FAMILY PLANNING CLINIC SUPPORT SERVICES

OVERVIEW

Herceg-Baron and colleagues conducted a random assignment evaluation of two support programs for teenage females attaining contraceptives at family planning clinics.  These programs were designed to help teenage females practice contraception effectively and thereby reduce the risk of pregnancy.  A family support program involved counseling sessions for teenage females and their parents.  A periodic support program involved clinic staff making phone calls to the teenage females.  It was difficult to get females involved in the family support program, and it was even more difficult to get their parents involved.  Very few females assigned to this program actually made use of the support available to them.

Neither program was effective in increasing regular contraceptive use or in decreasing pregnancy rates.  Females assigned to support programs were no more likely to regularly use contraceptives and no less likely to get pregnant than were females who received only regular clinic services.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: Teenage females making use of family planning clinics

The family support program consisted of a series of six weekly counseling sessions for participants to attend with an adult family member (or “surrogate family member”) who could influence and support the participant in her contraceptive practice and sexual decision-making.  Each session lasted about 50 minutes.  Participants unable or unwilling to have an adult attend sessions with them could receive individualized counseling that focused on familial communication.

The periodic support program consisted of two to six phone calls between participants and clinic staff during the four to six weeks following the participant’s initial visit to the clinic.  During these calls, clinic staff monitored each participant’s adjustment to the contraceptive method she received at the clinic.  All participants were called one week after their initial visit and received subsequent calls when appropriate, given the contraceptive method selected and individual participant needs.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Herceg-Baron, R., Furstenberg F.F. Jr., Shea, J., & Harris, K.M.  (1986).  Supporting Teenagers’ Use of Contraceptives: A Comparison of Clinic Services.  Family Planning Perspectives, 18(2), 61-66.

Evaluated population: In 1980, nine family planning clinics from the Philadelphia area were selected to take part in this study.  Study participants were recruited among first-time teenage female visitors to these clinics.  469 females between the ages of 12 and 17 were randomly assigned to study groups, and 417 (89%) agreed to participate.  Approximately one-half of the study participants were black; the other half were white.  Just over one-half of the study participants lived with both of their parents.   

Approach: At each clinic site, females were randomly assigned to the family support condition, the periodic support condition, control group A, or control group B.  Females assigned to the control groups received no services other than those routinely offered by their clinics. 

Females assigned to the treatment conditions and control group A were interviewed during their initial clinic visit on their birth control usage, pregnancy experience, and family communication about sex and birth control.  They were again interviewed after six months and after 15 months.  Females assigned to control group B were only interviewed after 15 months.  86% of the females who agreed to participate in the study remained in the study after 15 months.

Results: Only 36% of the females who agreed to take part in the family support condition actually attended any of their counseling sessions.  Those females who did participate attended an average of 2.3 sessions each.  Only eight of these participating females came to the sessions with another person, and only two brought a parent, however.  84% of the females who agreed to participate in the periodic support condition were successfully contacted at least once, and each of these females received an average of 2.6 calls.

The proportion of females who felt comfortable discussing sexual matters with their mothers did not change significantly during the study period for any of the study groups.  Not even the subset of females in the family support condition who actually attended their counseling sessions demonstrated significant improvement on this measure. 

Previous studies have indicated that regular family planning clinic attendance is linked with consistent use of contraceptives, so the researchers sought to determine whether females in the treatment conditions visited the clinic with any greater frequency than did females in the control groups.  No significant differences emerged between groups on this measure, however.  Researchers speculated that females in the treatment groups might have perceived their treatment services as substitutes for, rather than complements to, actual clinic visits.

Females assigned to the treatment conditions were no more likely to use their birth control regularly than were females assigned to the control conditions.  Further, treatment females were no less likely to get pregnant than were control females.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

Program materials are not available for purchase.

References:

Herceg-Baron, R., Furstenberg F.F. Jr., Shea, J., & Harris, K.M.  (1986).  Supporting Teenagers’ Use of Contraceptives: A Comparison of Clinic Services.  Family Planning Perspectives, 18(2), 61-66.

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: 12-17

Program age ranges in the guide: Adolescence, Youth

Program components: Clinic-Based, Provider-Based, or Miscellaneous, Counseling/Therapy, Parent or Family Component

Measured outcomes: Reproductive Health

Program information last updated on 4/23/07.

© Child Trends 2003