From mission to measures: performance measure development for a Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Program Evaluation
• Adolescent Health

Background:

• The Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) aimed to enhance accountability and effectiveness of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) program.
• A need existed for standardized metrics to assess TPP program performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development of a comprehensive performance measurement system for the TPP program.
• To outline considerations, challenges, and lessons learned in creating these measures.

Main Methods:

• The OAH engaged in a systematic process to select and define performance measures.
• Considerations included internal (management, improvement) and external (stakeholder, congressional reporting) utility.

Main Results:

• A set of performance measures for the TPP program was successfully developed.
• The process identified key issues, challenges, and lessons applicable to program evaluation.

Conclusions:

• The developed performance measures provide a framework for assessing TPP program effectiveness.
• Lessons learned offer valuable insights for federal agencies and TPP programs undertaking performance measurement.