Effective Prevention Programs

In July 2001, the United States Surgeon General released "A Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior", in which he supported science-based pregnancy prevention programs. (Click here to read an excerpt of the Surgeon General’s report.) This report further underscored the importance of the types of programs in Kirby’s Emerging Answers.

Emerging Answers identifies eight programs that have strong evidence of success, including five sex education programs, one service-learning program, and one intensive program that combines sex education, comprehensive health care, and youth development.

Other reports have also highlighted effective programs. Advocates for Youth highlights nineteen programs in Science and Success: Sex Education and Other Programs That Work to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, HIV & Sexually Transmitted Infections.

For more information about science-based practices, check out:

• What Works: Programs and Interventions that May Influence Outcomes for Youth and Young Children
• Making the List: Understanding, Selecting, and Replicating Effective Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs
• No Time to Waste: Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy Among Middle School-Aged Youth
• A Good Time: After-School Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy
• The Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention
• Program Archive on Sexuality Health and Adolescence

Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy
105 Chauncy Street, 8th Floor, Boston, MA 02111
617.482.9122 Main, 617.482.9129 Fax