Teen Pregnancy: Analysis of Access to Community-Based Reproductive Health Services

In spring 2007, the Nevada Institute for Children's Research and Policy (NICRP) and the UNLV Center for Health Promotion (CHP) conducted an assessment of the access to reproductive health services in lower SES pregnant and parenting teens in Clark County, NV, in partnership with the Area Health Education Center of Southern Nevada and the Nevada Health Centers' WIC offices. Participants were recruited from the population of pregnant and parenting teen girls who sought services from seven selected WIC offices. Phone and face-to-face interviews addressed access to care and service utilization of these parenting and pregnant teens. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in the interview process. Participants were asked demographic questions about themselves, their pregnancy, the father of the baby, and questions to understand service utilization and satisfaction. In data analysis, particular attention was paid to possible health disparities existing in teen pregnancy for minority populations. In addition, authors report descriptive analysis of the characteristics of the fathers of babies born to teen mothers. The poster will present key findings of the study, including: primary barriers to service; critical gaps in service; potential facilitators of improved service utilization; general satisfaction with services. The session will include discussion of short- and long-term outcomes with a focus on the goal of improving health care utilization. Authors will display products developed by the project that will be used to promote long-term change in Las Vegas and across the state of Nevada, including: research-based, data-driven information packets about teen; and policy briefs to educate and inform state legislators and county administrators about the subject, in an effort to create local and statewide change in policies and laws. This poster will be valuable to Health Educators, across settings, involved in providing education and support to pregnant and parenting teens and their families, as well as professional preparation or in-service training of service providers. Participants will be able to: identify the primary barriers to teen mothers seeking pregnancy and parenting support services; discuss the attitudes of teens in regard to availability and quality of services; discuss the level of satisfaction of pregnant and parenting teens in regard to the support services available; identify the gaps in support services between what pregnant and parenting teens want and need, and what is available; identify characteristics of fathers of babies of pregnant and parenting teens; discuss the essential components of a resource guide for pregnant and parenting teens.