Addressing Unintended Teen Pregnancy Through Reproductive Health Service Delivery by School Nurses and Physicians

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Adolescent Health
• Reproductive Health Services

Background:

• The Connecting Adolescents to Comprehensive Healthcare (CATCH) program utilized existing school health infrastructure to offer reproductive health services to NYC public high school students.
• Evaluation focused on program reach, service delivery, and effects on teen contraceptive use and pregnancy rates from 2011-2019.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the reach and impact of the CATCH program on adolescent reproductive health in NYC.
• To evaluate changes in contraceptive use and pregnancy rates among female teens participating in the CATCH program.

Main Methods:

• Utilized school rosters, CATCH patient records, and the NYC Youth Risk Behavior Survey for data.
• Compared contraceptive use between students with and without CATCH access.
• Employed NYC vital statistics to estimate averted pregnancies, abortions, and births.

Main Results:

• CATCH expanded to 61 campuses, reaching an estimated 53.7% of sexually active female students by 2018-19.
• Contraceptive use (IUD, implant, pills, etc.) increased among CATCH patients and was higher than in non-participants.
• The program is estimated to have averted 3526 pregnancies among NYC teens.

Conclusions:

• The CATCH program successfully supported reproductive healthcare access for adolescents.
• The initiative contributed to increased contraceptive uptake and a reduction in teen pregnancies in NYC.