The impact of community-wide teen pregnancy prevention initiatives (CWIs) on local U.S. birth rates among adolescents aged 15 to 19 years was examined using synthetic control methodology within a quasi-experimental design. CWIs were implemented in 10 U.S. communities from 2010 to 2015. Each initiative implemented evidence-based teen pregnancy…

Although US teenage birth rates substantially decreased over the past two decades, it still remains the highest in the developed world. More innovative, community-wide initiatives are needed to combat the issue. In Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, the Central Oklahoma Teen Pregnancy Prevention Collaboration is utilizing the collective impact model to…

In the USA, persons of Hispanic ethnicity experience higher rates of adolescent pregnancy and STIs than non-Hispanic white youth and there exists a lack of research concerning the sexuality education preferences of Hispanic adolescents. This study describes sexual health education preferences by Hispanic ethnicity among a high-risk sample of young…

This article provides an overview of Building Connections, a national initiative in Canada to embed trauma-informed approaches into community-based projects, highlighting the components that indicate successful implementation. Building Connections uses a relationship-based approach (a) to support the readiness to engage in an intervention focused…

Objective: Adolescents' unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections have a significant impact on the individuals themselves and on society. Peer leaders are students trained to become role models and leaders who promote positive behaviour change in their schools and community. A few studies have examined the effects of taking the role…

The Community-Based Family Administered Neonatal Activities (C-B FANA; Cardone, Gilkerson, & Wechsler, 2005) offers home visitors and expectant parents a new way to be together during the unfolding months before birth. Adapted from the hospital-based Family Administered Neonatal Activities (FANA; Cardone & Gilkerson, 1990), the C-B FANA…

Community mobilization is a strategy that organizes a community across sectors for long-term change, and is one way for communities to provide supports for young people to make healthy sexual choices. In the context of teen pregnancy, community mobilization can address the interconnected web of factors that influence teen sexual attitudes by…

Postpartum Depression (PPD) occurs at higher rates among impoverished mothers than the general population. Depression during pregnancy is one of the strongest predictors of developing PPD. Research indicates that non-pharmacological interventions are effective in reducing depressive symptoms but engaging and retaining low-income mothers remains a…

This study profiles tutoring programs that empower urban youth within the Regional Institute of Tutorial Education (RITE), a community collaborative of universities, youth agencies, community service organizations, and school districts. Representative members of RITE detail how they address shared urban problems of academic deficits, school…

Health disparities in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are of high importance to American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. We conducted focus groups and interviews with 21 AI/AN women and key informants in Southern California to modify a brief, Web-based program for screening and prevention of prenatal alcohol use. This process…

This article provides an example of a culturally responsive, community-based project for addressing social determinants of health in rural American Indian (AI) communities through: 1) empowering youth and community voices to set directions for HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and unintended pregnancy prevention and education efforts; 2) using…

Defines community level interventions for prevention and health promotion, describing their appeal, offering examples of community level interventions that demonstrate their promise, summarizing literature reviews that document that the promise is not realized regularly, and proposing that models to bridge the gap between science and practice via…

This multimethod study explored the promising link between organized sports involvement during the high school years and sexual behavior/health among 176 adolescent women. Using more sensitive and appropriate measures than those in existing studies and directed, in part, by cultural resource theory, this study helped to fill a gap in the…

This article is excerpted from the authors' "The Community-Based Doula: Supporting Families Before, During, and After Childbirth", published in 2006 by "ZERO TO THREE." In the U.S., many new parents are socially isolated and lack access to ongoing caring and support because of poverty, immigration, language barriers, or the growing mobility and…

This investigation is a case study of peer educators in a community-based teen pregnancy prevention program. Research questions focused on identifying ways in which peer educators differed from other teens and exploring the perceptions of the peer educators about their experience in the program and the ways in which it has affected them. Data were…