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DHHS ACF-Decreasing Repeat Pregnancy

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PIs:

Shauna Rienks

Galena Rhoades

Community Partners:

MotherWise

Funding Sources:

Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF) – Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB)

Research Type:

Active

Research Interest:

evaluation

Goal: The goal of the Love Notes program at MotherWise was to empower and guide adolescent mothers to choose less risky sexual behavior, ultimately reducing repeat teen pregnancies and increasing optimal health. The evaluation was designed to understand how the program was implemented and how it impacts participants’ knowledge, communication, and behavior.

Following a Positive Youth Development model, the program aimed to build protective factors that mitigate the impact of past and future negative factors, empower participants to make healthy decisions, provide tools and resources to prevent pregnancy and STIs, and prevent youth engagement in other risky behaviors. The program included six weeks of healthy relationship education workshops plus one-on-one case management and coaching. Our mixed-methods evaluation included an observational study of the workshops, a focus group conducted with teen participants, and survey data collected from 146 teens at entry and 117 teens at program exit. Results indicated high participant satisfaction and improvements in well-being (decreases in feelings of nervousness, depression, and anxiety). Participants also reported feeling more confident in their parenting skills and knew how to handle conflict with their partner better.