What Works? Adolescent Sexual Health Programs That Promote Both Contraception Access and Leadership Skills (2013)

Long after completing a program designed to teach about contraception and healthy relationships, teenage girls considered high risk for unprotected sex and pregnancy were using contraceptives more often and maintaining other safer sexual practices, according to a new University of Minnesota study.

Researchers tested an approach based on providing access to contraceptives and information to build sexual health capacity, as well as building young women's sense of connectedness to family and society with a program that includes training and support in leadership and peer education.

"Our study shows that when we invest in young people through ongoing one-on-one relationships, through opportunities to lead and access to sexual health services, we really support the next generation of citizens," said Renee Sieving, the study's lead author from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the developed world, according to Sieving.

The study, published in JAMA, is available here.