Jennifer A. Oliphant

The use of commercial tanning facilities by suburban Minnesota adolescents.

In 1991, 1008 suburban St. Paul, Minn, high school students were surveyed via self-administered questionnaire regarding use of commercial tanning facilities, injuries experienced from tanning, use of protective measures while tanning indoors, and knowledge of the risks of tanning. Overall, 34% of the respondents had used commercial tanning facilities. Fifty percent said they had not been warned by tanning facility operators about the risks of tanning indoors, 28% reported not being told to wear goggles, and 17% reported never wearing goggles. The results indicate that these adolescents use commercial tanning services at high rates, and often in ways that increase their risk for a variety of health problems.

am I qualified? How do I know? a Qualitative Study of Sexuality educators' Training experiences

Abstract Background: National Health Education Standards in the U. S. focus on key concepts and skills around health issues, including sexuality. However, little is known about the extent to which classroom teachers are trained to deliver sexuality education. Purpose: The purpose is to explore pre-service training experiences and needs of sexuality educators in Minnesota. Methods: Seven focus groups were conducted with a diverse sample of 41 sexuality educators, and qualitative analysis was used to detect themes across groups. Results: Results indicate a wide variety of pre-service teaching experience, ranging from no instruction to extensive training. Teachers had numerous suggestions for ways their training could have better prepared them to teach sexuality education, such as ways of working with culturally diverse students. Teachers described many ways in which they were unprepared in their first year of teaching sexuality education. Discussion: Training programs to prepare sexuality educators are not adequately preparing teachers for their multifaceted role. Findings point to the need to train sexuality educators differently than teachers for other subjects. Translation to Health Education Practice: Findings indicate that pre-service training programs should greatly expand their offerings, tighten requirements and hone methodologies in sexuality education to meet the needs of todays teachers and students.

A clinic-based, youth development approach to teen pregnancy prevention

OBJECTIVE To provide a description of Prime Time, an intervention to reduce pregnancy risk behaviors among high-risk adolescent girls. METHODS Prime Time, a clinic-based, multicomponent youth development intervention aims to reduce sexual risk behaviors, violence involvement, and school disconnection. RESULTS We highlight key considerations in conceptualization, design, and methods for a Prime Time randomized trial. CONCLUSIONS Prime Time comes at a time of great interest in restructuring adolescent health services. This study represents an important effort to expand preventive and youth development services among young people most vulnerable to early pregnancy, for whom services must go beyond traditional problem-oriented approaches.

Prime Time: Sexual Health Outcomes at 24 Months for a Clinic-Linked Intervention to Prevent Pregnancy Risk Behaviors

IMPORTANCE Preventing early pregnancy among vulnerable adolescents requires innovative and sustained approaches. Prime Time, a youth development intervention, aims to reduce pregnancy risk among adolescent girls seeking clinic services who are at high risk for pregnancy. OBJECTIVE To evaluate sexual risk behaviors and related outcomes with a 24-month postbaseline survey, 6 months after the conclusion of the Prime Time intervention. DESIGN Randomized controlled trial. SETTING Community and school-based primary care clinics. PARTICIPANTS Of 253 sexually active 13- to 17-year-old girls meeting specified risk criteria, 236 (93.3%) completed the 24-month follow-up survey. INTERVENTION Offered during an 18-month period, Prime Time includes case management and youth leadership programs. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Self-reported consistency of condom, hormonal, and dual-method contraceptive use with most recent male sex partner and number of male sex partners in the past 6 months. RESULTS At 24-month follow-up, the intervention group reported significantly more consistent use of condoms, hormonal contraception, and dual-method contraception than the control group. Intervention participants also reported improvements in family connectedness and self-efficacy to refuse unwanted sex, and reductions in the perceived importance of having sex. No between-group differences were found in the number of recent male sex partners. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This study contributes to what has been a dearth of evidence regarding youth development interventions offered through clinic settings, where access to high-risk adolescents is plentiful but few efforts have emphasized a dual approach of strengthening sexual and nonsexual protective factors while addressing risk. Findings suggest that health services grounded in a youth development framework can lead to long-term reductions in sexual risk among vulnerable youth.

Beyond the Call of Duty: A Qualitative Study of Teachers' Additional Responsibilities Related to Sexuality Education.

Seven focus groups were conducted with sexuality educators in Minnesota to explore ways that teaching sexuality education differs from teaching other health education content and to determine if additional supports or resources are needed for sexuality educators. Teachers described many specific additional responsibilities or concerns related to sexuality education, including a) interacting with parents, b) interacting with administration, c) addressing students’ personal concerns, d) managing sensitive information in the classroom, and e) developing and updating lesson plans. Findings suggest that Minnesota teachers often go above and beyond their usual responsibilities to provide quality sexuality education for their students, both in and out of the classroom.

A Clinic-Based Youth Development Program to Reduce Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Adolescent Girls: Prime Time Pilot Study

Multifaceted, sustained efforts are needed to reduce early pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases among high-risk adolescents. An important area for research is testing youth development interventions offered through clinic settings, where access to high-risk adolescents is plentiful and few efforts have rigorously evaluated a dual approach of building protective factors while addressing risk. This article presents findings from a pilot study of Prime Time, a clinic-based youth development intervention to reduce sexual risk behaviors among girls at risk for early pregnancy. Girls aged 13 to 17 years meeting specified risk criteria were assigned to Prime Time treatment groups. The Prime Time intervention included a combination of case management services and peer leadership groups. Participants completed self-report surveys at baseline, 12 and 18 months following enrollment. At 12 months, the intervention group reported significantly fewer sexual partners than the control group. At 18 months, the intervention group reported significantly more consistent condom use with trends toward more consistent hormonal and dual method use. Dose-response analyses suggested that relatively high levels of exposure to a youth development intervention were needed to change contraceptive use behaviors among adolescents at risk for early pregnancy. Given promising findings, further testing of the Prime Time intervention is warranted.