A Preliminary Look at Second Year Evaluation Data of a Sexual Health Intervention Program in Philadelphia
Jade Truehart, MPH1; Ra’Ann Merceir, BS1; Aisha Bhimla, PhD1; Yin Tan, MPH, MD1; Sabrina Liao2; Min Qi Wang, PhD2; Jane Sileo, EdD3; Maya Allen4,5; Grace X. Ma, PhD1,6
1 Center for Asian Health, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, PA
2 The University of Maryland School of Public Health, MD
3 ACT Investments, Inc.
4 The Murrell Dobbins Career and Technical Education High School
5 Stepping Stone Scholars, Inc.
6 Department of Urban Health and Population Science, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, PA
Background: Proud Teens of Philly (PTOP) is a sexual health program aimed at reducing the high teen birth rate and STD cases in Philadelphia. The teen birth rate in Philadelphia is 28.8 per 1,000, and about 25% of its STI cases are among teens 15-19. PTOP provides sexual health education to high-risk youth ages 12-19 in the Greater Philadelphia area. In the first year of the program, PTOP was delivered to 304 youth.
Methods: During the second year of the program, PTOP was implemented virtually and in-person to 411 youth in Philadelphia schools and community-based organizations. The program was implemented using 8 modules of “Making Proud Choices” curriculum. Pre and post surveys were administered to participants at the first and last implementation sessions, respectively. During year 2, 391 pre-surveys and 208 post-surveys were collected.
Results: We will present the results on the changes in teen participants’ attitudes on condom use and STD prevention between pre- and post-survey. We will also conduct analysis on the correlates of attitudes and several reported behaviors among the participants.
Conclusion: Implementation of a sexual health program such as PTOP for high-risk youth is effective at strengthening positive attitudes towards condom use and understanding about STDs, including HIV. Interventions such as PTOP can help reduce teen birth rates and STD cases in areas such as Philadelphia.
Acknowledgment: This project was supported by the Philadelphia Teen Outreach Project (PTOP) funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Award Number TP1AH000219 (PI: Ma), and partially supported by TUFCCC/HC Regional Comprehensive Cancer Health Disparity Partnership, Award Number U54 CA221704(5) from the National Cancer Institute of National Institutes of Health (NCI/NIH). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NCI/NIH or DHHS.
