Teen Pregnancy Prevention Replication Study
Condition: Teen Pregnancy; Sexual Risk-taking Behaviors
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This study is evaluating the effectiveness of three evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention
      (TPP) programs in reducing sexual risk-taking behaviors of youth. The study is using an
      experimental design in which youth are randomly assigned to receive either TPP programming or
      services as usual.
    

Detailed description: 
      The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Replication Study is being conducted under contract for the
      U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for
      Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) and Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) by Abt Associates and
      its subcontractors, Belmont Research Associates, and Decision Information Resources (DIR).
      The study seeks to add to the knowledge base about effective teen pregnancy prevention
      programs by examining replications of evidence-based program models currently funded through
      the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program, administered by OAH.

      Through a series of rigorous experimental design evaluations, the study will test multiple
      replications of three widely-used evidence-based program models to determine their
      effectiveness across different settings and populations. This strategy of selecting multiple
      replications of each program model will allow for an examination of variation in impacts
      across replications for each program model and provide evidence about the generalizability of
      program effectiveness. A comprehensive implementation study will provide information about
      the contexts in which evidence-based programs are implemented, the challenges faced in
      implementing them, and the aspects of program implementation that are associated with program
      impacts.

      The models that will be examined in this study include: ¡Cuidate! (an HIV/STI risk reduction
      program); Reducing the Risk (a sexuality education curriculum); and Safer Sex (a clinic-based
      HIV/STI prevention program for high-risk adolescent females). Program impacts will be
      estimated by using an experimental design in which youth are randomly assigned to treatment
      and control conditions. The unit of random assignment will be the individual or school class,
      depending upon the program setting.

      Overall, the study will be based on a sample of approximately 8,000 youth in nine locations
      across the country. The evaluation team will collect baseline information when youth are
      enrolled in the program, short-term outcome data at a follow-up survey between 6 and 12
      months post-random assignment, and longer-term outcome data at a follow-up survey
      administered between 18 and 24 months post-random assignment. Comparison of outcomes for
      program and control groups will provide important information about the effectiveness of the
      programs in reducing teen pregnancy and associated risk behaviors.
    

Intervention name(s): Reducing the Risk
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Safer Sex is a clinic-based intervention intended to reduce the incidence of STIs and increase condom use among high-risk sexually active female adolescents and delivered in face-to-face individualized sessions by a female health educator. Reducing the Risk is a sexuality-education curriculum, most often delivered in a school setting that provides instruction and practice in the social skills needed to put into action what students learn about preventing pregnancy and reducing unsafe behavior in future high-risk situations. ¡Cuidate! is adapted from the Be Proud! Be Responsible! curriculum and culturally tailored for Latino youth. It aims to reduce HIV risk and unintended pregnancies by affecting sexual behaviors such as intercourse, number of partners, and condom use.
Other intervention name(s): Safer Sex Intervention; Cuidate!
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Health Services Research