Elsevier

Journal of Adolescent Health

Volume 40, Issue 3, March 2007, Pages 275.e1-275.e14
Journal of Adolescent Health

Original article
PASHA: Facilitating the Replication and Use of Effective Adolescent Pregnancy and STI/HIV Prevention Programs

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2006.10.004Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

It is important that interventions that have been shown effective in changing risky behavior be disseminated, so that they can be replicated (implemented in a new site) and so that their effectiveness in a new setting can be investigated. This article provides an update on an innovative resource for promoting the replication of effective teen pregnancy and STI/HIV prevention programs. The resource is called the Program Archive on Sexuality, Health & Adolescence (PASHA).

Methods

A Scientist Expert Panel rates candidate adolescent pregnancy and STI/HIV prevention programs based on the strength of the evidence of their effectiveness in changing risky sexual behavior among youth ages 10–19 (10–21 for STI/HIV prevention programs). Developers of selected programs are invited to make their program and evaluation materials publicly available through PASHA. PASHA publishes and disseminates replication kits for programs it successfully acquires.

Results

Fifty-six programs have been selected by PASHA’s Scientist Expert Panel as “effective” in changing one or more risky behaviors associated with adolescent pregnancy or STI/HIV. Complete program and evaluation materials from 35 of these programs are now currently available through PASHA, five are pending, 12 are publicly available from other sources, and only four are not publicly available. PASHA programs are aimed at a diverse target population and cover diverse content on many abstinence and contraception/condom-related topics. Many pedagogical techniques are used to effect behavior change, noticeably role play and group discussion.

Conclusions

PASHA illustrates well the productive research-to-practice feedback loop that is the backbone of “translation research.” The resource can be used by adolescent pregnancy and STI/HIV prevention practitioners to put what works to work to continue the lowering of the nation’s adolescent pregnancy and STI/HIV rates.

Section snippets

Methods

The foundation for PASHA’s credibility and utility lies in the process used to identify and select effective programs, assemble the intervention materials into program packages, and review the accuracy, comprehensiveness, and usability of these packages for practitioners working with adolescents. Below we describe each of these steps in turn.

PASHA’s effective program list

Over the last 15 years, we have presented 92 adolescent pregnancy and STI/HIV prevention programs to our Scientist Expert Panel as candidates for inclusion in PASHA. Of these, 56 programs have been selected for the PASHA collection by its Scientist Expert Panel, based on the strength of the evidence for their effectiveness. The 56 selected programs are described succinctly in Table 2.

The diversity of effective programs is also highlighted in Table 2. There are 21 primary pregnancy prevention, 6

Discussion

Our experience with development and use of the PASHA resource over the past 15 years provides helpful lessons for resource developers (researchers) and consumers (practitioners) alike.

Conclusions

The Program Archive on Sexuality, Health, and Adolescence (PASHA) is a growing, au courrant national resource that exemplifies the successful translation of research findings for use in the real world of education and practice. PASHA identifies intervention programs that research has shown to be effective in preventing adolescent pregnancy, STI/HIV, or their risky sexual behavior antecedents. PASHA provides schools, communities, and clinics around the country with easy access to replication

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Contract N01-HD-4-3387 (Dr. Card). The authors thank Project Officer Susan Newcomer, Ph.D., for her unfailing support of PASHA throughout the years.

References (13)

  • J.S. Santelli et al.

    Can changes in sexual behaviors among high school students explain the decline in teen pregnancy rates in the 1990s?

    J Adolesc Health

    (2004)
  • D. Kirby

    Emerging Answers: Research Findings on Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy

    (2001)
  • J. Manlove et al.

    Background for Community-Level Work on Positive Reproductive Health in Adolescence: Reviewing the Literature on Contributing Factors

    (2001)
  • J. Manlve et al.

    Preventing Teenage Pregnancy, Childbearing, and Sexually Transmitted Diseases: What the Research Shows

    (2002)
  • J. Solomon et al.

    Making the List: Understanding, Selecting, and Replicating Effective Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs

    (2004)
  • What Works: Curriculum-Based Programs That Prevent Teen Pregnancy

    (2006)
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (17)

  • Three Decades of Research: The Case for Comprehensive Sex Education

    2021, Journal of Adolescent Health
    Citation Excerpt :

    Sex education has long been characterized by competing definitions, goals, and philosophies, which has muddied efforts to understand and gauge its effectiveness [2]. When it comes to measuring impact and outcomes, research has been dominated by interest in prevention programs aimed at reducing STI and pregnancy rates [3–9]. These prevention programs put emphasis on sexual behaviors and behavior change as the main focus of analysis [10].

  • Archiving: Ethical Aspects

    2015, International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences: Second Edition
  • Ending the Epidemic of Heterosexual HIV Transmission Among African Americans

    2009, American Journal of Preventive Medicine
    Citation Excerpt :

    Youth who receive abstinence-only education are significantly less likely to perceive condoms as efficacious for preventing HIV and other STIs.33 In contrast, comprehensive sex education programs can be effective in reducing risky sexual behavior among youth.34 Federal and state government restrictions on sex education in schools should be removed, and funds should be allocated for curricula shown to be effective in reducing risks of infection and unintended pregnancy.

View all citing articles on Scopus
View full text