Wednesday, March 12, 2025
3/12/2025
Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine Center for Asian Health is applying for Optimally Changing the Map for Teen Pregnancy Prevention (Tier 1) funding. The Center for Asian Health is a leader in racial/ethnic minority health disparity research with a long tradition of excellence in community-based participatory research and patient-centered outcomes research. The Philadelphia Teen Outreach Project (PTOP) will provide Philadelphia's highest-risk teen communities with evidence-based risk-reduction and risk avoidance education through Wyman's Teen Outreach Program. Teens targeted by this project will come from communities currently experiencing teen pregnancy rates as high as 42.5 per 1,000. PTOP will leverage a network of 14 partner sites to deliver an intervention model through authentic community settings. This network of partner agencies includes a combination of schools, community-based organizations, and faith-based organizations prepared to deliver evidence-based programming to communities experiencing a teen pregnancy crisis. The most vulnerable populations in these communities are minority teens, including black, Latinx, and Asian youth, as well as teens in extreme poverty, incarcerated youth, and teens in foster care. Philadelphia currently has the third highest STI rate nationwide and 6th highest rate of teen pregnancy. The rampant poverty, low education rates, and significant cultural and linguistic barriers in these communities make it highly unlikely that Philadelphia's teen pregnancy crisis will be addressed without supplemental, evidence-based programming. The evidence-based program to be replicated for this project is Wyman's Teen Outreach Program (TOP). Over the course of its three-year project period, PTOP will reach more than 17,000 teens, which equates to 25% of the city's black, Latinx, and Asian youth between the ages of 14 and 19 years old. A fidelity implementation plan has been established with a rigorous evaluation design to generate statistically-valid findings necessary for further scale-up and replication. The overall program goal is to reduce the birth rate among youth 14 - 19 years old in central and south Philly. The project will also focus on increasing the percentage of teens practicing abstinence, improving teen attitudes towards delaying sexual activity, increasing knowledge and understanding of sexual risk-taking behaviors, and increasing teen understanding of strategies to reduce their risk of pregnancy and STI transmission.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).