Developing community partnerships to promote adolescent health. (2003)

Abstract: The author discusses a very successful commu- nity partnership entitled the Carolina Health Connection Project (SCHCP) established in the state of South Carolina to curtail the high incidence of teenage pregnancies in that state. Over 18 community organizations supported the project funded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 1997 in which 2,000 youth participated. Key Words: Adolescent Health, Community Partnerships, South Carolina Youth, Teenage Pregnancy In 1996, The University of South Carolina College of Nursing, Department of Family and Community Health entered into a partnership with over thirty statewide community organizations to submit a proposal to establish the South Carolina Health Connection Project (SCHCP). The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington, DC was soliciting proposals to implement their Health Connection Project with minority youth. The program would provide a hands-on interactive curricular and training to use the materials. The activities showed the effects of alcohol, tobacco and drugs on the body using a systems approach with math, science and health as major threads. However, before the proposal could be sent, there had to be a minimum of fifteen sites/organizations agreeing to implement the project with at least 50 youth each. Additionally, the proposal required supporting letters from at least 30 community persons. The proposal was submitted with thirty community organizations supporting the project, including a local Hispanic organization and a community advisory board. Two nurses led these efforts, Dr. Constance S. Hendricks, USC - Associate Professor (Project Director) and Mrs. Jean Hopkins, a USC Alumna and retired nurse (Co-Project Director). Description of Specific Problems/Issues to be Addressed South Carolina is predominantly a rural state, the majority of which is designated as a health manpower shortage area. Children under the age of 18 constitute 27% of South Carolina's population. Of this number, a third 34% are African Americans and other minorities. The condition of South Carolina's children today determines what our state will be like tomorrow because children are our future. Children's success is strongly influenced by the education of their parents (Kids Count, 1998). Healthy People 2000 has also posited that low educational level is a consistent indicator of increased risk for preventable disease and premature death. In 1994, 21.8% of all babies were born to mothers who had not completed the 12th grade (South Carolina Minority Health Status, 1998). A distressing number of students drop out of school and fail to graduate. According to Kids Count ( 1998), an average of 30% of the 8th graders in South Carolina in 1990 failed to graduate from a state school by 1995. One of every three African American males scheduled to graduate in 1995 dropped out of school in grades eight through 12, compared to 29% of white males. Teenagers are more likely to be on public assistance and very likely to quit school. According to the 1998 South Carolina Kids Count Report, significant numbers of students perform below minimum standards by the end of elementary school. The SC Department of Education reports that among African American and other minorities in the state, 55% do not pass the high school exit exam on the first try. The overall exit exam passing percentage for the state is 35%. Grade retention has been shown to be one of the strongest predictors of school dropouts (Shepard & Smith, 1990; Morrison & Holmes, 1996). For the state of South Carolina, 14% of children repeat one of the first three grades, with African American males having the highest retention rate. In South Carolina, one of every four African American males and more than 16% of African American females repeat at least one grade between grades one and three, which is twice the percentage of their white counterparts. …