Science and Success, Second Edition: Sex Education and Other Programs that Work to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections

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Executive Summary [HTML] [PDF]

Program Components

• Peer education workshops on HIV awareness and prevention and peer-led group discussions in various settings in the community
• Peer-led efforts to make condoms available via door-to-door and street canvassing
• Presentations at major community events
• Radio and television public service announcements (PSAs)
• Posters in local businesses and public transit
• Quarterly newsletter produced by the peer educators
• Extensive training for peer educators
• Length of intervention—18 months

For Use With

• Latino adolescents, ages 14-19
• Urban youth

Evaluation Methodology

• Quasi-experimental design, including treatment and comparison conditions
• Latino teens (n=586 at baseline; n=536 at follow-up) in Boston, Massachusetts (intervention community) and Hartford, Connecticut (control community); ages 14 to 20
• Pretest and 18-month follow-up

Evaluation Findings

• Delayed initiation of sexual intercourse (males)
• Reduced number of sex partners (females)

Evaluators' comments: Evaluation of an HIV prevention program that included the promotion and distribution of condoms provided no evidence to suggest that the availability of condoms increased sexual activity or promoted promiscuity… Adolescents in the intervention city who were not sexually active prior to the intervention were no more likely to become sexually active than those in the comparison city. In fact, male respondents in the intervention city were less likely than those in the comparison city to experience the onset of sexual activity.
Source: Sellers DE, McGraw SA & McKinlay JB, 1994

Program Description

This multifaceted, community-wide intervention is designed to increase HIV/AIDS awareness and to reduce the risk of HIV infection by increasing condom use among sexually experienced Latino teens. Activities are led by specially trained peer leaders and include workshops in schools, community organizations, and health centers; group discussions in the homes of Latino youth; presentations at community-wide events; and door-to-door and street corner canvassing to make available both condoms and pamphlets on how to use them. Radio and television PSAs, posters in local businesses and public transit facilities, and a quarterly newsletter published by the peer leaders provide messages promoting the use of condoms.[39]

Evaluation Methodology

In the 18-month intervention, trained, bilingual staff completed baseline and post-intervention interviews among Latino youth (n=586 at baseline; n=536 at follow-up) in Boston, Massachusetts (intervention site) and in Hartford, Connecticut (comparison site). Adolescents were identified in two ways. First, many Latino youth participated in a smoking prevention project begun three years earlier. Members of the households of these teens were screened for eligibility in the evaluation of Poder Latino. Second, city blocks were identified in which at least 20 percent of households had Latino residents. Bilingual researchers then screened the selected blocks for eligible Latino youth, who were then interviewed either in-home (under circumstances that protected youth's confidentiality) or by phone, in cases where in-home visits could not be scheduled. Initial personal interviews were completed with 586 Latino teens, ages 14 through 19, and follow-up interviews with 536.[39]

This evaluation used an infection probability model to estimate youth's risk for HIV infection. Latino youth were classified for analysis as 1) never having had vaginal or anal intercourse; 2) sexually experienced but not having had vaginal or anal intercourse in the past six months; 3) sexually experienced and having had vaginal or anal intercourse in the past six months. Youth were then placed into risk groups. Teens were considered at high risk if they reported needle sharing, anal intercourse, or sex with a prostitute, a bisexual or homosexual man, or an intravenous drug user. Teens were considered at moderate risk if they reported using a condom inconsistently and had vaginal sex in the past six months. Teens were considered at no risk if they reported no sexual activity or needle sharing during the previous six months. Ninety-four percent of the youth were Puerto Rican; 48 percent reported never having had sex at baseline. Nearly all of the 46 youth considered to be at high risk were female (43 of 46).[39,40]

Outcomes

• Behaviors—
  • Delayed initiation of sexual intercourse—At 18-month follow-up, males in the intervention community (Boston) were less likely than males in the comparison community (Hartford) to have initiated sexual intercourse (odds ratio=0.08). The intervention did not significantly increase or decrease the odds of females initiating sex.[39]
  • Reduced number of sexual partners—At 18-month follow-up, female teens in the intervention community were significantly less likely to report multiple sexual partners in the last six months, compared to females in the comparison community (odds ratio=0.06).[39]
  • Increased likelihood of possessing a condom—Sexually active male and female youth in the intervention community were more than twice as likely to have a condom in their possession at 18-month follow-up as were youth in the comparison community (odds ratio=2.3 and 2.0 greater for males and females, respectively).[39]
  • Frequency of sex unaffected—The intervention did not significantly affect the frequency of sex for either male or female participants, relative to comparison youth.[39,40]

For More Information or to Order, Contact

• Sociometrics Program Archive on Sexuality, Health & Adolescence: Phone, 1.800.846.3475; Fax, 1.650.949.3299; E-mail, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; Web, http://www.socio.com