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Teen Pregnancy: Decrease the teen birth rate in Arkansas

Teen birth rate females ages 18-19

Current Value

57.0 per 1,000

2018

Definition

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Story Behind the Curve

In 2017, the birth rate among female teens ages 18-19 years (62.2 per 1,000) was four times greater than the rate for teens ages 15-17 years (12.3 per 1,000), and the number of births to teens ages 18-19 accounted for more than three-fourths of all teen births. Teen pregnancy and childbearing bring substantial economic costs and social consequences. Teen mothers are more likely to drop out of high school and not obtain further education which may reduce earning potential and contribute to intergenerational poverty.  Children to teen mothers are also at higher risk of dropping out of high school, experiencing poorer health, having a teenage birth, and facing unemployment as a young adult. Economic costs to society include increased healthcare and foster care, lost tax revenue due to higher high school dropout rates among teen mothers, and criminal justice services for children of teen parents.

Partners

  • Arkansas Department of Health
  • Arkansas Department of Education
  • Arkansas Department of Higher Education
  • Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care
  • Arkansas Children’s Hospital
  • The  Center for Youth and Families
  • UAMS Obgyn Department
  • UAMS Collage of Public Health

What Works

Providing family planning counseling and services for those teens that decide to be sexually active has be an essential component of the continued decline in teen births.  Providing funding of programs that promote sexual risk avoidance that can be offered in our schools has also been a major component of our efforts.  Providing data and information to health providers and the community to help them assess where they should put their efforts and their resources is an enabling factor.  We are looking at trying to provide more resources to communities and to school nurses, so they can shape the health education according to the needs and wants of the school or community.

Strategy

Strategy 1: Develop a communication strategy to promote adolescent health.

Strategy 2: Develop a data kit on teen pregnancy for health professionals, educators, and policy makers.

Strategy 3: Examine attitudes, perceptions and barriers towards contraception use of target population.

Strategy 4: Develop or adopt a provider and staff contraceptive/LARC (Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives) training program for Local Health Units.

Additional Resources

Clear Impact Suite is an easy-to-use, web-based software platform that helps your staff collaborate with external stakeholders and community partners by utilizing the combination of data collection, performance reporting, and program planning.

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