluation of the Project Impact

5. Evaluation of Project Budget (Teen Pregnancy Prevention Budget Analysis)

6. Evaluation of the management of the project.

The evaluation process is to be carried out using a series of instruments as well as techniques in the process of collecting data. These include the following;

Data gathered from National and municipal government databases

Reports from the project

Interviews carried out at among various focus groups. The interviews are to be carried out using both structured and open-ended interviewing techniques.

Surveys carried out at the household level.

It should be noted that the data to be carried out should be separated to reflect the various cases of teen pregnancies among teenagers of different ages, roles as well as different ethnic backgrounds. This is necessary in order to bring out a comparison between the data obtained.

Literature review

There are various pieces of literature that are focused on the prevention of teen pregnancy by means of organized programs (Franklin & Corcoran, 2000; Kirby, 1997; Moore et al., 1995). A report released by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy indicated that theer is a major role that should be played by both parents and the families as a whole in order to reduce cases of teen pregnancy in the country (Miller, 1998).The document indicated the importance that the parental/family influence plays in the prevention of adolescent pregnancy. The document also highlights various programs that are dependent on different cultural aspect of teen pregnancy. The sensitivity of teenage pregnancy to various cultures is therefore noted in the report.

It is worthwhile to point out that the issue of adolescent pregnancy is a complex one which requires a diverse strategy in order to curtail. Therefore it is widely acknowledged that not a single approach exists that can adequately tackle the problem of teenage pregnancy. This is attributed to the fact that teenage pregnancy occurs as a result of various reasons. This therefore calls for a multi-thronged approach in terms of applicable strategies in the order to at least tackle this problem (Kirby, 1997).

The last couple of years have seen several programs that are dedicated towards the prevention of teen pregnancy. These programs have been targeted towards tackling the problem from a variety of forums. There are educational programs, contraceptive (family planning programs), youth development initiatives and school-based health care programs. Recent literature however, suggests that there are few programs that have been successful in achieving their intended objectives. This is in light of the various evaluation efforts that have been put in order to access the success rates of the programs. Some studies have however indicated that certain programs have been successful to some extent. These studies shown that there are certain sexual behavior that have been effectively been handled by the various programs. These were however in light of the various long-term effects of sexual behavior (Moore et al., 1995).

Our evaluation program is based on the various recommendations that were formulated by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (Kirby, 1997) which made an analysis of the various research papers that covered over seventy five programs. Their recommendations made note of various key components that were missing and were necessary to be integrated into various teenage pregnancy prevention programs.

Just before we proceed with our assessment, it is important to remember the following facts that lead to the development of the Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Program (TAPP).

An average of 39 girls become pregnant in Arizona every day

Arizona has the fifth highest rate of adolescent baths in the U.S.

About 95% of all teenage pregnancies are never planned

An average of 45% of all students in high school have had sex at one time

About 25% of all sexually active students have been users of alcohol or other forms of drugs in their last period of having sex

80% of all teens reported feeling some form of pressure to be engaged in sex

10% of all female students in high school were forced into having sex at a time when they did not want it

42% of all sexually active students never used a condom when they last engaged in sex

The data above has been sourced from Coalition on Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenting (ACAPP).

ACAPP (2006) came up with a report to indicate the cost of teenage pregnancy on the general public. Their report indicated that the rate of childbearing among the teens (of 15-19 years) from an analysis carried out by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy cost the taxpayers about $268 million in the year 2004.That is to mean that it cost an average of $3,822 for every teenage birth. Their report also indicated that of all the teenage pregnancies in the state of Arizona, about 51% were attributed to federal costs while 49% were both state and local costs. The report also indicated that most of the expenditure associated with teen child bearing is as a result of negative consequences that are associated with teenage child mothers. The Arizonian situation costs an average of $48 million in terms of public health care (Includes both Medicaid and SCHIP).Child welfare costs $32,incarceration costs $43 and lost tax revenue is about $88.The report also indicated that the rate of teen births in Arizona had a 23% decline in the period of 1991 and 2003. This led to a general saving in terms of taxpayer's money of about $76 million (2004).

Current Practice's Assessment

In order to come up with the best recommendations, it is important to conduct a thorough assessment of all the teen pregnancy prevention programs in Coconino County, Arizona. This was conducted via surveys, interviews as well as visits to various sites.

Twenty surveys were deployed… READ MORE

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