Background: Comprehensive sexual health education (SHE) reduces risky sexual behavior and increases protective behavior in adolescents. It is important to understand how professionals responsible for implementing SHE policy interpret state and local policy and what influences their commitment to formal SHE policy implementation. Methods: This…

Young people in East and Southern Africa need greater access to reliable information about health and education in order to make informed decisions on health matters--focusing on HIV and teenage pregnancy--and to increase basic education outcomes. Young 1ove organization, established in March 2014 in Gaborone, Botswana, is a grassroots, youth-led,…

Background: The US Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) funded studies of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention programs in 2010. The results of a 5-year OAH study conducted in the state of Hawai'i with middle school youth has implications for school leaders in the selection and implementation of comprehensive sex…

The purpose of this article to describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health Preconception Peer Educators program at a small private historically black college and university (HBCU). Peer educators were college students who completed a two-day training that…

Out-of-wedlock pregnancy among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa is a major concern, because of its association with health, social, psychological, economic and demographic factors. This article describes the development of the Teenage Mothers Project, a community-based intervention to improve psychological and social well-being of unmarried…

Background: Sierra Leone has high maternal mortality. Socio-ecological factors are considered contributing factors to this high mortality. Anemia is considered to be a direct cause of 4% of maternal deaths and an indirect cause of 20-40% of maternal deaths. Purpose: The current study explores socio-ecological contributing factors to the anemia…

This guide, written for health managers and clinicians, provides information to meet the family planning needs of migrant farmworkers of Mexican culture. The promotion of maternal and child health for migrant farmworker families has brought attention to the incidence of high risk pregnancies among this population. Research indicates that a need…

The repercussions of sexual activity among teens continue to be a significant issue in the United States. Detrimental consequences to unprotected sexual activity among teens include unintended pregnancy and acquiring a sexually transmitted disease (STD) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It is estimated that each year approximately 3 million…

This sequential manual for an educational program to prevent premature parenthood and venereal disease is intended for school personnel responsible for designing and implementing human sexuality programs. Chapter One presents the history and description of Project Teen Concern along with a summary of project evaluations for the past three years.…

Recent empirical investigations and epidemiological trends promulgate the need for effective sexual health education and advocacy programs based on the needs of college students. While many peer-based programs are reliant on pedagogical strategies, additional advocacy programs are needed to resolve the difficulties associated with reaching target…

The resident population of Bamberg County, SC, has been exposed to multiples of public health information and education interventions since October 1982 with the intent to reduce the occurrence of unintended pregnancies among unmarried adolescents. Data analyses were conducted to compare 20 years of pregnancy rates among girls aged 14-17 years for…