Latina Project

Adolescent and Parent Perceptions of Successful Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs

Abstract

The Hispanic population is rapidly growing in the U.S. The health issues that challenge this population are often unique. Pregnancy rates among Hispanic teens have remained steady or risen in some areas. Yakima County, Washington has the highest teen pregnancy rate for women aged 18-19 of any county in the state (182.72 per 1000 women compared with 104.32 per 1000 women in Washington). Over half of the births in this age range are to Hispanic teens. For these reasons, Planned Parenthood of Central Washington, with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, collaborated with Central Washington University to conduct formative research on Hispanic teen pregnancy prevention. This qualitative focus group study revealed perceptions of adolescents and parents of communication patterns, desired content of sexuality education programs, and the provision of sexuality education programming. Understanding these perceptions may be the first step in developing educational programs that have a positive impact on Latina teens.