Feasibility & Design Study: Expanding the Use & Understanding of Evidence-Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs

Much of the current research evidence on teen pregnancy prevention dates to the late 1980s and early 1990s. Based on that evidence, researchers have identified more than two dozen evidence-based prevention programs with demonstrated success in reducing adolescent sexual risk behaviors.

The federal government has invested millions of dollars in disseminating knowledge of these programs and implementing them across the country. With that investment, the research agenda has shifted to addressing gaps in the knowledge base, including how to best implement evidence-based programs across various populations and settings.

To address these gaps, Mathematica and its partners are launching a new set of evaluation activities that will address targeted research questions with practical relevance.This new research will advance the existing evidence base by identifying and testing the following:

• replications of commonly used but understudied evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs
• significant or meaningful adaptations to existing evidence-based approaches
• selected core components, key activities, and implementation strategies of common programs.

The study team will develop and pilot designs for up to four new evaluation studies. The work will culminate in a comprehensive study design report that summarizes feasibility and design considerations, identifies the targeted research questions, and describes the approaches to address them.