Program/Organization Name:
Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI)
Organization Information:
LPHI is an independent, statewide 501©(3) nonprofit organization established in 1997. We are part of a growing movement of public health institutesacross the country. LPHI’s mission is to promote and improve health and quality of life in Louisiana through diverse public-private partnerships with government, foundations, community groups, academia and private businesses at the community, parish and state levels.
LPHI coordinates and manages public health programs and initiatives in the areas of health systems development and health promotion/disease prevention andprovides an array of services to help meet the needs of partner organizations.
Description of Intervention:
This LPHI-collaborative project will implement and evaluate two teen pregnancy prevention evidence-based interventions (EBIs) – Becoming a Responsible Teen (BART) and Safer Sex – in twelve sites throughout Orleans Parish. The project will target high-risk youth, aged 14-19, to address the gaps in sex education and prevention services. BART is designed to give teens skills to delay sexual involvement and reduce exposure to HIV, and will serve African-American New Orleans youth ages 14-19. Safer Sex will target females ages 14-19 who are seeking treatment for sexually transmitted infections. Safer Sex will enhance the services currently being provided in area, that regularly serve teens who are seeking reproductive health and obstetrical care.
Partners:
Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI)
City of New Orleans: Healthy Start & JOB1
Institute for Women and Ethnic Studies (IWES)
Communities in Schools (CIS)
Goodwill Industries
Nikki’s Foundation
The Beautiful Foundation
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center – New Orleans (LSUHSC)
Tulane University School of Medicine (Tulane)
The Policy and Research Group (PRG)
Contact information:
Marsha Broussard, MPH
Project Director and Principal Investigator
Orleans Parish Pregnancy Prevention Project
Louisiana Public Health Institute
Office No: (504) 301-9851
Program/Organization Name:
The Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies (IWES)
Organization Information:
IWES is a national nonprofit community-based organization headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, since 1993. IWES was founded by two African-American female physicians in response to overwhelming sexual and reproductive health disparities among women of color. IWES is dedicated to improving the physical, mental and spiritual health and quality of life for women of color and their families, especially those who are socio-economically disadvantaged. As a translational public health organization, IWES has strong ties and established relationships with the community at a grassroots level and works closely in partnership with local, state and federal academic institutions, public health entities and policymakers. IWES has years of experience in creating and implementing innovative information, education, and communication projects and training opportunities to promote health awareness and activism, especially in relation to mental health, HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention and peer education. Our community-based projects in New Orleans guide our national and international initiatives, ensuring that our efforts are authentic to the experiences of the women, youth, and communities that we represent and serve.
Description of Intervention:
MPC! – NOLA! is a teen pregnancy prevention program targeting African-American and Latino youth, ages 11-13 in Orleans and Jefferson parishes. Funded through the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH), the goal of this evidence based program is to empower young adolescents to change their behavior in ways that will reduce their risk of becoming infected with HIV and other STD’s and their risk for pregnancy. Through partnerships with local schools and other youth-serving organizations, young adolescents are provided with the knowledge, confidence and skills necessary to reduce their risk of pregnancy and becoming infected with HIV/STDs by abstaining from sex or using condoms if they choose to have sex.
Partners:
Ashé Cultural Arts Center
Children’s Defense Fund of Louisiana
CubaNOLA Arts Collective
Gert Town Community Development Center
Women With A Vision
YOUTHanasia
Contact:
Dr. Denese Shervington, MPH
CEO, Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies / Director, MPC! – NOLA!
(504) 484-0410
Program/Organization Name:
Central Louisiana Area Health Education Center (CLAHEC)
Organization Information: Central Louisiana AHEC is a non-profit, community based agency that works with a volunteer advisory board of local health care professionals, community leaders, educators and citizens. We offer a variety of education based services to meet the needs of health care providers and consumers in the 17-parish region that we serve.
Description of Intervention:
CLAHEC will provide the “Be Proud! Be Responsible!” teen pregnancy prevention education program to cadets in the Louisiana National Guard Youth Challenge Program (LNGYCP), which targets at-risk adolescents. The goal of the program is to give participants knowledge to help them change behaviors that will result in a reduction in HIV and STDs among adolescents, and a reduction of unplanned pregnancy among adolescents. Over the 5-year grant, 5,200 youth will participate in the program at the Camp Beauregard, (Pineville, La.) and Gillis Long Center (Carville, La.) locations. We will reach LNGYCP cadets who come from urban, suburban and rural communities in all 8 MSAs in Louisiana; therefore, the program will have a statewide impact on at-risk adolescents. Replication of the program at LNGYCP additionally provides an opportunity to present to a closely monitored, volunteer residential population and then continue mentorship and observation with the youth for one year after the residential phase.
Partners:
Louisiana National Guard Youth Challenge Program at Camp Beauregard and Gillis Long Center locations.
Contact information
Kelly Edminson
Director, Health Education Services
Central Louisiana Area Health Education Center (CLAHEC)
318-443-2855
Program/Organization Name:
Department of Health & Hospital (DHH), Office of Public Health (OPH), Family Planning Program
Organization Information:
The DHH/OPH/Family Planning Program successfully competed and was awarded a 2.2 million dollar teen pregnancy prevention grant from the federal Department of Health and Human Services (Office of Adolescent Health). The grant was awarded to replicate a teen pregnancy prevention program that has shown to be effective through rigorous research (evidence based).
Description of Intervention:
DHH/OPH Family Planning Program will serve 3,000 youth with the Teen Outreach Program ™ (TOP) and another 3,000 youth will be part of a comparison group. TOP is a 9 month program that will be implemented in community based settings in select parishes in Louisiana with the highest incidences of teen births. The TOP Curriculum focuses on values, communication and assertiveness, influence, goal-setting, decision-making, adolescent development and relationships. TOP is an evidence based educational intervention comprised of three primary elements: peer to peer interaction, medically accurate and age appropriate educational curriculum, and a community service component that encourages civic involvement.
List partners in your intervention:
TBA
Contact Information:
Shondra Williams, PhD, FNP-C
Program Administrator
Louisiana DHH Office of Public Health Family Planning Program
504-568-2180
Program/Organization Name:
Office of Public Health, STD/HIV Program
Organization Information:
The STD/HIV Program coordinates a number of statewide and regionalprograms designed to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, to ensure the availability of quality STD/HIV medical services, to ensure the availability of quality social services for HIV infected and affected individuals, and to track the impact of the STD/HIV epidemics in Louisiana.
Description of Intervention:
The STD/HIV Program has been funded through the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families, Office of Adolescent Health Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) to implement two interventions:
SIHLE, which is a group level, peer-led,social-skills training intervention aimed at reducing risky sexual risk behavior among sexually active, African American teenage females, ages 14-18. The program will be conducted in large cities outside New Orleans.
Project AIM is a program for middle school students designed to promote abstinence, delay the initiation of sex, and decrease the intention to engage in sex. The program will be target males in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
Partners:
Philadelphia Center, BRASS, GO CARE, Southwest Louisiana Center for Health Education, Acadiana CARES, Baton Rouge YWCA, Baton Rouge YMCA, McKinley Alumni Center, NOLA Unity, and Face to Face Enrichment.
Contact information:
DeAnn Gruber, PhD, LCSW
Administrative Director
Louisiana Office of Public HealthSTD/HIV Program
504-568-7474
Program/Organization Name:
Sisters Informing, Healing, Living, and Empowering (e-SiHLE): An Internet pregnancy prevention for older teenage girls/ Tulane University
Organization Information: Researchers from the Departments of Epidemiology and Community Health Sciences at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine with consultation from the developers of SiHLE at Emory University.
Description of Intervention:
The goal of this project is to reduce Unintended Teen Pregnancy (UTP) among 18-19 year old African American women in the Greater New Orleans area. The rate of UTP in the U.S. has significantly declined among youths in their early teens, but has continued to remain high among teens 18-19 years of age. Two-thirds of all teen pregnancies are in this age category. An e-technology prevention program could provide a model for UTP programs that could be conveniently disseminated to older teens.
An evidence-based program to reduce the risk of HIV and STDs among African-American adolescent females, Sisters Informing, Healing, Living, and Empowering (SiHLE) demonstrated a 35% reduction in pregnancy among participants. The program used Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and the Theory of Gender and Power to guide the design and implementation of the intervention. Social Cognitive Theory addresses both the psychosocial dynamics facilitating health behavior and the methods of promoting behavior change. The gender-relevant theoretical framework of the Theory of Gender and Power highlights social processes prevalent in the lives of African-American female adolescents that contribute to risk in sexual relationships.
SiHLE was an interactive group intervention held over four sessions. Tulane researchers are translating SiHLE to an internet format with pregnancy prevention for 18 and 19 year old African-American women as its focus. Using technology and social media, e-SiHLE will deliver 4 main modules, with 3 sub-modules delivered online through the Internet. The modules will be self-paced using a wide variety of online learning and educational support materials. E-SiHLE is currently in its formative and developmental stages; the intervention will begin in March 2012.
Partners: A community advisory panel (CAP) which includes 18 and 19 year old African American women is being formed and will serve as advisors to the project through the development phase. Participants will be recruited from a community based organization, a community college and a vocational training program.
Contact information:
Patricia Kissinger, Ph.D.
Department of Epidemiology
Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
504.988.7320