Teenage pregnancy programmes: call for current local case studies
Alison Hadley is looking for examples of current teenage pregnancy programmes that illustrate each of the ten key factors identified in her book, Teenage Pregnancy and Young Parenthood: effect policy and practice (published in 2018)
Routledge have asked Alison to write a second edition which will retain some of the original material but include additional content to reflect ‘what happened next’ over the last 5 years
(2018-2022). As well as interviewing a number of local areas to explore what’s hindered and helped implementation, Alison is also updating the case studies chapter to include examples of current practice.
If you have an example of any of the following key factors you would be willing to share, please email alison.hadley@beds.ac.uk by Friday 26 May with a very brief description and contact details for more information.
The ten key factors for an effective local teenage pregnancy programme are:
- Strategic: senior leadership and accountability in the LA with engagement from all partner agencies.
- Data: using local data (including real time data from abortion and maternity services) to inform commissioning of services and to monitor progress.
- Relationships and sex education* (RSE): LA support for implementation of statutory RSE in primary, secondary schools and SEND schools.
- Easy access to contraception: commissioning of young people friendly services with access to full range of contraceptive choice, supported by condom distribution schemes.
- Targeted prevention: taking RSE and sexual health advice to young people most at risk (e.g. young people not in school or in care)
- Support for parents and carers to encourage early discussion on sex and relationships with children and young people.
- Workforce training: developing skills and confidence of non-health practitioners to discuss relationships and sexual health with young people
- Partnerships with non-health, youth and community services: integrating RSE and sexual health into non-health settings – e.g. schools, colleges, youth services, supported housing
- Good communications to young people: consistent service publicity and easy access to trusted sources of relationships, sexual health and contraception
- Support for pregnant teenagers: through early pregnancy testing, access to unbiased options advice, referral to abortion or maternity services and access to post-pregnancy contraception.