Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

HHS Logo Eagle IconU.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Updated Findings from the HHS Teen Pregnancy Prevention Evidence Review: January 2011 Through April 2013

HHS updates the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Evidence Review: Four New Programs Identified
 

The U.S. has reached its lowest teen pregnancy and birth rate in years,1 but one in eight young women will still become pregnant before turning 20, and almost half of all high school students reported that they had sexual intercourse in 2013.2

In 2014, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched a website (TPPEvidenceReview.aspe.hhs.gov) to provide information on  programs that demonstrate favorable, statistically significant impacts on sexual activity, contraceptive use, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), pregnancies, or births among young people 19 years of age or younger.  Programs identified on the website are the result of an independent, systematic review of the teen pregnancy prevention literature backed by evaluation studies that have passed a quality bar.

The website provides communities with the resources they need to learn more about evidence-based program models that may be a good fit for their community. From youth development programs to HIV prevention curricula, abstinence approaches to comprehensive sex ed models, service providers can find a program that meets the needs of their community. HHS grant programs, including the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program and the Personal Responsibility Education Program, have used the TPP Evidence Review to fund the use and expansion of evidence-based programs in communities. Researchers can also sort through more than 500 studies that have been identified since the review began in 2009.

The second update to the TPP Evidence Review included recent research (through April 2013) and identified four new programs with evidence of effectiveness, bringing the total number of program models to 35:

  • Families Talking Together intervenes with an adolescent’s mother with an intention of reducing sexual risk behavior.
  • HIP Teens is a sexual risk reduction intervention for low-income, urban, sexually active adolescent girls.
  • Project IMAGE is a cognitive behavioral intervention intended to reduce subsequent STIs among ethnic minority young women with a history of sexual or physical abuse and STIs.
  • STRIVE is a family-based intervention intended to reduce sexual risk behaviors, substance use, and delinquency among youth who have recently run away from home.

In addition to identifying new program models with evidence of effectiveness, the updated results also identified two additional evaluation studies of program models that were previously included in the review. Three program models are backed by more than one rigorous evaluation: Be Proud! Be Responsible!, All4You!, and It’s Your Game: Keep it Real.

  • To learn more about any of the program models in the TPP Evidence Review, click here.  
  • Find out how the TPP Evidence Review identifies and assesses research studies by clicking here.
  • Want to submit an evaluation study for consideration for a future round of review? Contact us.

1 Hamilton, B.E.,  Martin, J.A., Osterman, M.J.K., & Curtin, S. C. (2014). Births: Preliminary Data for 2013. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved July 21, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr63/nvsr63_02.pdf

2 Welti, K. (2014). Child Trends' analysis of National Vital Statistics System birth data. Washington, DC: Child Trends.