By now if you put together your SLP papers from Module 1 - 3, you have a program/intervention proposal to address a health behavior problem. Carefully read through your SLP papers from Modules 1 throu
Promoting and Evaluating Health Behaviors 11
Health Behavior
Cleavon Battie
OCT2017FT-BHE 418
Module 3 SLP Assignment
Dr. Camilla Bantum
10 Dec 2017
Introduction
In the context of the teenage pregnancy rates in Latin American people living in US, the common norms of the evaluation of teenage pregnancy will be applied in the following work plan. Taking ideas from the core values of social sphere of the Latin Americans, it has been reviewed that the domestication and conventional beliefs are still the hindering objects in the process of growth and prevention of teenage pregnancy in the Latin American community. They tend to believe that the profitable side of a girl is revealed only after her transformation from a girl to a woman. There is slight difference in the understanding of the urbanized community and those who live in the suburban areas; the suburban people follow the conventional rules more strictly than those who live in the modernized societies therefore, the objectives of this program will include the improvement in the thinking trends of people living in the remote areas where lack of education is still causing problems to teenage girls.
Teen pregnancy refers to the pregnancy that happens before the age of 20. According to the survey of the Centers for Disease Control (2017), nearly 60% of the teen pregnancies are not intended and most of their occurrence is due family pressure, traditions, out-of-wedlock, love affairs, etc. Statistics says out of the total pregnant teens, around 58% have successful birth while 28% ends with abortion and the rest undergo miscarriage (CDC, 2017). This is regarded as a common affair in the Latin American community.
There is a need of understanding the negative consequences that this kind of approach is imparting on the lives of the teenagers and their families. Such activities are dominating the career and future of the teenagers along with forcing them to undergo both physical and mental trauma that eventually destroys their growth and development. There is a need to act against this social epidemic and help the next generation to see a brighter sun of tomorrow. The current discussion would help in structuring some evidence based strategies that would help in effective implementation of the action plans that can helps in minimizing the concept of teen pregnancy, especially in the Latin American community.
Evidence Based Strategies
This kind of social stigmas are highly associated with cultural ideologies and practices. Lack of education and awareness is one of the major reasons that encourages the existence of such kind of ill practices in the society. There is a need of educating people and developing awareness against the teen pregnancy and make them realize how this if affecting lives of their kids and that of the upcoming generations (Riccio, Baumgartner, Bohr, Kanter, & Laghi, 2014). Considering these two aspects, the project would be designed that would help in providing proper education to the mass and developing different campaigns that would help in creating awareness among the people with respect to the practice they are following.
One major thing that would be considered while designing the plan is that their cultural aspects should be considered sensitive and they should not feel hurt or affected by doing so (Avellaneda, & Dávalos, 2017). Digital communication through advertisements, mass video conferences, group counselling, case studies, etc. can helps in engaging people largely. In addition, the learning curriculum should not be limited to books and copies, rather workshops, case study analysis and individual projects can also create a greater impact as people realizes a concept only when they are kept same situation.
Objectives and Activities
The major objective associated with the current work plan is about preventing the teenage pregnancy rates in the Latin American people living in United States. The decline in the ratio of teenage pregnancy in general has opened some positive directions to work on this concept. Since the onset of 2015, there is a significant decline—which is up to 15%--has taken place in the overall teenage pregnancy in the United States. (CDC, 2017).
The activities of the current work plan are inherent with the analysis of the available data which divides the disparity of teenage pregnancy into various segments. According to CDC, (2017) “In 2015, a total of 229,715 babies were born to women aged 15–19 years, for a birth rate of 22.3 per 1,000 women in this age group. This is another record low for U.S. teens and a drop of 8% from 2014. Birth rates fell 9% for women aged 15–17 years and 7% for women aged 18–19 years” (CDC, 2017) the same standard measure of evaluating the teenage pregnancy in Latin Americans will be used for further analysis as the primary activity. The scale of decline in teenage pregnancy is also specifically recorded as 9% in the non-Hispanic Blacks, 8% in common Hispanics and 8% in non-Hispanic White teenage girls, (CDC, 2017). Though it sounds like good news, yet, United States stands at the top category of nations where the teenage pregnancy has been recorded and an additional work plan like the current one is needed to be implemented.
Behavioral Objective
People of Latin American decent are highly inclined toward their cultural beliefs and practices. Thus, it is very important that this should be considered while designing a plan, that their cultural aspects should be considered sensitive and they should not feel hurt or affected by doing so. A positive behavior along with positive attitude can bring a positive change in the mind as well as in the approach of the people. This can help in reaching to the root cause of the ill practice and there can be real change (Riccio, Baumgartner, Bohr, Kanter, & Laghi, 2014). During ten campaigns and the learning program, it is important to keep patience, confidence, and motivation for these masses.
Data Measurement Tools
The work plan will involve the qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, using the ethnic community as the dependent variables to get to know the exact reasons behind sustaining the conventional beliefs and core values of the society in the modern times. The exact data up to the current time in the selected areas of United States where the population of the Latin American community is dense will be taken for further analysis. The sampling method will be used in the form of participants who will share their experiences. Mostly, these participants will range in all ages so that a consolidated viewpoint can be gathered.
Timeframe and Measures of Success
The work plan will include three phases of time namely, at the start of the plan; six months of time will be taken to target the population where the teenage pregnancy is at its peak. After the recognition of the targeted population, the next six-month phase will be used to analyse the causes and factors which are responsible for the rise/decline of teenage pregnancy of Latin American people living in the United States. For example, a section of the participants in the work plan will come from Chicago, Texas and New York—the data will be collected from the official statistics available through credible sources. In the last phase consisting of one year, the medical interventions and social awareness programs will be conducted to help people get aware of the disadvantages of teenage pregnancy and how it affects the social life of girls when they grow up as an adult. The goal is within a 2-year period to show a measurable difference in the number of teen pregnancies. The measurement of success of the work plan will automatically appear in the future assessments of the official surveys conducted to know how much decline has taken place in the teenage pregnancy rates in United States overall.
Workplan
Initiation of the workplan could be treated with the data and figures of the people and their lifestyles. This initial information can help in proper designing of the plan along with successful execution. Detailing would help in analysing the need of the people more precisely and accordingly supporting them in overcoming the gaps that would affect their needs. There is a need of understanding the negative consequences this kind of approach in imparting on the lives of the teenagers and their families. Such activities are dominating the career and future of the teenagers along with forcing them to undergo both physical and mental trauma that eventually destroys their growth and development (Agénor, Austin, Kort, Austin, & Muzny, 2016). The workplan would be designed that would help in providing proper education to the mass and developing different campaigns that would help in creating awareness among the people with respect to the practice they are following. The state and the central government administration can help in supporting the plan through providing the details of the community along with their gaps and expectations.
Work Plan Table
| GOAL: Conduct sexual education and age-appropriate personal responsibility for teenagers. | Timeframe for Assessing Progress: 1-year time frame. |
| OBJECTIVE: (1) Perform training and developmental classes for teenagers through advising, leadership, and education. (2) Utilize trained teenagers in education programs to target their peers. | Data /Evaluation: Community Needs Assessment Written Surveys Knowledge Examinations Expert or Peer Review Testimonials Focus Groups |
| STRATEGIES (Steps): (1) Provide sex education classes at least twice a month. (2) Provide or require sex educators to be trained in personal responsibility and sex education curricula. | Measures of Success: Data from future statistical data from the U.S. Census data, CDC, and state Health Departments will be compared to past data to show increase or decrease in teen pregnancy. Community Needs Assessment. |
| Team Members Responsible: Educators, Program Administrators, School Officials, State Officials and National Policy Makers. | |
| GOAL: Educate and engage the parents and the communities to initiate opportunities for positive youth development and involvement. | Timeframe for Assessing Progress: 1-year time frame. |
| OBJECTIVE: (1) Present information for the parents/guardians such as conducting parent seminars and hosting information tables at school events. (2) Promote male and father involvement by including fathers on mailing lists and providing father-friendly activities, including parent education. | Data /Evaluation: Community Needs Assessment Written Surveys Knowledge Examinations Expert or Peer Review Testimonials Focus Groups |
| STRATEGIES (Steps): (1) Educate parents and communities. (2) Develop and maintain a network for communication. (3) Provide community service opportunities for youth. | Measures of Success: Data from future statistical data from the U.S. Census data, CDC, and state Health Departments will be compared to past data to show increase or decrease in teen pregnancy. Conducting focus groups to determine information distribution and level of knowledge. Follow-up surveys to determine level of knowledge after receiving program literature. |
| Team Members Responsible: Parents/Guardians, Faith Groups, Educators, Program Administrators, School Officials, and State Officials. | |
| GOAL: Develop ongoing awareness of teenage pregnancy prevention. | Timeframe for Assessing Progress: 1-year time frame. |
| OBJECTIVE: (1) Provide an avenue for teens to collaborate on teenage pregnancy prevention activities (public awareness event, etc.) (2) Organize an event in or near May to recognize National Teen Pregnancy Prevention month. | Data /Evaluation: Community Needs Assessment Written Surveys Knowledge Examinations Expert or Peer Review Testimonials Focus Groups |
| STRATEGIES (Steps): (1) Achieve ongoing awareness of teenage pregnancy prevention programs to young people, parents, and communities. (2) Use multiple and effective modes of communication to disperse data, provide resources, and present intervention methods. | Measures of Success: Data from future statistical data from the U.S. Census data, CDC, and state Health Departments will be compared to past data to show increase or decrease in teen pregnancy. Community Needs Assessment. |
| Team Members Responsible: Teenagers, parents, Educators, Program Administrators, School Officials, and State Officials. | |
References
Agénor, M., Austin, S. B., Kort, D., Austin, E. L., & Muzny, C. A. (2016). Sexual orientation and sexual and reproductive health among African American sexual minority women in the US south. Women's Health Issues, 26(6), 612-621. Retrieved 9 Dec 17 from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049386716300809
Avellaneda, C. N., & Dávalos, E. (2017). Identifying the Macro-Level Drivers of Adolescent Fertility Rate in Latin America: The Role of School-Based Sexuality Education. American Journal of Sexuality Education. Retrieved 8 Dec 17 from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15546128.2017.1372830
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Teenage Pregnancy in United States. Retrieved 8 Dec 17 from https://www.cdc.gov/teenpregnancy/about/index.htm
Riccio, G., Baumgartner, E., Bohr, Y., Kanter, D., & Laghi, F. (2014). Dual vulnerability of being both a teen and an immigrant parent: Illustrations from an Italian context. Journal of immigrant and Minority Health, 16(2), 321-325. Retrieved 8 Dec 17 from https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10903-012-9726-z
