Evaluation of the Talking Matters Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program

Summary

A culturally tailored program that creates a safe, open space to increase knowledge, self-efficacy, skills, and comfort related to sexual and reproductive health, including HIV/STI and teen pregnancy prevention, mental health, and substance use risk reduction behavior, and strengthens protective factors, decision-making skills, and connections to trusted adults may help participants chart a path toward optimal health. To address a significant gap in evidence-based, culturally-tailored sexual and reproductive health services for Black and African American adolescents, Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is conducting a rigorous evaluation of an innovative group-level, two pronged intervention called Talking Matters using an individual randomized control trial (RCT) design. Due to social distancing guidelines during COVID-19 at the start of the study, all Talking Matters activities, including recruitment, screening, consent, intervention implementation, and data collection, will be conduct virtually and remotely.

Developed and piloted over the past two years through FY2018 Phase I New and Innovative Strategies (Tier 2) to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and Promote Healthy Adolescence funding from the Office of Population Affairs (OPA), Talking Matters is a promising group-level, two-pronged intervention tailored for urban Black and African American 14 to 19 year old adolescents who are recruited from school- and community-based settings in Philadelphia, PA. Grounded in Social Cognitive Theory, the Transtheoretical Model, and Self-Determination Theory, and using evidence-based Motivational Interviewing strategies, the primary goals of Talking Matters are to reduce adolescents' risk for teen and unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV, and to strengthen protective factors improve optimal health.

The two prongs of Talking Matters include (1) an adolescent-focused five-session, group-level intervention called We Get to Choose (WGTC) and (2) an adult-focused three-session, group-level training called Let's Talk Real Talk (LTRT). An opportunity to connect WGTC participants to trusted adults who completed LTRT is provided during one facilitated session conducted each quarter. Adult participants of the LTRT training are not human subjects of the Talking Matters study.

Conditions

• Pregnancy in Adolescence

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Talking Matters

Group-level, facilitator-led behavioral intervention for 14-19 year old Black and African American adolescents with an intergenerational component to reduce teen pregnancy, strengthen protective factors to improve optimal health, and increase access to trusted adults.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Department of Health and Human Services

  collaborator FED

• Public Health Management Corporation

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Archana B LaPollo, MPH · Public Health Management Corporation

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

14 Years

Max Age

19 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2020-07-15

Primary Completion

2022-09-15

Completion

2023-12-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations