What tools help parents talk to teens about pregnancy prevention?

Challenge

Power to Decide, the campaign to prevent unplanned pregnancy, works to ensure that all young people have the power to decide if, when, and under what circumstances to get pregnant. To accelerate progress in reducing the rate of unplanned pregnancy among teens, Power to Decide created the Innovation Next grant program to help redefine sex education for the 21st century.

We developed and refined their approach through a “shark tank” competition judged by Power to Decide and Ideo, the renowned San Francisco design firm, and were awarded a stage 2 Innovation Next grant.

Solution

The Westat intervention focused on Hispanic teens because they have the highest rate of childbearing among U.S. teens.

Our research with Hispanic parents found that they understand the importance of talking with their children about reproductive health and pregnancy prevention, but they often have no model to follow, nor a sense of the right time or age-appropriate language to use.

Using Design Thinking methodology, we developed Momentos, a technology-based teen pregnancy prevention intervention.

Our text messaging service provides Spanish-dominant Hispanic/Latino parents in the Washington, D.C., area with tips and tools for talking to their children about sexual health and pregnancy prevention.

We developed a Spanish language content library that includes information about sexual health and pregnancy prevention targeting specific ages and genders. Parents can select the most appropriate resources and information based on these factors.

Results

We delivered weekly text messages for parents, with links to additional resources and information on the SABEResPODER website. We offered 4 expert Q & A sessions that allowed parents to submit their questions and receive tailored responses. Momentos achieved a significantly higher click-through rate that is well above the industry standard rate of 8%.