Community Assesssment Project Plan: Part 3
Community Assessment Project Plan Part 3Carolynn SimmonsDixie State CollegeCommunity Assessment Project Plan: Part 3Ideally teenage years are the most fun and memorable times of one’s life. This is a time when the body matures, the teens are usually healthy, energetic, and full of life. It is a time when they are busy with school, friends, sports, afterschool activities like clubs and drama. They are learning to drive, getting their first jobs, planning for college, and start thinking about what they want to do with the rest of their lives; what they want to be when they grow up. Teen years are when they get their first love, their first kiss and often become sexually active. These years can be very stressful and depressing for some. Many become involved in risky behaviors such as experiencing with drugs, alcohol, and smoking. An unexpected teen pregnancy can drastically change the plans of a young woman and her partner. It is one of the most difficult experiences any young woman can go through and, “can be a catalyst for a lifetime of social, psychological, and economic problems” (Burns & Porter, 2007. p. 216). The statistics of teen pregnancy in the United States are staggering. The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate of any developed country (VanLenten, 2007). Approximately 4 in 10 young women age 15 to 19 become pregnant at least once, and 75% of teens who become pregnant, have mothers who also had teen pregnancies (VanLenten, 2007). The teen pregnancy rate in St. George is 31%, which is actually a decline from previous years. This is a major social and public health issue that should be addressed and attempts made to educate teens as to the risks to their health, the baby’s health, and the embarrassment and dramatic change in life that a teen pregnancy can lead to. Programs aimed at prevention of teen pregnancy are necessary to assist teens through these trying years. One such program is Prime Time, a clinic-based, multicomponent youth development intervention which aims to reduce sexual risk behaviors, violence involvement, and school disconnection. It focuses on 3 areas, environmental, personal, and behavioral attributes (Sieving et al, 2011). Programs such as this can be very beneficial in communities to address the problems facing teens and guide them to make better choices which in turn can lead to decreased teen pregnancy rates.Goal The intended outcome for our plan would be to reduce the rate of teen pregnancy in Washington County through education and programs offered that assist in the development of life-skills. The goal is a primary prevention, one focusing on assisting with the prevention of teen pregnancy through education, goal setting, encouraging structured after school programs, and increasing life skills. It is in direct correlation to Healthy People 2020 Objectives AH-2 and AH-3 (USDHHS, 2009), which state that the need to "increase the proportion of adolescents who participate in extracurricular and out-of-school activities," and to "increase the proportion of adolescents who are connected to a parent or other positive adult caregiver," can significantly reduce teen pregnancy and positively affect the health of teenagers (USDHHS, 2009).ObjectivesOutcome Objective By September of 2013, as a result of promoting participation in after-school-activities and the Big Brothers Big Sisters program to teens in Washington County, the percentage of teens that will participate will increase as compared to an initial survey of high school students taken at the beginning of the academic year in September 2012.Impact ObjectiveBy September of 2014, teen pregnancy rate will decrease by 2%, from 31% down to 29% in Washington County as reported by the health department (Utah , 2011).Resources Many resources are available to teens that go untapped. Involvement in sports, drama, music, and clubs is encouraged by high school counselors, teachers and administration. Many parents get involved and also encourage their teens to be involved, however, with the economical restraints of many families, funds are limited and some of these activities are out of reach financially for them. Increasing participation with the Big Brother/Big Sister Organization (BB/BS) which has many community volunteers could help get these teens involved. BB/BS has 2 core programs, a community- based program and a school-based program (Big Brothers Big Sisters, 2011). Bigs and Littles can spend time together, enjoying activities and learning in a positive, fun environment, and attend meetings held at schools, community centers, or libraries to plan outings together with their mentor.Constraints Constraints that could be a road block to programs of this type could be, lack of community support, difficulty getting volunteers to be Big Brothers and Sisters, disinterest of the students, economic constraints, parental concerns about the screening of mentors spending time with their child, and transportation to and from meetings and activities. Plan of ActionCommunication ActivitiesThe kick-off to increase participation in Big Brothers/Big Sisters programs and other after-school-programs, would include publicity of the programs with the message getting out to all of the youth and their families. A proactive campaign could be launched to educate the public of the problems facing teens involved in risky behaviors with facts about teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, and to offer as an alternative, involvement in these programs. Having the local newspaper and television station run a story that supports after-school-programs that promote personal development and life skills training for teens and invite parents and other local adults who would like to volunteer would help to get the word out and let them know how they can get involved. Using communication activities in schools such as a poster contest in health class promoting healthy activities and involvement in programs like BBBS, school announcements and flyers for students and parents and providing fact sheets about teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) to students could be informational and hopefully increase their awareness and encourage them to participate in the programs. Educational ActivitiesHealth class is a graduation requirement for all high school students in Utah, therefore, that would be a good place to teach the facts of what risky behaviors can result in. The Utah Department of Health has 2 teen pregnancy prevention programs. The first program is for Abstinence Education and the second is for Personal Responsibility Education (Utah , 2011). Dixie Regional Medical Center sends a Labor and Delivery RN to the Child Development classes every semester to educate the students on pregnancy, body changes, labor and delivery, and life with an infant. It would be beneficial to have this in Health class instead so that all students would be included and not just the Child Development students. There have been infant simulators used locally in Child Development classes that are meant to teach students what life would be like with an infant, however, results of a study with the simulators showed minimal influence to the perceptions of the 79 teens studied (Herrman, Waterhouse, & Chiquoine, 2011). Classes regarding risky life choices and their consequences are also taught at the alternative high school, Milcreek High, and at boys and girls detention programs throughout St. George. Increasing the awareness of how devastating teenage pregnancy can be and offering alternative involvement in programs such as BB/BS could have a positive impact on teens. Monthly group meetings with Big Brothers/Sisters and Little Brothers/sisters educating about life skills, personal development, goal setting, and safe life style choices with weekly activities would be beneficial. It would also be good to have school assemblies to explain the offered programs and encourage involvement.Connecting People for SupportThe local chapter of BB/BS would grow with increased awareness from advertising for people to be Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Contacting other BB/BS chapters for suggestions and ideas, using high school teachers and counselors as liaisons for students to coordinate with their classes and activities, and asking local businesses for support through discounts and donations for activities would help to get the community on board.Environmental and Organizational change ActivitiesInviting local community professionals and others to get involved with the youth as guest speakers would spark interest in teens and help them to better understand what their futures might be. Some examples would include; physicians and nurses to lecture on health, disease, and results of risky behaviors, law enforcement to talk about their duties and the consequences of breaking the law, an ex-convict to discuss his experience, a teen mother to talk about keeping or adopting out and the hardships involved, a couple who have adopted a child from a teen mother. There are many interesting topics that could be beneficial and interesting to youth.Healthy Public Policy ActivitiesThis plan would need support from the school board and school administrators. We would present our plan to the school board and ask that participation in the BB/BS program be awarded by giving extra credit in certain courses or by perhaps giving it scholastic merit, as the ROTC program does, for example. Having support such as this would help to boost enrollment and volunteer participation. Youth need to see that others are indeed concerned with them and with giving them a chance for a positive and successful future.ConclusionThough the teen pregnancy rates have declined in the past ten years (Sieving et al, 2011), it continues to be a major area of concern for parents, school administrators, health care workers and teens. Many different theories and approaches have been attempted but mere education of the youth and offering of alternative activities along with encouragement, positive reinforcement, goal setting, and participation in BB/BS and other such programs can help to see the decline in teen births even further. If one pregnancy can be diverted and one teenager can be saved from the devastating consequences of a life changing unexpected teen pregnancy, then we could consider the program a success.ReferencesBig Brothers Big Sisters. (2011). Big impact-proven results. Retrieved November 2, 2011, from: , V. & Porter, E. (2007). The experience of having become sexually active for teen mothers. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 24(4), 215-236.Herman, J., Waterhouse, J., & Chiquoine, J. (2011). Evaluation of an infant simulator intervention for teen pregnancy prevention. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 40(3), 322-328.Sieving, R., Resnick, M., Garwick, A., Bearinger, L., Beckman, K., Oliphant, J., Plowman, S., & Rush, K. (2011). A clinic-based, youth development approach to teen pregnancy prevention. American Journal of Health Behavior, 35(3), 346-358.U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2009). Healthy People 2020 Objectives. Retrieved October 31, 2011, from: . (2011). health. VanLenten, B. (2007). Today's pregnant teen: How can healthcare professionals combat this pandemic? International Journal of Childbirth Education, 22(1), 12-15. ................
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