June 2007

Introduction

This knowledge path about adolescent pregnancy prevention has been compiled by the Maternal and Child Health Library at Georgetown University. It offers a selection of current, high-quality resources that measure, document, and monitor the problem; identify risk and protective factors; and report on promising intervention strategies. This knowledge path offers resources for health professionals, policymakers, and researchers. Separate sections identify resources for families and schools. The path will be updated periodically.

Related knowledge paths: Social and Emotional Development in Children and Adolescents. This knowledge path includes program information, tools, and other resources to promote healthy and safe behaviors among adolescents.

Resources for Professionals

Overview

• See General facts and stats, rev. ed. (2006) by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (NCPTUP). This fact sheet presents data about adolescent pregnancy and birth rates; outlines the consequences of adolescent parenthood to adolescent mothers and their children; and identifies risk and protective factors, including parent-child communication. NCPTUP has produced over 60 fact sheets on topics that include racial and ethnic differences in adolescent sexual activity, pregnancy, and childbearing; the sexual attitudes and behavior of male adolescents; abstinence; contraceptive use; whether younger siblings of adolescent parents are at increased risk of adolescent pregnancy; and the connection between alcohol and adolescent pregnancy.
  

Web Sites: A-Z

• Administration for Children and Families (ACF): Abstinence Education Division. Offers a fact sheet explaining the history and purpose of the Section 510 State Abstinence Education Program. Another fact sheet explains the history and purpose of the Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) Program. Also includes a contact list of Section 510 abstinence education coordinators, a list of CBAE grantees, and other funding announcements. Note: Several publications in the Additional Electronic Publications section offer analyses of the accuracy and effectiveness of these programs. In addition, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. conducted an independent evaluation of Section 510 State Abstinence Education Programs.
  
  
• Advocates for Youth. Contains news, data, reports, lesson plans, and other material about adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Adolescent pregnancy prevention resources describe successful pregnancy prevention strategies and initiatives throughout the country and include adolescent pregnancy and birth statistics, parent-child communication tips, and adolescent leadership and peer-education materials. Resources for health professionals, policymakers, and families are available in English, French, and Spanish. Advocates for Youth aims to help adolescents and young adults make informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health. In addition to three monthly electronic newsletters, recent publications and initiatives include

  Building local coalitions to prevent teen pregnancy. A select, annotated bibliography. From research to practice. (2005).

  Creating successful public education campaigns to prevent teen pregnancy and HIV. A select, annotated bibliography. From research to practice. (2005).

  Integrating efforts to prevent HIV, other sexually transmitted infections, and pregnancy among teens. Issues at a glance. (2005). A companion brief examines data about adolescents in Minnesota compared to the United States overall.

  Rights Respect Responsibility® (3Rs) Campaign. Offers information and materials for this effort to promote comprehensive sexuality education programs for adolescents.

  Science and success, 2nd. ed.: Sex education and other programs that work to prevent teen pregnancy, HIV and sexually transmitted infections. (2008).

• Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI). Contains statistics, journals in full text, fact sheets, policy papers, electronic news updates, and presentation tools about adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Also presents a state center for research and analysis about sexual and reproductive health policy developments in the states. AGI is a nonprofit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health research, policy analysis, and public education. Recent publications include

  Changes in formal sex education: 1995-2002. (2006).

  Contraceptive use and pregnancy risk among U.S. high school students, 1991-2003. (2006).

  Facts on sex education in the United States. (2007).

  Facts on American teens' sexual and reproductive health. (2006).

  Greater expectations: Adolescents' positive motivations for sex. (2006).

  Legislating against arousal: The growing divide between federal policy and teenage sexual behavior. (2006).

  Minors' access to contraceptive services. (2007).

  Teenagers' access to comprehensive reproductive health services. (2005).

  U.S. teenage pregnancy statistics: National and state trends and trends by race and ethnicity. (2006).

• Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP): Adolescent and School Health. Describes efforts to integrate HIV, sexually transmitted disease, and adolescent pregnancy prevention initiatives among national public health and education organizations. Related reports and materials are included. Also describes and links to state and national adolescent pregnancy prevention and abstinence-education media campaigns. AMCHP represents state public health leaders and others working to improve the health and well-being of women, children, adolescents, and families, including those with special health care needs. Recent resources include

  Adolescent preventive health watch. (2007).

  Preventing HIV, STD, unintended and teen pregnancies in schools: State profiles. (2006).

  State innovations to prevent teen pregnancy. (2006).

• Campaign for Our Children (CFOC). Offers tools for educators, public health professionals, and local government officials for developing research-based messages and educational media campaigns about adolescent pregnancy prevention and other preventive health issues. Also offers information in English and Spanish for parents and adolescents on topics that include abstinence, the importance of marriage, adolescent sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, contraceptives, emergency contraception, and male responsibility. CFOC was established in 1987 to address the high adolescent birth rate in Maryland. CFOC's materials are now used nationally and internationally.
  
  
• Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). Describes CLASP's research and advocacy activities concerning childbearing and pregnancy prevention. CLASP tracks and analyzes how legislation treats adolescent parents, how state and federal governments fund pregnancy prevention and abstinence education, and innovative approaches to making reproductive health services available.
  
  
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Contains a wealth of resources about adolescent pregnancy prevention. Initiatives include

  CDC's Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR). Presents data based on weekly reports to CDC by state health departments. Recent reports about adolescent sexual activity, contraception, pregnancy, and birth rates include

  • Abortion surveillance -- United States, 2003. (2006).
    
    
  • QuickStats: Birth rates among females aged 15-19 years, by state -- United States, 2004. (2005).
    
    
  • QuickStats: Pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates for teenagers aged 15-17 years -- United States, 1976-2003. (2005).

  CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Provides data about adolescent sexual activity, contraception, pregnancy, and birth rates, including

  • Births: Preliminary data for 2005. (2006).
    
    
  • Fertility, contraception, and fatherhood: Data on men and women from cycle 6 (2002) of the National Survey of Family Growth. (2006).
    
    
  • Fertility, family planning, and reproductive health of U.S. women: Data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. (2006).
    
    
  • Recent trends in teenage pregnancy in the United States, 1990-2002. (2006).
    
    
  • Teenagers in the United States: Sexual activity, contraceptive use, and childbearing, 2002. (2004).
    
    
  • Teen births: Fastats A to Z, rev. ed. (2006).
    
    
  • Also see NCHS's Data2010.

  CDC's Division of Reproductive Health: Adolescent Reproductive Health. Contains program information about promoting the reproductive health of adolescents and young adults, with a primary focus on preventing unintended pregnancy among females ages 16 - 24. Describes its strategic areas of focus for 2006-2009 and links to its grantees.

  Also see CDC's Healthy Youth! Sexual Behaviors and the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS).

• Healthy People 2010. Describes this national health-promotion and disease-prevention initiative created by a broad coalition of experts from many sectors to improve the health of all Americans, eliminate disparities in health, and improve years and quality of healthy life. The initiative addresses 467 objectives, and 14 focus on adolescent pregnancy. To identify them, search the objectives by selecting Adolescents and young adults under Age Groups and Pregnancy under Topic. Click on Submit to view the list of objectives. Healthy People provides background information on the initiative; the complete text (online and searchable), Healthy People 2010: Understanding and improving health, 2nd ed. (2000); data; a list of the Healthy People partners and related sites; and other Healthy People publications. It is coordinated by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP). Also see the HP2010 Information Access Project for access to published literature related to the Healthy People 2010 objectives about adolescent pregnancy.
  
  
• Healthy Teen Network (HTN). Offers reports, brochures, resource guides, and other publications; links to relevant Web resources; and a conference calendar for professionals working with adolescents on topics that include adolescent pregnancy prevention, emergency contraception, and comprehensive sexuality education. HTN is a national membership-based organization of professionals in the field of adolescent reproductive health. Recent publications include

  Helping teens stay healthy and safe: Health care, birth control and confidential services. (2006).

  Replicating success: One program at a time. (2005).

  Sexual and reproductive health needs of young men. (2007).

  Tool to assess the characteristics of effective sex and STD/HIV education programs. (2007).

• Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). Contains fact sheets, issue updates, an electronic newsletter, and reports about adolescent sexual health, including information about and materials from a series of entertainment media partnerships. KFF is an independent philanthropy focusing on national health care issues. Recent publications and initiatives include

  Emergency contraception. (2005).

  PAUSE Campaign. Offers information about and broadcast, cable, and online public service announcements for this initiative that asks adolescents to take a moment to stop and think about the decisions that affect their mind, body, and relationships. Adolescent pregnancy prevention is addressed.

  Sexual health statistics for teenagers and young adults in the United States. (2006).

  Also see KFF's State Health Facts Online and Talking with Kids About Tough Issues.

• Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.: Evaluation of Abstinence Education Programs Funded Under Title V, Section 510. Describes the federal abstinence education program and the goals of its evaluation. Includes an outline of the study components and participating programs. Mathematica is a nonpartisan social policy research firm. Recent reports include

  First-year impacts of four Title V, Section 510 Abstinence Education Programs. (2005).

  First-year impacts of the Heritage Keepers® Life Skills Education Component (2006).

  Impacts of four Title V, Section 510 Abstinence Education Programs: Final report. (2007).

• National Adolescent Health Information Center (NAHIC). Presents program information and publications about adolescent health research and policy on topics that include reproductive health. NAHIC is based at the University of California at San Francisco. Recent publications include

  Family environment and adolescent well-being: Exposure to positive and negative family influences. (2006).

  Reproductive health: Adolescents and young adults. (2007).

• National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (NCPTUP). Contains an extensive set of resources about adolescent pregnancy prevention for health and education professionals, policymakers, parents, adolescents, and the media. Resources include research and polling data; state statistics; reports; fact sheets; public service announcements; posters; audiovisual materials; workshop, conference, and presentation materials; and electronic news groups on topics such as sexual behavior, contraceptive use, abstinence, parent-child communication, racial and ethnic differences, male involvement, peer involvement, foster care, religion, younger siblings of adolescent parents, effective programs, and designing successful media campaigns. NCPTUP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan initiative aiming to improve the well-being of children, adolescents, and families by reducing adolescent pregnancy rates. Resources are available in Spanish. Recent publications include

  Adolescent brain: A work in progress. (2005).

  Bridging two worlds: How teen pregnancy prevention programs can better serve Latino youth. (2006). A Spanish-language print version of the report can be ordered online.

  By the numbers: The public costs of teen childbearing. (2006).

  Consequences of unintended childbearing: A white paper. (2007).

  Copy that: Guidelines for replicating programs to prevent teen pregnancy. (2006).

  Faith, hope, and love: How Latino faith communities can help prevent teen pregnancy. (2005). A Spanish-language version of the guide is also available.

  Freeze frame: A snapshot of America's teens. (2005).

  Making a love connection: Teen relationships, pregnancy, and marriage. (2006).

  Nine tips to help faith leaders and their communities address teen pregnancy. (2005).

  Terms of engagement: How to involve parents in programs to prevent teen pregnancy. (2006).

  With one voice: America's adults and teens sound off about teen pregnancy. (2007).

  NCPTP initiatives include

  National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Presents a collection of resources for this annual event, which occurs on the first Wednesday in May. Promotional materials include public service announcements, brochures, sample newsletter and electronic discussion list notices, sample press releases, print advertisements, wristbands, temporary tattoos, and pens.

  Putting What Works to Work (PWWTW). Contains reports, research briefs, and presentations about this project to translate research on adolescent pregnancy prevention and related issues into user-friendly materials for professionals, policymakers, and advocates. Recent publications include

  • It's a guy thing: Boys, young men, and teen pregnancy prevention. (2006).
    
    
  • What works: Curriculum-based programs that prevent teen pregnancy. (2006).

  Teen Pregnancy Prevention and Foster Care. Offers information about and resources to support this initiative to reduce pregnancy (both first-time and subsequent pregnancies) among adolescents in foster care. Recent publications include

  • Fostering hope: Preventing teen pregnancy among youth in foster care. (2005).
    
    
  • Ten tips for foster parents to help their foster children avoid teen pregnancy. (2006).
    
    
• Office of Population Affairs (OPA). Contains information about the grant programs administered by OPA's Office of Family Planning and Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs. Includes grant announcements, descriptions of currently and previously funded demonstration projects, history of the grant programs (Title X National Family Planning Program and Title XX Adolescent Family Life Demonstration and Research Program), a reproductive health clinic directory, and a publications list. OPA is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
  
  
• Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). Contains information for health and education professionals, advocates, and families about human sexuality and reproductive health. Includes fact sheets on topics such as abstinence, contraception, and sexuality; guides for pregnancy and parenting; Spanish-language resources; resources about male involvement; and a directory of PPFA health center affiliates in each state. Sexuality education materials include classroom activities, tools for advocating for school sexuality education, a list of PPFA-approved curricula, and resources for evaluating programs. PPFA and its health center affiliates provide reproductive health services and sexual health information to millions of women, men, and adolescents in the United States annually.
  
  
• Promising Practices Network (PPN) on Children, Families, and Communities. Highlights programs and practices that research indicates are effective in improving outcomes for children, adolescents, and families, including programs that increase the percentage of adolescents who abstain from sexual activity or do not engage in risky sexual behavior. Also contains resources for strengthening service delivery. PPN is operated by the RAND Corporation.
  
  
• Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (ReCAPP). Contains tools and information for teachers and health educators on reducing sexual risk-taking behaviors among adolescents. Includes information on evidence-based programs that change sexual risk-taking behavior; definitions and rationales behind the development of adolescent pregnancy prevention strategies, activities, and programs; learning activities to promote parent-child connectedness; statistics; abstracts about current research; and access to ReCAPP's library. ReCAPP was created by ETR, a private, nonprofit health-education-promotion organization. Recent resources include

  Sex and HIV education programs for youth: Their impact and important characteristics. (2006).

  Sexual risk and protective factors: Factors affecting teen sexual behavior, pregnancy, childbearing, and sexually transmitted disease. (2005).

• Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS). Contains resources about human sexuality and adolescent development for health and education professionals, policymakers, the media, and families that include program information, legislative and policy updates, electronic newsletters, and advocacy and education tools. SIECUS is a national, nonprofit organization that promotes comprehensive education about sexuality and advocates the right of individuals to make responsible sexual choices. Recent publications and initiatives include
  
  Community action kit. (2005). This kit provides individuals and organizations with tools to become effective advocates for comprehensive sexuality education in their state or community.

  Also see SIECUS' School Health Education Clearinghouse.

• Society for Adolescent Medicine (SAM). Includes a set of position papers on topics that include abstinence-only education policies and programs, confidential health care for adolescents, emergency contraception, media and contraception, and reproductive health care for adolescents. Also offers an online directory of adolescent health professionals.
  
  
• Sociometrics Corporation: Teen Pregnancy Research and Practice Resources. Offers adolescent pregnancy data, prevention, and evaluation resources for program administrators from health clinics, schools, and community-based organizations. Resources include the Data Archive on Adolescent Pregnancy and Pregnancy Prevention (DAAPPP) and journal articles about its development and use. Also includes the Program Archive on Sexuality, Health, and Adolescence (PASHA), a collection of effective adolescent pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease (STD), and HIV/AIDS prevention programs selected for public dissemination by a national panel of experts. Replication kits for each of these programs are available. Publications and online professional training in program modeling and evaluation are also presented. Sociometrics is a research and development firm specializing in social science research applications.
  

  
  

Additional Electronic Publications

• American Public Health Association (APHA). 2006. Abstinence and U.S. abstinence-only education policies: Ethical and human rights concerns. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association. This policy statement expresses APHA's concerns about abstinence-only programs and policies and urges support for abstinence education as a part of comprehensive sexuality education that is medically and scientifically accurate, age and context appropriate, and based on theories and strategies with demonstrated evidence of effectiveness.
  
  
• Burt MR, Capizzano J, Zweig JM, Herwantoro S, Fiorillo A. 2005. Youth development approaches in adolescent family life demonstration projects: Final report. Washington, DC: Urban Institute. This report examines the possible effects of youth development and abstinence education programming on adolescent birth rates and sexual risk taking.
  
  
• Committee on Government Reform, Minority Staff Special Investigations Division. 2004. Content of federally funded abstinence-only education programs. Washington, DC: U.S. House of Representatives. This report evaluates the scientific accuracy of the content of the abstinence-only curricula most commonly used by Special Projects of Regional and National Significance Community-Based Abstinence Education program grantees.
  
  
• Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. 2006. False and misleading health information provided by federally funded pregnancy resource centers. Washington, DC: U.S. House of Representatives. This report examines the scientific accuracy of information provided by pregnancy resource centers, federally funded organizations that provide counseling to pregnant adolescents and adults. The report presents findings about information provided to adolescents seeking information about abortion.
  
  
• Crosse M, with Peterson K, DeMots K, Dooley P, Friday K, Klazkin J, Shefrin A. 2006. Abstinence education: Efforts to assess the accuracy and effectiveness of federally funded programs. Washington, DC: Government Accountability Office (GAO). This report describes the oversight of federally funded abstinence-until-marriage education programs, efforts to assess the scientific accuracy of materials used in these programs, and efforts to assess the programs' effectiveness.
  
  
• East P, Kiernan E. 2001. California's Adolescent Sibling Pregnancy Prevention Program: Evaluating the impact of pregnancy prevention services to the siblings of pregnant and parenting teens. San Diego, CA: University of California, San Diego Medical Center. This report presents an evaluation of a statewide pregnancy prevention program that serves the siblings of pregnant and parenting adolescents, a higher-risk population. The program works toward developing skills that foster sustaining positive relationships with peers and family, positive communication, healthy lifestyle choices, and reduction of risk behaviors.
  
  
• Isaacs JB. 2007. Cost-effective investments in children. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution. This paper identifies four areas of investment in children where there is sufficient evidence of positive outcomes and sound benefit-cost ratios to merit expanded federal funding. One area is programs that reduce the incidence of adolescent pregnancy.
  
  
• Judd B. 2006. Incorporating youth development principles into adolescent health programs: A guide for state-level practitioners and policy makers. Washington, DC: Forum for Youth Investment, Impact Strategies, Inc. This guide is intended for program administrators who want to support an adolescent-development, strengths-based approach to state adolescent health programs in areas such as adolescent sexuality, adolescent pregnancy, juvenile justice, and substance abuse prevention.
  
  
• Kane A, Lichter DT. 2006. Reducing unwed childbearing: The missing link in efforts to promote marriage. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution. This brief argues that efforts to promote and sustain marriage must include efforts to reduce unwed childbearing, particularly among adolescents.
  
  
• Kepplinger GL. 2006. Abstinence education: Applicability of Section 317P of the Public Health Service Act. Washington, DC: Government Accountability Office (GAO). This letter advises the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that federal abstinence education grant programs must enforce a requirement that grantees' educational materials contain medically accurate information about condom effectiveness.
  
  
• Kirby D, Laris BA, Rolleri L. 2005. Impact of sex and HIV education program on sexual behaviors of youth in developing and developed countries. Research Triangle Park, NC: Family Health International. This paper summarizes a review of 83 evaluations of sex- and HIV-education programs in developing and developed countries that are based on a written curriculum and that are implemented among groups of adolescents in schools, clinics, or other community settings.
  
  
• Leigh WA, Huff D. 2006. Sexual and reproductive health of young men of color: Analyzing and interpreting the data. Washington, DC: Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. This report examines the knowledge base about the sexual and reproductive health of young males of color from outcomes to behaviors, and then discusses some of the complexities associated with studying this population. Outcomes addressed include adolescent pregnancy rates. A subsequent report, "Shout out" from youth to our nation's leaders: Report of the Youth Task Force on the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Behavior of Young Men of Color (2006) describes a series of forums convened to hear from male adolescents in three cities about policies that affect their sexual and reproductive health and behavior and that of their peers and about promising practices that can influence such behavior. The report includes a compendium of promising practices for improving reproductive health outcomes. Pregnancy prevention is one of several outcomes addressed.
  
  
• Mummert A, Nagemine M, Myers M. 2007. Childbirth-related hospitalizations among adolescent girls, 2004. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). This statistical brief describes the patterns of hospitalization, including delivery method and mean length of stay, for adolescent girls ages 17 and under compared with women ages 18 and older. Regional and payer differences are also examined.
  
  
• National Consensus Process on Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior. 2006. National Consensus Process on Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior: Interim report. Atlanta, GA: National Consensus Process on Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior. This report describes the mission of and progress by the National Consensus Process (NCP) on Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior, a process on sexual health in which leaders of major constituency organizations with interest in sexual health participated. The goal of the NCP is to improve sexual health and responsible sexual behaviors in America. The report includes a discussion of NCP areas of agreement and non-agreement and supporting documents, areas for further discussion, participant observations, commentary, and NCP's future.
  
  
• Office of the Surgeon General. 2001. The Surgeon General's call to action to promote sexual health and responsible sexual behavior. Rockville, MD: Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). This report is intended as a framework for advancing a national dialogue on public health issues of sexuality, sexual health, and responsible sexual behavior. One of the topics covered is adolescent pregnancy prevention.
  
  
• Solomon-Fears C. 2007. Scientific evaluations of approaches to prevent teen pregnancy. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service. This report discusses evaluations of two adolescent pregnancy prevention approaches: abstinence-only education and comprehensive sexuality education. The report provides background, discusses scientific evaluation of the two approaches, and explains the difference between an abstinence-only intervention vs. an abstinence message.
  

  
  

Databases

The databases listed below are excellent tools for identifying data, additional literature and research, and programs about adolescent pregnancy prevention. Many of the entries below contain tips on how to use the databases efficiently. Please note that databases vary in how terms should be entered; for example, some require quotation marks and others don't. Enter search phrases as shown in bold below.

Data

• Child Trends DataBank. Reports on national trends and research on over 80 key indicators of infant, child, and adolescent well-being, including sexual activity and adolescent childbearing. The DataBank also contains information about the types of programs and interventions that may influence particular outcomes for adolescents. Child Trends is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and families by providing research and data to inform decision-making that affects families. Child Trends also offers analyses about adolescent sex and pregnancy. Recent analyses include

  Trends in Hispanic teen births: Differences across states. (2007).

  Trends and recent estimates: Contraceptive use among U.S. teens. (2006).

  Trends and recent estimates: Sexual activity among U.S. teens. (2006).

• Data2010: The Healthy People 2010 Database. Contains the most recent monitoring data for tracking Healthy People 2010. To obtain data about adolescent pregnancy, abstinence, contraception, and reproductive health education, click on the field, Data by Focus Area. Under the field, Select a Focus Area, choose 09 - Family Planning from the pop-up menu. Next, click on the button for Include Related Objectives From Other Focus Areas in the Table. Click on the Submit button. This data set is provided by the National Center for Health Statistics via CDC Wonder.
  
  
• Data Archive on Adolescent Pregnancy and Pregnancy Prevention (DAAPPP). Houses data from over 150 studies (many of them longitudinal) on sexuality, health, and adolescence. Data sets were selected as being among the best in the field by a national panel of experts in adolescent fertility and sexual behavior who were chosen by the Office of Population Affairs (OPA). All data sets are available for a fee for immediate download and analysis. DAAPPP is a product of Sociometrics Corporation.
  
  
• KIDS COUNT. Contains national and state-by-state data on the status of children and adolescents in the United States. Users can generate custom graphs, maps, ranked lists, and state profiles using this online database. The adolescent birth rate is one of several adolescent health indicators tracked. KIDS COUNT is an Annie E. Casey Foundation project. Publications include

  Data snapshot: Teen motherhood at record low in United States. (2006).

• National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (NCPTUP): State Information. Provides state demographic data and data on unplanned pregnancy and births and the costs of adolescent childbearing.
  
  
• State Health Facts Online. Contains state-level data on women's health-related Medicaid information, state insurance mandates, refusal clauses, emergency contraception policies, abortion policies and statistics, and mammogram and pap smear screening. Includes adolescent reproductive health data. Information can be displayed as tables, graphs, or color-coded maps. This database is a service of the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).
  
  
• Title V Information System (Title V IS). Contains data from annual Title V Block Grant applications and reports submitted by all 59 U.S. states and jurisdictions. To learn about states' efforts to address adolescent pregnancy prevention, conduct three searches. First, select Measurement and Indicator Data and go to the National Data section. Select National Performance Measures; select a report option; and choose Performance Measure #08: The rate of birth (per 1,000) for teenagers aged 15 through 17 years. Click on Start Search. Second, select Measurement and Indicator Data and go to the State Data section. Select State Priority Needs Keyword Search and choose Keyword: Reproductive Health and Population: Adolescents. Click on Start Search. For the third search, go back to Measurement and Indicator Data and the State Data section. This time, select State Performance Measures and click on Search by Keyword/Population. Select Keyword: Reproductive Health and Population: Adolescents. Click on Start Search. Title V IS is a service of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
  
  
• Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS): Youth Online. Provides comprehensive results from the YRBSS that can be viewed by location (United States, state/territory, or local) and health topic, including sexual behaviors. Categories can be compared online. Youth Online is a service of CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH). Reports include

  Trends in the prevalence of sexual behaviors. National Youth Risk Behavior Survey: 1991-2005. (2006).

• Also see the following Web sites for data: Advocates for Youth (AFY), Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR), National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), and Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (ReCAPP). See too the statistical brief, Childbirth-related hospitalizations among adolescent girls, 2004.
  

Literature and Research Databases

• Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects (CRISP). Contains information about federally funded biomedical research projects conducted at universities, hospitals, and other research institutions. Search CRISP to identify scientific concepts, emerging trends and techniques, or specific projects and/or investigators. Type pregnancy adolescence in the search term box of the Query Form and click on And. Click on Submit Query to get your results. The database is maintained by the Office of Extramural Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
  
  
• Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE). Contains summaries of systematic reviews that have met strict quality criteria. Included reviews must be about the effects of interventions. Each summary also provides a critical commentary on the quality of the review. Type adolescent pregnancy in the search field and click on Search to identify abstracts. DARE is produced and maintained by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at the University of York.
  
  
• HP2010 Information Access Project: Family Planning. Provides an automatic search mechanism for published literature indexed in PubMed related to the Healthy People 2010 family planning objectives which includes adolescent pregnancy prevention objectives. Also links to a narrative for each objective and the complete chapter about family planning in the text, Healthy People 2010: Understanding and improving health, 2nd ed. (2000). This service is provided by the Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce, a collaboration of federal agencies, public health organizations, and health sciences libraries.
  
  
• Maternal and Child Health Library at the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health (NCEMCH), Georgetown University. Maintains several databases to collect, manage, and disseminate knowledge about MCH, with special emphasis on knowledge gained from initiatives and programs supported by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). The library's bibliographic database is

  MCHLine®. Comprises an online catalog of materials in the Maternal and Child Health Library. See the bibliographies, Abstinence education, Adolescent pregnancy prevention, and Sexuality education.

  Also see the library's resource guide about sexuality education, the MCH Organizations Database and the MCH Projects Database.

• National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC). Contains evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and related materials for health professionals. Identify guidelines by selecting Detailed Search in the Search box. Enter pregnancy in the Keyword field. Scroll down on the search form to select Guideline Category: Prevention and Age of Target Population: Adolescent. The database is an initiative of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
  
  
• POPLINE® (POPulation information onLINE). Provides more than 300,000 citations with abstracts to scientific articles, reports, books, and unpublished reports about reproductive health. Conduct an instant search of the database by clicking on Adolescent Pregnancy from the list of instant search topics on the right side of the screen. POPLINE is a service of the INFO Project at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health/Center for Communication Programs.
  
  
• PubMed. Contains over 17 million citations for biomedical articles that date back to the 1950s. These citations are from MEDLINE and additional life sciences journals. PubMed includes links to many sites providing full-text articles and other related resources. To identify articles on the topic, enter the term pregnancy in adolescence/prevention and control. Then, click on Limits and make the following selections on the page: select a date (e.g. Published in the last 2 years); click on Languages: English; and select Tag Terms: MeSH Major Topic. Click on Go to get your results. To narrow your search further or for additional searches, use MeSH to identify terms (e.g., sexual abstinence, sex education, condoms). PubMed is a service of the National Library of Medicine (NLM). Also see the HP2010 Information Access Project for access to published literature related to the Healthy People 2010 objectives about adolescent pregnancy prevention.
  
  
• Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (ReCAPP) Library. Contains information about booklets, articles, teaching guides, videotapes, Web sites, and other resources about adolescent pregnancy prevention. Select teen pregnancy prevention from the category field. Other categories include contraception, effective prevention programs, male involvement, and Spanish-language materials. ReCAPP and its library are a service of ETR, a private, nonprofit health-education-promotion organization.
  
  
• Also see the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Database, the School Health Resource Database, and the State-Level School Health Policies Database.
  

Programs Databases

• Health Services Research Projects in Progress (HSRProj). Provides information about ongoing health services research and public health projects. To identify projects on the topic, enter the search phrase (adolescent OR teen) AND pregnancy. Click on Search to get your results. HSRProj is funded by the National Library of Medicine (NLM).
  
  
• MCH Organizations Database. Lists over 2,000 government, professional, and voluntary organizations involved in MCH activities, primarily at a national level. Several national organizations offer information about adolescent pregnancy prevention, and these appear in a list produced from the database. The database is presented by the Maternal and Child Health Library.
  
  
• MCH Projects Database. Comprises an online catalog of projects funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) through October 1, 2002. To identify projects that focus on the topic, type "adolescent pregnancy prevention" in the abstract field of the database search form. The database is presented by the Maternal and Child Health Library.
  
  
• Also see the following Web sites for program information: Advocates for Youth (AFY), National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (NCPTUP), Office of Population Affairs (OPA), Promising Practices Network (PPN) on Children, Families, and Communities, Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (ReCAPP), Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS), and Sociometrics Corporation. See the Find Care section for directories of adolescent health professionals and reproductive health clinics.
  

  
  

Electronic Newsletters and Online Discussion Groups

• Advocates for Youth Newsletters. Offers three monthly electronic newsletters for professionals and adolescents about a variety of health and sexuality issues facing adolescents. The newsletters are: (1) Advocates for Youth e-news update, (2) Youth activist network newsletter, and (3) Youth of Color Initiative's monthly monitor.
  
  
• Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) List Serves. Offers three electronic newsletters about sexual and reproductive health issues: (1) Guttmacher Institute state news quarterly, (2) Guttmacher update, and (3) News providers can use from the Guttmacher Institute.
  
  
• Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF): Daily women's health policy report. This electronic newsletter provides national and state legislative, political, legal, scientific, and business news on reproductive health issues that include abstinence education and adolescent pregnancy prevention.
  
  
• National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (NCPTUP): Stay Informed. Offers two electronic services: (1) Notification network, an e-mail news service that covers adolescent pregnancy prevention facts, data, research, publications, program information, and media messages and (2) Youth network, an electronic forum for adolescents to share news and opinions about adolescent pregnancy prevention.
  
  
• Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS) Newsletters. Offers three electronic newsletters about human sexuality: (1) SHOP talk: School health opportunities and progress, which focuses on issues concerning sexuality and school health and is available in English and Spanish, (2) The source, which describes recently published books, reports, curricula, and videotapes as well as upcoming conferences that address sexuality issues, and (3) Families are talking, a listserv and quarterly newsletter containing information to help families communicate about sexuality-related issues.
  

  
  

Resources for Families

Finding Health Care for Teens

• American Academy of Pediatrics Pediatrician Referral Service. Provides an online directory of pediatricians. Search by city, state, zip code, area code, and medical specialty, including teen health.
  
  
• Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) Service Delivery Sites. Offers contact information for community health centers that provide free or low-cost care to underserved populations. Search by geographic area, clinic name, and type of service provided.
  
  
• Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA): Find a Health Center. Presents an online directory of PPFA health center affiliates that offer sexual and reproductive health care in each state. Search by state and zip code from the PPFA Web site home page.
  
  
• Society for Adolescent Medicine (SAM): Finding an Adolescent Health Professional. Offers an online directory of teen health professionals who are SAM members and choose to be listed in the directory. Search by health professional name, city, state, country (for international searches), discipline, or area of interest.
  
  
• Title X Family Planning Provider Database. Presents contact information for Title X funded health clinics that provide family planning and reproductive health care to low-income and uninsured people in the United States at no cost or at a reduced cost. Search by city, state, and zip code. The database is presented by the Office of Population Affairs (OPA).
  

Web Sites for Families

• 4Parents.gov. Presents resources to help parents communicate with their teens about relationships, sexuality, and making healthy choices.
  
  
• Families Are Talking. Presents tools in English and Spanish to help parents and teens communicate about sexuality. Includes a newsletter and electronic discussion list.
  
  
• girlshealth.gov: Body. Gives girls facts about taking care of their bodies. Talking to parents about sex, abstinence, unintended pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases are some of the topics covered.
  
  
• Go Ask Alice! Offers a health question-and-answer service for college and high school students, parents, teachers, professionals, and the general public on topics that include relationships, sexuality, sexual health, emotional health, fitness, nutrition, substance use, and general health.
  
  
• MEDLINEplus: Teenage Pregnancy. Gives links to information about preventing teen pregnancy. Also links to other MEDLINEplus pages about teen sexual health and birth control. These pages are also available in Spanish.
  
  
• National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (NCPTUP): Parents. Gives information and tips to parents on how to communicate with their teens about sex and unwanted pregnancy.
  
  
• Parents' Sex Ed Center. Presents information and resources to help parents begin talking with their child about sex. Also offers the Youth Lounge with sexual health information for teens on topics that include healthy relationships, abstinence, and contraception. Recent materials include

  Resources for families on parent-child communication. (2005).

  Are you an askable parent? From research to practice. (2005).

• Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA): For Parents. Gives information to parents about how to talk to their child about sex and information to teens about puberty and adolescent development, menstruation, teen sexuality, and decision-making about sex. PPFA also offers teenwire.com, a sexual health Web site for teens in English and Spanish.
  
  
• Sex, Etc. Gives information about sexual health to help teens avoid pregnancy and disease. Includes a sexual health question-and-answer service, a glossary of common sex terms ranging from clinical medical terms to slang terms, and several online discussion groups. Also describes each state's laws on adolescent sexual health care services, parental notification, and confidentiality.
  
  
• Stay Teen. Gives information to teens about relationships, abstinence, contraception, and how to avoid pregnancy.
  
  
• Talking with Kids About Tough Issues. Gives tips and suggests techniques for parents to communicate more easily with their child about difficult issues, including sex.
  

  
  

Resources for Schools

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Healthy Youth! Sexual Behaviors. Contains school health policies and program information, statistics, and other resources about sexual behaviors that may result in unintended pregnancy. Also includes background information and results from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), which monitors health risk behaviors, such as sexual behaviors, among students in grades 9-12. YRBSS results are presented in a database.
  
  
• Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) Database. Covers all aspects of education-related issues through journal articles, research reports, teaching guides, curricula, conference papers, and books. To identify resources on the topic, type adolescent pregnancy in the Search Term(s) box. Click on the Search button to get your results. Click on Search Within Results to narrow your search. You may also search on related keywords, such as sex education. Use the ERIC Thesaurus to identify terms. ERIC is sponsored by the Department of Education.
  
  
• National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE): State School Health Policy Database. Comprises a collection of state laws and policies in key areas of school health. Click on View by Topic. Scan the categories in the left sidebar and choose a topic (e.g., HIV, STD, and Pregnancy Prevention Education; Pregnant or Parenting Students).
  
  
• National School Boards Association (NSBA): School Health Resource Database. Contains abstracts and bibliographic information about sample policies, articles, and training tools that address the many health issues facing local school districts. Select adolescent pregnancy from the list of topics for an automatic search of the database. This database is provided by the National School Boards Association (NSBA). NSBA also offers Teen Pregnancy Prevention 101, an information packet designed to provide a general overview of policies, current research and statistics, and programs that promote and enhance school-based adolescent pregnancy prevention efforts.
  
  
• Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS): School Health Education Clearinghouse. Offers links to state and local policies, sexual-health-promotion programs, national guidelines, and curricula about adolescent pregnancy for professionals seeking school health information for middle-school, high-school, and college-age adolescents and young adults.
  
  
• Also see the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Advocates for Youth (AFY), Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP), Campaign for Our Children (CFOC), National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (NCPTUP), Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (ReCAPP), and Sociometrics Corporation.
  

  
  

Author: Susan Brune Lorenzo, M.L.S., Maternal and Child Health Library.
Reviewers: Amy Blaine, M.S.L.S., Inova Fairfax Hospital; Catherine J. Bodkin, L.C.S.W., M.S.H.A., Virginia Department of Health; Linda Hudgins, R.N., B.S.N., Virginia Department of Health; Olivia K. Pickett, M.A., M.L.S., Maternal and Child Health Library.