Piloting Families Talking Together in the Bañado Sur, Paraguay: An assessment of the feasibility of a parent-focused adolescent pregnancy prevention program Open Access
Keefe-Oates, Brianna Sky (2013)
Abstract
Background: Adolescent health is paramount to guaranteeing long term health and opportunities. In Paraguay 16% of adolescents of low socioeconomic status become pregnant before they reach 20 years of age. These pregnancies can hinder their educational and social development and progress. Due to the conservative nature of Paraguayan politics, sexual education is not taught comprehensively in schools, and so alternative strategies to reduce adolescent pregnancies need to be taken. Parent-child communication about pregnancy prevention has been found to be effective in other countries and could be effective here. This study assesses the acceptability and feasibility of implementing a parent-focused intervention, Families Talking Together, in Asunción and provides recommendations for adaptation.
Methods: The intervention was modified for Paraguay and subsequently implemented in the Bañado Sur, Asunción. Focus groups were conducted with parents who participated in the intervention while individual interviews were conducted with key informants and adolescents. The data were analyzed to understand reactions to the intervention and possibilities for adaptation.
Results: The intervention was generally well received by all parties, however parents still reported struggling to discuss sexual and reproductive health topics with their children after the intervention. Key informants and adolescents discussed the pressures that adolescents feel to have sex at an early age and the lack of sexual education as two reasons for the high adolescent pregnancy rates. All participants enjoyed the discussions in the intervention and accompanying materials regarding love and healthy relationships; these were topics that participants said were not often discussed.
Discussion: Families Talking Together could be further adapted for the Bañado Sur to encourage parent-child communication regarding sexual and reproductive health. Parents' difficulty in addressing these issues even after the intervention suggests that prior programming needs to focus on family strengthening, healthy communication skills and skill-building for adolescents before parents would benefit from the Families Talking Together intervention.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
Introduction and Rationale
Problem Statement
Purpose Statement and Research Questions
Significance Statement
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature
Sexual and Reproductive Health in Paraguay
Risk and Protective Factors for Adolescent Pregnancies
Evidence-Based Interventions to Decrease Risky Sexual
Behaviors
Chapter 3: Methods
Study Site
Intervention: Families Talking Together
Research Design
Study Methods
Ethical Considerations and Data Management
Data Quality and Limitations
Chapter 4: Results
Current Sources of Information and Influences on Adolescents'
Sexual Health
Reactions to the Intervention
Families Talking Together Materials
Modifications and Recommendations for Parent-focused Pregnancy
Prevention Interventions
Chapter 5: Discussion
Adapting the FTT intervention for the Bañado Sur
Implications for Designing Future Interventions
Starting with Communication and Family Connectedness:
recommendations for other evidence-based interventions
Bibliography
Appendix 1: Adolescent Mother Focus Group Discussion Guide
Appendix 2: Key Informant Interview Guide
Appendix 3: Parent Focus Group Discussion Guide
Appendix 4: Individual Adolescent Discussion Guide
Appendix 5: Codebook
About this Master's Thesis
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