Bute Jennifer J, Comer Karen, Lauten Kathryn M, Sanematsu Helen Y, Moore Courtney M, Lynch Dustin, Chumbler Neale R
Department of Communication Studies, IU School of Liberal Arts, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Cavanaugh Hall 307J, 425 University Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
Collaborative Research & Health Geoinformatics, The Polis Center, 1200 Waterway Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
Eval Program Plann. 2014 Oct;46:122-30. doi: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2014.05.009. Epub 2014 Jun 2.
Teenage pregnancy and childbearing remain pressing public health issues that have garnered attention from public health officials and social services agencies. This paper reports on the initial implementation and formative evaluation of a journaling program used as a means of communicating health information to pregnant and parenting adolescents (young women age 15-19) while also providing participants with a means of self-expression. The journaling prototype was implemented in a community-based agency in the Midwest by Family Support Specialists (FSSs) who made home visits on a monthly basis to assist pregnant and parenting adolescents (n=52) with successful family planning and public health education. A mixed method approach of qualitative (analysis of journals, field notes, and responses of semi-structured interviews with FSSs) and quantitative (questionnaires from pregnant and parenting adolescent respondents) data with purposive sampling was employed to evaluate the implementation of the journaling intervention. Twenty of the 52 study participants were pregnant when the journaling intervention was implemented, while 32 were not pregnant, but recently had a child and were currently parenting. Two core themes emerged from analysis of the data after the implementation of the journals: (1) usefulness of the journal and responsiveness to participants' information needs and (2) functionality challenges. The results offer practical starting points to tailor the implementation of journaling in other contexts. Further, areas for improvement emerged regarding the distribution timeline for the journal and the content of the journal itself. As such, we discuss the lessons learned through this collaborative project and suggest opportunities for future phases of the journal intervention.
青少年怀孕和生育仍然是紧迫的公共卫生问题，已引起公共卫生官员和社会服务机构的关注。本文报告了一个日记项目的初步实施情况和形成性评估，该项目被用作向怀孕和育有子女的青少年（15至19岁的年轻女性）传播健康信息的一种方式，同时也为参与者提供一种自我表达的方式。该日记原型由家庭支持专家（FSSs）在中西部的一个社区机构实施，他们每月进行家访，以协助怀孕和育有子女的青少年（n = 52）成功进行计划生育和接受公共卫生教育。采用定性（分析日记、实地记录以及对FSSs的半结构化访谈的回复）和定量（来自怀孕和育有子女的青少年受访者的问卷）相结合的数据收集方法，并进行目的抽样，以评估日记干预措施的实施情况。在实施日记干预措施时，52名研究参与者中有20人怀孕，而32人未怀孕，但最近生育了孩子且目前正在育儿。在实施日记项目后，对数据的分析得出了两个核心主题：（1）日记的有用性以及对参与者信息需求的响应性，（2）功能挑战。研究结果为在其他背景下调整日记项目的实施提供了实际的切入点。此外，在日记的分发时间线和日记本身的内容方面也出现了需要改进的地方。因此，我们讨论了通过这个合作项目学到的经验教训，并提出了日记干预未来阶段的机会。
