Evaluation of the Impact of Linking Families and Teens (LiFT) Curriculum
Condition: Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      To test a new curriculum designed by Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and Hawaiian
      Islands (PPGNHI). The Linking Families and teens (LiFT) curriculum is an innovative program
      designed for families in rural communities, with the goal of reducing unplanned teen
      pregnancies by increasing family connectedness and increasing youth's self-efficacy,
      knowledge, and skills related to sexual health.
    

Detailed description: 
      LiFT is a two-module curriculum workshop for youth and their parenting adults. Topics for
      youth include communication skills, condom use, and skill building to access sexual
      healthcare resources. For parenting adults, topics include building a climate of trust and
      open communication with youth about sexual health.

      Trained and certified facilitators delivered each 2.5 hour module. Sites could choose to
      deliver the modules in one or two sessions. Youth and parents participated in simultaneous
      but separate programming in community locations such as schools or health care settings.
      Youth and parenting adults also received participant guides that encouraged communication
      between them. Facilitators encouraged youth and parenting adults to opt-in to receive weekly
      texts that offer additional resources and suggestions for fun ways families can communicate;
      these continued for 12 weeks after the workshop. Parenting adults received a phone call from
      the facilitator 3 to 5 weeks after the workshop to reinforce the skills learned during the
      program.

      Community partners (schools, health care settings, or other community organizations) assisted
      with recruiting interested dyads of youth and parenting adults from their client base and the
      community. Each site held a kickoff event or individual meeting or meetings describing the
      LiFT program in detail.

      Over the course of three years, the program was offered 57 times across five cohorts. The
      program took place in rural communities across nine states; Alaska, California, Hawaii,
      Idaho, Mississippi, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. The study enrolled 886 dyads for
      participation.

      The LiFT study was a cluster randomized controlled trial. Dyads of youth and their parenting
      adults were randomly assigned to participate in the intervention or comparison group.
      Siblings were randomly assigned together within the same condition. At kick-off events or
      through individual meetings, program staff obtained parental consent and student assent and
      administered baseline surveys. After receiving consent, assent, and baseline surveys, the
      research team conducted the random assignment of dyads and informed the site of the results.
      Program implementation occurred within two weeks of recruitment and baseline data collection.

      All study participants were surveyed at two points in time: (1) at the kickoff event or
      individual meetings before random assignment (baseline) and (2) immediately post-program (3
      months from baseline). In addition, youth were surveyed 1 year following baseline. LiFT
      facilitators administered the baseline surveys, whereas the evaluation team administered the
      immediate post-program and 9-month post-program follow-up surveys. Surveys were in-person
      pencil-and-paper surveys for all survey points. Dyads who did not attend in-person follow-up
      data collection events were contacted and offered multiple options for completing the surveys
      (for example, by web, over the phone, or via mail).

      For the implementation evaluation, the evaluation team collected data on attendance,
      fidelity, and quality. At the end of each module, LiFT facilitators completed an attendance
      log, a referral log, and a fidelity form. On the fidelity form, they reported whether they
      covered all of the topics and activities scheduled for that lesson and any deviations from
      the planned lesson. Trained observers observed more than 10 percent of all sessions to
      monitor fidelity and quality. The text messaging service recorded the number of text messages
      sent and received.
    

Intervention name(s): LiFT Program
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention