A recent 5-year evaluation conducted by Child Trends provides evidence for the impact and effectiveness of Re:MIX, a unique teen pregnancy prevention (TPP) program aimed at Latinx youth, who have higher teen birth rates than the national average. Led by Child Trends sexual and reproductive health experts, the evaluation found that teens had better knowledge of contraceptive access, consent, and sexual and reproductive health after participating in the program, as well as greater intentions to use effective contraceptive methods. Additionally, lessons learned from this evaluation can help future evaluators better assess the efficacy of TPP programs.
Created and implemented by EngenderHealth, Re:MIX was piloted at three Texas charter schools with students in grades 8 through 10, and an average age of 14 at the time of enrollment. Re:MIX is unique among teen pregnancy prevention programs because it incorporates young parents who had children as teens as peer educators who coteach with a trained health educator for the entire program. Young parent educators are closer in age and have similar backgrounds to the youth participants, making them more relatable to students. They also bring the lived experience of young parenthood.
“One important finding was that Re:MIX’s young parent educators were very well-received by participants. The majority of kids who participated in the program reported that they trusted the young parent educators and felt comfortable with them,” said Kate Welti, a research scientist focused on TPP programs at Child Trends. “This highlights the promise and feasibility of this model among Latinx youth.”
Following participation in Re:MIX, youth had stronger intentions to use birth control and higher levels of self-efficacy and knowledge related to sexual health. Compared to students not receiving sex education, Re:MIX students:
- Were more likely to report that they definitely intended to use hormonal or long-acting contraception if they have sex in the next year (61% of Re:MIX students vs 52% of students in the control group)
- Had a higher average percentage of correct answers on true/false questions about condoms (73% vs 52%), STI prevention (61% vs 43%) and contraceptive efficacy (30% vs 13%)
- Were more likely to report knowing where to obtain contraceptives in their community (42% versus 18%)
- Were more likely to report a high perceived ability to ask for and give consent (29% vs. 22%)
All impacts except students’ intentions to use hormonal or long-acting contraception were sustained a year after program participation. However, Re:MIX did not impact students’ likelihood of engaging in sexual activity. Additionally, researchers were unable to assess whether the program impacted students’ likelihood of having unprotected sex because few students were sexually active, even one year after the program.
“The good news is that students came out of Re:MIX with more knowledge of sexual health and issues of consent as well as higher self-efficacy for obtaining contraception,” said Jennifer Manlove, program area director for reproductive health and family formation at Child Trends. “We also learned some important lessons to inform future evaluations. For example, longer follow up periods or working with older youth (who are more likely to already be sexually active) can help us better evaluate a program’s impact on sexual activity and unprotected sex in the future.”
Child Trends experts have published many lessons from the evaluation, including recommendations for achieving high response rates in school-based programs, designing surveys and outcome measures for TPP program evaluation, and addressing differences in knowledge and behaviors among students with and without pre-sexual experience. The experts hope that other evaluators will use these resources to inform their work moving forward.