Engaging high-risk adolescents in pregnancy prevention programming: Service delivery in low-income housing developments

ISSN： 1469-9389

Source： Journal of Children and Poverty, Vol.17, Iss.1, 2011-03, pp. : 7-24

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Abstract

The risk of adolescent pregnancy is elevated among teens living in areas of concentrated poverty. Although the majority of adolescent sexual risk reduction programs are based in schools, delivering programming in the neighborhood setting is an innovative approach that may enhance the engagement of high-risk youth. This study evaluates the process of implementing an adolescent pregnancy prevention program in the context of low-income, urban housing developments. The primary aims of this paper are: (1) to provide a detailed description of the recruitment and retention strategies employed by a pregnancy prevention program based in low-income housing; (2) to describe the feasibility of recruiting and retaining participants for this type of program; and (3) to examine the percentage of participants enrolled through different recruitment strategies. Some 305 adolescents from eight low-income, urban communities were included in the process study. Results revealed that successful recruitment and retention of adolescents in a pregnancy prevention program within low-income housing is feasible. Within two months, 95% of the recruitment goal was met, with the largest percentage of participants enrolled following door-to-door recruitment. Average session attendance was 70%, and 92% of participants were retained through post-intervention assessment. Implications for future research are discussed.