User talk:Mmag4health

HLTH11029 - Assignment 1a

MIKAELA'S....

Sonfield, A., 2012. Sex education remains active battleground. Contraceptive Technology Update, vol. 33, no.3, pp. 34-36. (Online Discover It! at Central Queensland University Library)

This article is an American report on how politics influences sex education in national schools and what has been and should be nationally included within sex education programs. Sonfield, a reproductive health researcher and policy analyst, expresses his opinion fairly negatively towards abstinence and places high priority, by taking a positivist belief viewpoint towards comprehensive sex education. On the other hand, his conclusion concedes that the standards developed by a collaboration of a number of health groups within the United States including, but not exclusive to: The American School Health Association, the Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education, and the Future of Sex Education Initiative, were the ‘minimum essential content and skills for sex education, given current conditions of limited time and resources devoted to the subject…emphasizing that the education be evidence-based, medically accurate, and age-appropriate’ (p.35). This is an appropriate article to discuss within the target school plan, as it gives a succinct report on the history of American sex education legislation, and how the Obama government has collated the state opinions and created a national standard of sex educational practice. This new standard provides the students with a comprehensive study, spanning the entirety of schooling life and is a full comprehensive education about anatomy, development, identity, reproduction, infections, relationships and safety. This therefore, supports a plan of prevention of which, students be taught across the lifespan and not receive an onslaught of information after pubescent sexuality has already taken effect.

Although Sonfield’s literary review is concise, he does tend to glaze over deeper issues and reports the results more than analyse them. He also does not give a detailed description of the standard or whether it has improved sex education, decreased adolescent pregnancy or lifted the skill set shown by teen parents. As this report was only written in March 2012, the findings are based on the most recent information available, yet this is the reason as to why the credibility of the standard has not been studied, showing that there are positives and negatives to reviewing a recent study analysis.

Aggleton, P, Chase, E & Knight, A 2006, ‘“Someone of your own to love”: experiences of being looked after as influences on teenage pregnancy', Children & Society, vol. 20, no. 5, pp. 391-403, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

In London 2006, Aggleton, Chase and Knight, all researchers of education and children, began a project to examine if coming from a state care facility or program (foster care, orphanages or state homes), decreased the emotional stability of those teens, making them more susceptible to early pregnancy. The results of this research article determined that their hypothesis was correct. It was found, however, that the teens had not experienced a comprehensive sexual education, if any at all. This was a direct consequence of the negligence of the carers and professionals who were part of the teens’ lives as they believed it was someone else’s job. This article is based on an Interpretivism approach, as the aim of the research article was to understand the experience of government assisted teens and how their external factors influenced their behaviour towards producing children (Bell 2012).

Aggleton, Chase and Knight’s article has a few limitations. s. To begin with, this case study is based upon the answers from a small pool of one geographical quota of government-assisted teens, which goes to reason, that the even smaller group of professionals who encountered these teens were then commenting on one demographic of pregnant teens. This can seriously diminish the variety of responses and therefore, may be seen as only pertaining to those fostered teens, at that particular time, in that particular geographical location.

Furthermore, the article does not go into detail on how to solve the problem; however, it is very useful in providing the experiences, rationale and emotional factors that caused these teens to want to fall pregnant and the assumptions that the professionals surrounding these adolescents held in regard to the teens’ education, home life and reasons for falling pregnant. This is vital information as it will help form a basis for how to approach such teens within the subject school, and what professional assumptions need to be broken down and included in the ensuing plan for teen pregnancy intervention.

Bishop, D 2007, 'Teenage pregnancy: an adolescent health issue in Australia', Nuritinga, no. 8, pp. 1-9, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

Bishop, an Australian midwifery nurse, writes this research article in relation to how teen pregnancy has a detrimental effect on the next generation. The concerns that were raised throughout the article included: the statistics and rationale behind teen pregnancy, and what the nursing community can do to support, educate and help with the early years of child-rearing for these teen mothers. Bishop concludes that ‘parenting support and home visits to vulnerable new mothers will be advocated in order to “improve the environment into which they (teenage mothers) rear the next generation”’ (p. 1). This article is written from a positivist viewpoint in the way that it finds the causes of detrimental home lives for the children of teen mothers, and then determines how the nursing profession can productively reduce the effects of young mothering on socio-economic status and behavioural difficulties of the next generation. This article will be a great source of knowledge for the target school’s professional committee chosen topic, as it focuses on programs that educate young mothers in how to care effectively for their baby, give strategies on coping with postpartum depression and give a support network of professionals and carers to those teens who have none. The plan for the ensuing article is to help first those teens who are already impregnated and educate them with parenting skills and give professional support. Bishop’s article is a good starting point for understanding, how that support and post-intercourse education can be established and effective.

Farrelly, C, O'Brien, M & Prain, V 2007, 'The discourses of sexuality in curriculum documents on sexuality education: an Australian case study', Sex Education, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 63-80, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

Farrelly, O’Brien and Prain of LaTrobe University, authored this research article in relation to identifying the assumptions, that underline the understanding of sexuality in Australian Department of Education Sex Education curriculum documents. They discuss how these discourses create issues within the current documents, and what must be ‘addressed in future documents if diverse goals in this area relating to knowledge and attitudinal outcomes are to be met’ (p.63). This article is written with a social constructivism approach, as it is the collection of how the external factors of the Australian school curriculum influence the school-aged generation of Australian youths (Bell, 2012).

This article’s content will inform the subject school’s committee as it brings a viewpoint of how such factors can affect a population. Also, it showcases what programs have been used within Australian education curriculum before and what has been the general outcome of this implementation. The introduction of this article is reviewing different literature to form the basis for its opinions on the curriculum discourses, and as such, is written in such a way that should be acknowledged, so that an understanding of how to begin a literary review and have an effective introduction. There are two restrictions visible within this particular article. First, it only reviews two curriculum documents from the Department of Education in the state of Victoria, Australia and second, after reviewing these two curriculum documents, the report itself is lengthy. This is caused by the use of too much jargon and it lacks conciseness. The detail of this report however, is well thought out and clear.

SHERRY'S :-)

Strunk, J 2008, 'The effect of school-based health clinics on teenage pregnancy and parenting outcomes: an integrated literature review', Journal of School Nursing, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 13-20, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

The purpose of this article is to review, examine and summarise the literature relating to the effect of school based clinics on teenage pregnancy and parenting outcomes (p.13). This article states that in order to become an effective parent, pregnant and parenting teens need to be taught specific skills and receive significant support. Also discussed within this article is a review of various programs that have three components noted as having long term impact on both mother and baby: prenatal care, continuing educational support with child care and postpartum family care. One of the main predicators of a baby’s life outcome is determined by the mother’s level of education.

In order to review the literature, Strunk, the head nurse in the Department of Nursing, followed the Cooper’s stages of research analysis. This framework helped to summarise the data collection of articles that addressed the issues relating to, school-based clinics on teenage pregnancy and parenting outcomes. The initial search was carried out using key words such as; teenage pregnancy, teenage pregnancy outcomes, school nurse, and school-based health clinics. These searches presented forty-eight peer reviewed journal articles and after further filtration, thirteen articles proved to be specifically relative to the topic.

The purpose of this article was to summarise the explanation and outcomes that were collected in each article of the effects of school-based clinics on teenage pregnancies and parenting outcomes. From the thirteen journal articles that were included in this review, five suggested that they had a positive effect on the educational success of pregnant and parenting teens, with absenteeism and dropout rates reducing as a result of school-based health care centres. It also noted that most of the articles displayed came of the opinion that, school-based clinics had a positive effect on the pregnancy outcomes of teenagers; which is helpful in determining the best course of action for the target school.

Minnick, D & Shandler, L 2011, 'Changing adolescent perceptions on teenage pregnancy', Children & Schools, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 241-248, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

This article seeks to provide a better understanding of the perceptions that teenagers have on pregnancy. Minnick an assistant professor of social work and Shandler a psychologist, evaluate and discuss the effectiveness of the American program, The Parent- Child Centre. This centre is a community based agency that works to prevent child maltreatment and teenage pregnancy. One of the ways that the program endeavours to do this is through a peer educations section in which, teenage mothers become educators to other teens within the program. The study was carried out with subjects in four public schools of the Washington County and Maryland’s regions.

In order to evaluate the attitudes and perceptions that the teenagers within the program had on adolescent pregnancy perceptions, a one group pre-test and post-test design was used. Within a single session participants were given three hypotheses of perceptions teenagers held in regards to adolescent pregnancies. These included: student participants will improve their understanding of health risks related to teenage pregnancy and labour; student participation will improve the general understanding that having a baby will not keep a relationship together; and last, whether student participation will improve in understanding that teenage parenting does not reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness. From these hypotheses the students were asked whether they found them to be true or false and whether, the sex of the participant would change the experience of the program.

From the analysed data it was found that a majority of the student participants believed the first hypothesis to be a true statement, in both pre and post-tests. In regard to the final two hypotheses, however, there was a significant change in perception from pre to post-test. The results of the post-tests concluded, that many individuals strongly disagreed with both hypotheses after completing the program.

In order for programs to be effective in addressing the growing number of teenage pregnancies occurring, the programs must be evaluated and changed according to the consistently renewed data about the effectiveness of preventative, teenage pregnancy methods. Throughout this article it is evident that The Parent-Child Centre is having a positive effect in changing adolescent perception of teenage pregnancy, by giving adolescents a more realistic picture of what it takes to be a teenager raising a baby. This is article could hold significant information, when discussing the target school prevention method.

Katz, A 2011, 'Adolescent pregnancy', Nursing For Women's Health, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 149-152, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

This article authored by Katz PhD, RN discussed some of the factors that contribute to adolescent pregnancies, as well as the social consequences that face young mothers both during and after pregnancy. Towards the end of the article evidence of programs and school based initiatives are discussed in order to help reduce the number of pregnancies occurring within the teenage population. A few of the influencing factors of adolescent pregnancies mentioned in the article included: social issues such as poverty; public policies on contraceptive use; and also the limited access to contraceptives and abortion clinics for teenage girls.

One of the most common trends noted was a view held by many pregnant teenage girls that a baby would provide them with unconditional love and connectedness. This stems from reports that pregnancies at an early age were common in girls who suffered from a breakdown between themselves and their families. Some teens found that motherhood provided them with a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.

In regards to helping to reduce the number of adolescent pregnancies this article introduced the concept of Positive Youth Development. The basis of this concept is to promote school based programs that emphasise the value of teenage girls and to give them self-confidence. Other goals of the Positive Youth Development schemes were to engage parents with their child/ren’s education, which was comprised within the program, as an effort to help emphasise the importance of education beliefs held by the teens’ families. Programs that have stemmed from this concept have found that many girls delayed initial sexual activity and increased condom and contraceptive use. It was also found that academic ability and intelligence were associated with delaying sexual activity.

This article gives a comprehensive look at various factors that can contribute to adolescent pregnancies, while continuing the discussion about the link between family breakdowns and teenage pregnancies. This brought to light an individual, psychological factor that can often be overlooked due to a focus by professionals, on the larger social issues. The inclusion of the Positive Youth Development concept also brought a fresh approach to helping reduce this growing global trend. Overall, this article gives a broad look at adolescent pregnancy and presents many factors that can be addressed by the target school committee, in order to help better an understanding on why some girls choose to fall pregnant at such a young age.

Eisenberg, M, Bernat, D, Bearinger, L & Resnick, M 2008, 'Support for comprehensive sexuality education: perspectives from parents of school-age youth', Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 352-359, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

The discussions of Eisenberg, et al. from the University of Minnesota Medical School, are on the effectiveness of school-based sexuality education founded on observations of the sexual health curriculum in the American public school system. They comment on the way that the schools promote sexual health and whether the parents of students support these programs. In order to collect data about the latter, a phone survey was conducted on parents of school-age children that lived throughout Minnesota. The questions were collected via a systematic review of items, which had been used in various state and national surveys of parents. One item was to evaluate the overall views of school-based sexuality education, while ten items were used to access parent attitudes and belief towards abstinence-only education and comprehensive sexuality education.

The analysis of the evidence suggests that the perceived impact of sexuality education received mixed answers, being that there was only a slight majority in the answers of parents who supported the programs. It was also found that a vast majority believed the classes were ‘somewhat effective’ (p.355). In regards to the support of comprehensive sexuality education, an overwhelming majority of parents were in favour of their children being taught both abstinence and other strategies for pregnancy prevention.

In conclusion, this article is quite relevant to the topic as it highlights the support that parents have for informing their children on ways to prevent pregnancy. Parental support and encouragement of such classes lay a solid foundation within a young person’s life, which helps to increase the impact these programs can have on adolescents.

CARMELA'S!!!!!

Macleod, A & Weaver, S 2003, 'Teenage pregnancy: attitudes, social support and adjustment to pregnancy during the antenatal period', Journal of Reproductive & Infant Psychology, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 49-59, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

This article is a study of ninety-nine pregnant adolescents to determine their attitudes, adjustment and support during their pregnancies. The study included twenty-one girls in the 14-16 age brackets, and seventy-eight in the 17-18 age brackets. The study took place in the Hull and East Yorkshire regions of England by experts in nursing, social work, allied health studies and psychology from the University of Hull. These regions had been found to have some of the highest rates of teenage pregnancies, which also encompassed low socio-economic, employment and education statistics. It is also noted that in Hull, the social acceptance of teenage pregnancy is much higher than other areas of the country, with the perception being that it is also better supported. This article takes a positivism approach.

The study was designed around the perception that ‘there are substantial psychological and physical benefits for mother and child if a positive attitude during pregnancy is adopted’ (p.50). The study showed that happiness about being pregnant increased during gestation, even if the pregnancy was unplanned; as was the case of 70% of the girls in this study. This contradicts the theory that pregnancies that were not planned are also not wanted, which is suggested to be the view of adults and not the teenage mothers. The support levels for these girls were also high, with the majority of the support coming from family and partners. The support from friends seemed to drop off during the course of the pregnancy, in addition to the support of midwifes and health workers not being significant. It is unclear why health professionals were not notably supportive, although, suggestions include factors such as, non-attendance at antenatal appointments and clinics.

The study suggests that teen mothers are less likely to finish school and therefore gain employment. This may then become a cycle where low socio-economic status, education and dependence on welfare flow on to the next generation, with the potential of another generation of teen mothers. The study does discuss that further insight could be gained through examination of the postnatal period. This article may be particularly relevant if comparisons can be drawn between the culture in Hull and the local target school and community, as it has been established that this school is at odds with Australian trends in relations to teenage pregnancy as the Australian ABS data suggests that teen pregnancy rates have been falling since the 1970’s. (ABS 2000)

McCowan, R, Roberts, S & Slaughter, J 2009, 'Using infant simulation to reduce pregnancy among high school students', Health Educator, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 35-41, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

McCowan, Roberts, and Slaughter write this article based on an interpretivism approach and, on a study that was done in America in 2004 and 2005, in which three-hundred and nine students participated. They each provide a different aspect to the study, as their credentials range from director in human services, professor of health education and research support within a University in Buffalo. The study involved a control group and a comparison group, observing whether the use of an infant simulator had any effect on teenagers’ attitudes and behaviours relating to sex, pregnancy and child rearing. The results suggest that the use of the simulator alongside a comprehensive sex education curriculum was effective in changing students’ attitudes towards safe sex practices and pregnancy, as well as gaining knowledge about raising children. The author suggests that this gained knowledge and skills will have long term positive effects on the adolescents’ behaviour and future parenting.

One of the shortfalls may be that the target group of students was small and it is mentioned that they may not represent the general public due to different education levels of families, cultural differences and male verses female ratio of classrooms. The infant simulators are also quite costly, thus the affects that they have, would need to be weighed up against the main causes of teenage pregnancies, if they were to be used in the target school.

Stanger-Hall, K & Hall, D 2011, 'Abstinence-only education and teen pregnancy rates: why we need comprehensive sex education in the U.S', Plos ONE, vol. 6, no. 10, pp. 1-11, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

Stanger-Hall and Hall, both professors at the University of Georgia, have produced this study in the U.S. evaluating the different types of sex education in public schools (as legislated at a state level), compared to the teen pregnancies of girls aged 15–19 years in each state and analysed their effectiveness. Twenty-one of the forty-eight states involved in the study had a state law or policy on ‘abstinence-only’ education to be delivered in the public schools. The results of the study indicate this may have contributed to the higher rate of teen pregnancies in these states. One of the abstinence education programs was more successful than the others and its success came from a differing approach, one that would not fall under the traditional ‘abstinence-only’ tactic. In fact, this program did not look at sex in a negative light, provided accurate information on sexual health, and did not discourage the use of condoms.

The article takes a social constructivism approach and the evidence indicates that the most effective form of education is recommending abstinence as a ‘desired behaviour’, while also providing a comprehensive education on safe sex practices and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD). Stanger-Hall and Hall recommend this particular program be delivered through already existing school syllabi, such as, the Biology and Social Studies curricula.

The American federal government reviewed the initiative in 2009 and also came to the conclusion that abstinence only education was proving to be ineffective. They restored the funding to the program in 2010, however, possibly recognising the ‘underlying social values of families and communities in each state, and changing to a more comprehensive sex education curriculum will be met with strong opposition’ (p. 8). The article also has a brief mention of the European sex education programs, which are based upon the ‘WHO (World Health Organisation) definition of sexuality as a lifelong process’ (p. 10). The details provided in this article would provide a good source of information in the initial stages of implementing a plan in the target school.

This program aims to allow teens to make informed choices about their sexual health. The author criticizes the American Government suggesting that not educating teenagers accurately about sex, pregnancies and STDs, causes a flow on effect of uneducated adults. The author provides these facts as justification: over fifty per cent of all pregnancies in the US in 2001 were not planned. Forty-six per cent of these babies were born, forty-three per cent were terminated and thirteen per cent ended in miscarriage.

Van der Klis, K, Westenberg, L, Chan, A, Dekker, G & Keane, R 2002, 'Teenage pregnancy: trends, characteristics and outcomes in South Australia and Australia', Australian & New Zealand Journal of Public Health, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 125-131, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

The objectives of this study were to explain the trends of teenage pregnancy in Australia and more specifically South Australia between 1970 and 2000.Also discussed, is the different demographics of the teenage mothers to predict who were the most ‘at risk’ and the future outcomes for teen mums, based on a social constructivism approach. The article is prepared and analysed by experts in human services, obstetrics and gynaecology.

Teen pregnancy rates were found to be falling approaching the year 2000, such as in 1999 the teenage birth rate was 18.1 per 1000 female teenagers (15–19years) in Australia, below America, Canada and the United Kingdom statistics, but higher than many Western European countries. Dekker et al. also state that within the state of South Australia, the teen abortion rate has exceeded babies born since 1994. South Australia, along with Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory are the only states to have specific abortion legislation. Evidence suggested that teenagers who fell pregnant were more likely to suffer from social disadvantages, therefore a lesser chance of gaining employment. Their children would also inherit a lower socio-economic status and were more likely to have greater health issues. Of the teenagers who had live births, over one third had previously been pregnant, suggesting that subsequent pregnancies for adolescent mothers are common. Strategies to reduce teenage pregnancy and providing support programs for teens both while pregnant and after birth are suggested in the conclusion.

The article provides a considerable amount of information and it would be interesting to compare this to more recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data on birth rates since 2000. Dekker et al. do not discuss any differences in the abortion rates between the states with and without abortion legislation, other than to say, that the information from the states without legislation is less accurate. A suggestion as to why the differences on teenage pregnancy rates differ between countries is also not discussed. This article may be particularly useful if comparisons can be drawn with our target school.

References: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2000, Demography news Dec 2000, viewed 31 July 2012, http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/7d12b0f6763c78caca257061001cc588/23c0d07100292f7dca2572dc000498d5!OpenDocument

SARAH'S*****

SmithBattle, L 2006, ‘Helping teen mothers succeed’, The Journal of School Nursing, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 130-135, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

SmithBattle, a professor of Nursing at the Saint Louis University, has compiled a literature review with a social constructivist model, which looks at issues facing teen mothers including their educational attainment. This review takes into consideration the socio-economic status of teen mothers; whether or not the teen mother has a second child within a short time frame; as well as, analysing the research that suggests school drop-outs are more likely to fall pregnant after leaving school and not prior. SmithBattle also looks at the educational aspirations of teen mothers as it reports that a high number of teen mothers value high school and college education and view education as important in attaining employment. In most cases, however, teen mothers do not receive adequate support from teachers or family, which goes to show how school nurses were in the ideal position to give support to the young mothers and encourage their schooling aspirations.

It was observed that school nurses could address concerns and challenges of pregnant teens and determine the need for and implement educational programs. In addition, there were limitations of appropriate and available child care facilities, inconsistent support from parents and families, as well as unreliable transportation. It was suggested that day care programs should be introduced into schools to promote attendance and educational success. The article also examines educational and social welfare policies. SmithBattle looks at the public education system and the differences in urban and suburban school districts. It was found that urban schools generally maintained a lower academic standard than suburban schools; however, suburban schools were less likely to provide adequate support and parenting needs for pregnant teens.

The article brings light to relevant focus issues which are important when designing educational programs for pregnant teens in the target school. It was interesting to note the extent to which school nurses support and impact the lives of pregnant teenagers. It would be interesting to see a more statistical approach to this study that would show evidence from surveys for example on the school nurse support provided to teen mums.

Mendes, P 2009, ‘Improving outcome for teenage pregnancy and early parenthood for young people in out-of-home care’, Youth Studies Australia, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 11-18, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

Dr Philip Mendes, an Associate Professor of Social Work at Monash University, provides a literature review directed at recognising key issues confronting care leavers during teenage pregnancy and early parenthood. The focus group is significantly more disadvantaged and vulnerable to lower socio-economic status and risk of teenage pregnancy than other groups with supporting evidence from peer reviewed articles. One particular study found that ‘one in three young women ... had been pregnant or given birth soon after leaving care’, with follow up after five years revealing that all nine had transitioned into parenthood.

A study in England revealed that female care leavers between the ages of 15 and 17 proved three times more likely to become teenage mums than other female teenagers of the same age. Contributing factors outlined were the experience of the care leaver prior to foster care which suggests teens are exposed to a range of mental health issues as well as being in families of increased dysfunctional relationships more at risk of ‘permissive sexual norms’. In-care experiences saw a significant decline in continual and reliable schooling and educational support which showed increased risk of involvement in illegal activities of crime and substance abuse correlating to outcomes of sexual activity and pregnancy risk. It was suggested that these people often viewed sex as a way of filling the void of feeling unloved and unwanted. On a positive note, Mendes highlights the different challenges and positive effects of early childhood. Challenges featured teenage mothers facing limited access to further education due to the lack of suitable transport and child care facilities; affordability of adequate housing; limited family and peer support networks and higher reports of child protection intervention. Mothers also ‘expressed concern that the authorities placed more emphasis on surveillance than support’ (p. 15). Encouraging effects were that many foster care leavers become happy and successful parents after overcoming difficult childhoods themselves. Many reports found that teenage mothers have pride in being able to provide the love, care and support to their child that they did not receive. A number of recommendations are made to improve the ‘number of in-care, leaving-care and after-care reforms’ (p. 16) with outcomes of preventing pregnancy and/or promoting successful parenting in a non-judgmental setting. Limitations highlighted were that of incomplete provision of sex and relationship education and access to contraception. Mendes creates a lot of well thought out arguments and for and against pregnancy in teenage foster care leavers, with many issues being relevant and prospective ideas that would be beneficial in the formation of care leaver and early parenting programs. It would be interesting to see more focus based on identifying the different needs of care leavers. This article provides many aspects to be considered when trying to identify key factors that may influence teen pregnancy in our target school.

Clarke, A, Foster-Drain, R, Sudler Milligan, C, Shah, I, Mack, D & Lowe, BJ 2011, ‘Engaging high-risk adolescents in pregnancy prevention programming: service delivery in low-income housing developments’, Journal of Children and Poverty, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 7-24, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

The article by Clarke et al. provides a detailed study ‘of the recruitment and retention strategies employed by a pregnancy prevention program based in low-income housing’ (p.7). The prevention program, known as the Adolescent Family Life Comprehensive Abstinence Program (AFL-CAP) takes an at-home learning approach rather than a school-based approach due to unlikelihood of the focus group’s attendance of school. This study was completed by a professor of psychology and a not-for-profit organisation in America. Teenagers in low-income housing developments are more at risk of becoming pregnant due to tendencies towards more risky behaviour than those in higher-income housing areas. It was reported that the average age of first sexual intercourse encounter within low-income housing areas was twelve years with an average of four sexual partners within the preceding year. The program recruited staff from surrounding areas of the low-income housing as a ploy to maintain a trust based relationship between staff and participants. Recruitment of participants saw some 305 adolescents from eight low-income communities and surrounds, which was largely established via door-to-door encounters and yielded around 69% of all participants. In some incidences, monetary incentives were provided to encourage attendance to certain classes, such as the AIDS prevention program. The results revealed that sessions were at 70% attendance and did not correlate between low-income versus neighbouring surrounds. Issues of continuum of care were evident as there is a high level of mobility within low-income housing communities, therefore, limiting follow ups, reminders of program schedules, and issues of transportation all resulting in increased risk of low attendance or dropping out of the program. It would be interesting to view comparisons between home-based programs versus the in-school approach as well as a more in-depth exploration into the effects incentives provide on attendance of programs. This article will be a good referencing base for gathering ideas to increase attendance levels and formulate suggestions for different locations of delivery, to zone in on appropriate focus groups within the subject school.

Bunting, L & McAuley, C 2004, ‘Research review: teenage pregnancy and motherhood: the contribution of support’, Child and Family Social Work, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 207-215, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

From the school of social work at the Queen’s University in Belfast, Bunting and McAuley write a literary review that focuses solely on the role of support to pregnant teenagers and specifically, three avenues of support: family, partner, and peers. The article is an American based review and concentrates on two demographics of White and African-American populations. It is viewed that co-residence of families increased levels of educational attainment as well as stable employment and improved developmental outcomes for their children. It was noted, however, that differences occurred across ethnic groups. Emotional support was deemed important to African-Americans, as there was a strong relationship between low emotional support and decreased grades and financial security, whereas Caucasian-Americans recorded less correlation between variables.

It was found that family support, particularly from the teens’ mother was 60% more favourable than other alternatives for assistance and ‘89% of the sample named their mother as a source of support’ (p.209). Coincidentally, 36% recorded that their mother was also the cause of conflict, resulting in negative parenting behaviour trends. Partner support was related to increased self-esteem whether it was coming from the child’s biological father or another partner. This indicated reduced risk of depressive states for teen mothers. In contrast, across the ethnic board, teen mums who were living with partners or were married had higher likelihoods of dropping out of school. This stands to reason, that some partners or spouses were the source of stress and conflict that may have resulted in abusive relationships. In conclusion, peer support may play a safeguard role in relieving pressures and family issues with ‘high levels of emotional support provided by this group’ (p.214). ‘Support from friends combines with family and partner support to contribute to the increased mental well-being of teenage mothers by decreasing parenting stress and providing avenues for positive interaction and feedback’ (p.214). This article was advantageous in the discussion of some of the important support groups; however, being an older study, the datum may have changed considerably with the increasing rate of independent and younger, sexually, active teenagers. It would also be interesting to view a similar article of the support networks of Indigenous Australians and how they differ in multi-cultural Australia. This article provides insights to form the basis of the recommendation to the target school.

JESS' with author creds & pg #s...feel free to shorten creds.Sorry!!! :)

Banks, G, Crozier, M, Godwin, E, Rokutani, L & Russett, J 2010, 'A multisite program evaluation of families and schools together (FAST): continued evidence of a successful multifamily community-based prevention program', The School Community Journal, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 187-207, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

This journal article discusses the use of a prevention program known as FAST (Families And Schools Together) across a metropolitan area in the United States by: the coordinator of a substance abuse certificate at East Carolina University (Mary Crozier),the president and CEO of a drug and mental health support provider company- MoonShadow-(Laurie Rokutani), the program coordinator for Prevention of High Risk Drinking among College Students at the College of William and Mary’s School of Education (Jill L. Russett), the family services program coordinator at Virginia Commonwealth University (Emilie Godwin), and an Office of Mental Health evaluator and consultation specialist (George E. Banks). Previously, the program had been assessed on individual site results, that is, choosing one school in one city and then another one in a completely different city and so on. This article is more useful than those articles previously written as it shows the aggregation of results. The changes experienced in the family unit and the child’s school performance were gauged according to surveys taken by both the parents and teachers involved before and after involvement in the program. In the majority of cases, improvement was made in the ‘areas of family functioning, parental self-efficacy, social connectedness, parental knowledge of alcohol, tobacco, or other drug (ATOD) related issues and substance use’ (p.201).

The results attest to the effectiveness of FAST as a means of strengthening family functioning thus increasing child resilience. Although the prevention of teen pregnancy is not an objective of the FAST program, it is thought that through evaluating the approaches taken to other problem areas such as drug and alcohol abuse, the committee may gain insight into the importance of family and school collaboration especially with those classed as ‘at-risk’ students. By introducing a similar program for a slightly older age group, it could be reasonably foreseen that those students involved would develop family and school ties, which act as protective factors to sexual risk taking and thereby, pregnancy.

Kirby, D 2001, 'Understanding what works and what doesn't in reducing adolescent sexual risk-taking', Family Planning Perspectives, vol. 33, no. 6, pp. 276-281, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

This article seeks to identify the critical elements of effective programs, in reducing the sexual risk-taking of adolescents. The author- Douglas Kirby, senior research scientist at ETR Associates- explores the importance of social norms and connectedness to those who express the traits of conforming to a unified behaviour within the subject group. For example, a social norm involves parents to encourage abstinence or use of contraceptives, and the level of connectedness being the level to which a youth desires to adapt a similar belief of their parents, making that the norm. This would continue to encourage the development of stronger connections to family.

Furthermore, Kirby examines four groups of programs which had been strongly evidenced as being effective. In particular, two of these programs, sexuality and HIV education, in conjunction with the CAS-Carrera, were of importance in pregnancy reduction and could prove useful in the review and development of the program within the target school. The CAS-Carrera is a program in which abstinence is highly encouraged to girls aged thirteen to fifteen, while incorporating family life and sexuality education. Also integrated within the program is academic support, such as tutoring and self-expression through participation in the arts and sport and health care education. These were considered important in pregnancy reduction, as the most successful cases were credited to teachers who had expressed a genuine concern for the well-being of their students as they became surrogate parents of sorts to the female youths they were mentoring. The level of commitment expressed by the teachers themselves (especially in situations where the youths may not be a part of a fully-functioning family unit), could prove extremely important to the success of the program developed within the target school.

In conclusion, the article suggests the possibility of mobilising school leaders to take a public stance on sexual risk-taking in order to influence their peers; however, it is important to note, that youths are most likely to respond to a positive influence of peers, to which they have the closest relationships with, rather than the students leaders with whom they experience less contact. Goodhue, A, Lanigan, C, Schaffer, M & Stennes, K 2012, 'Evaluation of a public health nurse visiting program for pregnant and parenting teens', Public Health Nursing, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 218-231, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

The article written by Marjorie A. Schaffer, Ph.D., R.N., P.H.N. from Bethel University, Minnesota, and Amy Goodhue, B.S.N., R.N., P.H.N., Kaye Stennes M.S., R.N., P.H.N., and Cheryl Lanigan, M.A., R.N., P.H.N. from Minnesota Visiting Nurse Agency, Minnesota evaluates a program run in the US where public health nurses would go on repeated visits to pregnant and parenting teens’ homes and offer social, emotional, educational and health care support to them. This was accomplished through nurses acting as mentors to the adolescent girls throughout pregnancy, until the child reached two years of age.

The public health nurses built trust and established relationships with the young mothers during this time; however, this was only one part of a four pillar program. The other three included: ‘outreach and coordination with schools, hospital, clinics, and human service agencies’, ‘a comprehensive and intensive maternal mental health curriculum’ and ‘community support and caring through provision of essential items needed for success in parenting’ (p.221). This program was based upon the implementation of the resiliency theory, which suggests that protective factors such as, connectedness to family and school, social support networks and other individual and community assets help to decrease the chances of negative outcomes for teen mothers.

The end results of this study show that those teens involved in the program were far more likely to remain enrolled in school and overall, had better birth results. This therefore, gives reason to believe the use of at least one public health nurse on the target school’s planning committee would prove most advantageous and may lead to the use of a similar approach of teaching and mentoring of the already impregnated, school population. Bearinger, L, Beckman, K, Garwick, A, Oliphant, J, Plowman, S, Resnick, M, Rush, K & Sieving, R 2011, 'A clinic-based, youth development approach to teen pregnancy prevention', American Journal of Health Behaviour, vol. 35, no.3, pp. 346-358, (online Discover it @ CQUniversity Library).

In this article the authors- Renee E. Sieving, RN,PhD, Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Healthy Youth Development, and Michael D. Resnick, PhD, Professor in Healthy Youth Development at the University of Minnesota; Ann W. Garwick, RN, FAAN ,PhD, Professor and Associate Dean for Research, School of Nursing at the University of Minnesota; Linda H. Bearinger, RN, FAAN, PhD, Professor at the School of Nursing University of Minnesotra; Kara J Beckman, MA, Prime Time Project Director in Healthy Youth Development University of Minnesota; Jennifer A. Oliphant, MPH, Research Fellow in Healthy Youth Development University of Minnesota; Shari Plowman, MPH, Senior Evaluator in Healthy Youth Development University of Minnesota; and Kayci R. Rush, MSW, Prime Time Intervention Coordinator in Healthy Youth Development University of Minnesota-  discuss an intervention program named Prime Time. As well as recognising the importance of environmental factors such as social norms, economic state and access to preventative services, the Prime Time program places a strong emphasis on the importance of individual case management. By taking into consideration individual-level risk factors such as violence involvement, school failure and depression, ‘at risk’ students are then able to participate in a program targeted at reducing issues most relevant to them.

The main limitation of this source is that the program is still under review as to its effectiveness, although at this stage, it does hold much promise. This article, presents reasons for the committee to involve social workers, psychologists and possibly other psychological and behavioural analysts, adept at targeting ‘at-risk’ teens. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jacka-Rose (talk • contribs) 09:16, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

Class assignment
I noticed this page in passing and have a few observations that might make things easier: Let me know if you have any questions or concerns and I'll try to help out.  Acroterion   (talk)   02:35, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
 * First, take a look at the schools and university project page, which has a lot of advice about how to do a project involving Wikipedia and some useful contacts.
 * Second, please remember that all accounts are to be used by a single individual. I'm not sure how this is being handled here, but it looks like this is a central place for edits for a group, which is OK as long as one person controls this account.
 * And third, you might want to move this to a subpage of the account, since user talkpages are to be used for coordinating and communicating with other Wikipedia editors, rather than as a parking place for content. I'd suggest User:Mmag4health/sandbox as an appropriate location.
 * Please remember that Wikipedia is a tertiary source, and not a publisher of original thought, research or synthesis.  Acroterion   (talk)   02:35, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for the head's up. It is controlled by only one user and we will remember your suggestions for next time. (Mmag4health (talk) 03:42, 8 August 2012 (UTC)).