Funded Projects

Sexual Health for Adolescent Parents

Project Year

2023

City & State

Fresno, California

Program Name

CATCH Resident

Topic

Health Education & Prevention

Program Description

According to the Center for Disease Control’s latest analyses from 2021, the sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevalence rate was almost 20% in 2018--totaling nearly 68 million infections, with nearly 50% of new cases occurring in adolescents ages 15-247. Data has shown that the overall rate of STIs including gonorrhea, syphilis, and congenital syphilis has increased since 2016 (7). Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the surveillance and prevention efforts of multiple entities such as the Department of Public Health (7). Multiple factors may have led to likely under-reported case counts, including reduced screening due to clinic closures, shifting of STI program resources, and delayed care for those exhibiting STI symptoms. Moreover, both STIs and teen pregnancies are disproportionately distributed amongst ethnic groups in Fresno County. For instance, in 2020, 32% of all cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and primary/secondary syphilis were among non-Hispanic Black persons, even though they made up only approximately 12% of the US population. Although the rate of teen pregnancy is declining overall in California, in 2016 African American/black adolescents experienced teen pregnancy at nearly 3 times and Hispanic/Latina adolescents at nearly 4 times the rate of their white counterparts, respectively (9). At-risk behaviors, including unsafe sexual practices, often emerge in adolescents as well. Surveys show that condom use among adolescents has declined over the past decade, leaving many teenagers vulnerable to STIs (11). Therefore, this age group would greatly benefit from efforts to prevent unintended pregnancies and STIs. We plan to partner with the Adolescent Family Life Program (AFLP) of the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission (EOC) to help address these disparities and improve the sexual health knowledge of the 95 adolescents who are enrolled in the program. The AFLP addresses social, health, educational, and economic consequences of adolescent pregnancy by providing comprehensive case management services to pregnant and parenting teenagers and their children. Our intervention will involve training Valley Children’s residents to provide sexual education, as well as increasing access to sexual health services for clients in our community. Our goal is to empower pregnant or parenting individuals who are participants in this program through the following objectives: Objective 1: Raise awareness among pregnant and parenting teens on sexual health including sexually transmitted infections, contraception, and safe sex. Objective 2: Develop a sexual health curriculum to educate adolescents on sexually transmitted infections, contraception, and safe sex. Objective 3: Identify potential barriers to preventing future unintended pregnancies in adolescents. Objective 4: Empower adolescents to make informed decisions related to family planning and sexual health. Objective 5 Improve the overall health, well-being and support network for pregnant and parenting adolescents.

Project Goal

Our goal is to raise awareness among pregnant and parenting teens on sexual health including sexually transmitted infections, contraception, and safe sex and to empower adolescents to make informed decisions related to family planning and sexual health.

Project Objective 1

By month 6 into the CATCH timeline 100% of the community partners (PPH and FCDPH) will have been met with and 100% of AFLP clients will have been contacted and scheduled for educational seminars.

Project Objective 2

By month 10 into the CATCH timeline, 50% of AFLP clients will have attended and completed the sexual education seminar.

Project Objective 3

By month 12 into the CATCH timeline, the number of STIs and repeat pregnancies will decrease by 25% compared to pre-intervention statistics.

AAP District

District IX

Institutional Name

Valley Children's Hospital

Contact 1

Claire Jaramishian

Contact 1

Rajvee Sanghavi