NE Florida Counts :: Promising Practices :: Girls Inc. Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy

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An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.

2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.

3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.

Girls Inc. Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy

Ranking	Evidence-Based Practice
Description	Girls Inc. Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy® (GIPAP) is an abstinence-based program aimed at decreasing pregnancy in adolescent and teenage girls. Developed by Girls Incorporated and offered nationwide through a 1,000-site network, GIPAP is based on the idea that there are four components to preventing teen pregnancy: family communication about sexuality, skills in resisting pressure to be sexually active, motivation and resources to postpone pregnancy, and overcoming barriers to effective contraception for sexually active teens. The program has four components: Growing TogetherSM (ages 9-11), Will Power/Won't Power® (12-14), Taking Care of BusinessSM (15-17), and Health BridgeSM (also 15-17). The Growing Together component concentrates on improving one comfort and skill in communicating within the family about sexual information. Parent-daughter pairs or family groups attend it in five 2-hour sessions. The Will Power/Won't Power component concentrates on delaying the initiation of sexual intercourse among participants by helping girls develop attitudes and skills for dealing with sexuality and health issues. It consists of six 2-hour sessions. The Taking Care of Business component develops the motivation behind good decision-making regarding sexual activity--that is, choosing either to abstain from sexual intercourse or to use effective and consistent contraception. This consists of nine 2-hour sessions. The Health Bridge component is a healthcare delivery system that links girls to community healthcare professionals and services. Its key characteristics include accessible and anonymous services, comfort with health personnel, case management, and health education conducted by clinic staff. This component has the most variation, with health professionals ranging from social workers to volunteer nurses.
Goal / Mission	The goal of this program is to decrease pregnancy in adolescent and teenage girls.
Results / Accomplishments	This study used a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design. The evaluation compared those who participated in two or more program components with nonparticipants and those who participated in one program component on two outcome variables: sexual intercourse without birth control, and pregnancy experience of the participants. The findings indicate that those who participated in one or more program components were significantly less likely to experience pregnancy than nonparticipants (5.9 percent versus 12.3 percent, respectively). In addition, the study found that those who participated in two or more program components were significantly less likely to engage in sexual intercourse without birth control than those who participated in a single program component (8.9 percent versus 20.6 percent). (Notably, this finding is significant only for the bivariate analysis). However, those who participated in two or more program components were as likely to have sexual intercourse without birth control as nonparticipants.
Categories	Health / Family Planning Health / Teen & Adolescent Health Health / Women's Health
Organization(s)	Girls Incorporated
Source	The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's Model Programs Guide (MPG)
Date of Publication	1992
Location	Country: USA
Primary Contact	Lindsay Briggs Girls Incorporated 441 West Michigan Street Indianapolis, IN 46202-3233 (317) 634-7546 lbriggs@girls-inc.org http://www.girlsinc.org/about/programs/adolesce...
For more details	http://www.ojjdp.gov/mpg/mpgSearch.aspx
Target Audience	Teens
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