Plain Talk / Hablando ClaroWhat Works to Reduce Pregnancy, STDs and

HIV/AIDs for African American and Latino Youth

APHA San Francisco, Ca.

Marcia Bayne Smith and Debra Delgadowww.aecf.org

Presentation Objectives• Provide an overview of the Plain

Talk/Hablando Claro Initiative

• Discuss evaluation highlights and their implications for evidence-based practice.

• Describe replication and dissemination strategies

What is the Plain Talk/Hablando Claro Initiative?

• $5 million, 4-year Program Demonstration to reduce teen pregnancy, STDs and HIV/AIDs conducted 1993-1998

• Atlanta, Hartford, New Orleans, San Diego and Seattle

Addressing Culture, Families and ARH

NeighborhoodSchool

FP Services/Programs

Social/PoliticalParents/Family

Parents/FamilyYouth

Culture

Culture

Parent/Family Engagement Planning Wheel

2

Pick Target Audience

3Select

Program Activities

1Focus

Investment and Intentions

4Implement Engagement

Program

5Assess

Engagement

Program

6Use Feedbackto Improve

PLANNING FOR POSITIVE

PARENT/FAMILY ENGAGMENT

(Model/approachesImplementation

strategy)

Hablando Claro SobrePlain Talk

• It’s about Messages.• It’s about the Messengers.• It’s about the skills, knowledge

and comfort Messengers need to become effective.

Tasks Activities Strategies Objectives Goal

The Plain Talk Model: A Process for Reducing Adolescent Pregnancy, STDs and HIV/AIDS

Phase I:Initial Start-Up

-Select Lead Agency-Form Planning Grp

-Community Mapping-Consensus Building

-Disseminate info-Plan use of findings

Phase II:Implementation

-Education-Skills Building

Phase III:Institutionalization

-Maintenance-Sustainability

Community Mapping

Home HealthParties

Walkers&

Talkers

Reduce AdolescentPregnancy, STDs And HIV/AIDS

Tactical UseOf

Data

•Resident Networks•Adult Education & Training•Reinforcing Key Messages•Sustaining Resident Involvement

1. Create Parent / Adult consensus

2. Influence skills

3. Increase Access

Data Shaped Plain Talk’sCore Assumptions

• Large numbers of teens - both boys and girls - have sexual intercourse;

• Sexually active youth do not view themselves at risk for pregnancy, STDs and HIV/AIDs;

• Many parents and other adults want to do something but lack the confidence, comfort and skills to communicate with teens; and

• Sexually active youth need access to clinical services and comprehensive sexuality education.

Theory of Change

Effective Communicati

on

Use of Contraception and STD protection

Pregnancy and STD rate

Create Consensus

Educate Community

Adults

Adolescent Knowledge

and Attitudes

Reproductive Health Services

We Know Plain Talk Works

• Cross-site evaluation conducted by Public/Private Ventures:– Quantitative date collection, including

pre and post household surveys, site visits, etc.

– Qualitative data collection via ethnographic studies; and

– Extensive consultation with the sites.

Evaluation Highlights

Sexually active youth who spoke with adults about topics related to sexuality were half as likely to:– have an STD, – have had or created a pregnancy – have a child

…compared to youth who did not talk with adults.

Evaluation HighlightsIncreased communication • Increased levels of talk between

adults and sexually active youth– 61% in 1994– 70% in 1998

• “Talkers” showed increased knowledge about sexuality and birth control– 2.1 times more likely to know where to

get birth control in 1998

Evaluation Highlights

Increased Access to Reproductive Health Services for Teens

• Large numbers of community adults went to community education classes.

• Clinic hours increased or improved.• Two sites opened clinics in the

community.• Increased numbers of young people

seen by local clinics each week.

Evaluation HighlightsImportance of local community

context • Resident involvement in

implementation: community mapping, planning, curriculum development/implementation, peer education and use of social networks.

• Parents and non-related adults: can offer complementary messages to young people

• What community residents need: Skill development, clarity about their role.

The Evaluation Results Informed the Replication

Assessment

Replication Assessment

1. It addresses an important public problem or need.

2. It achieves positive, measurable results.

3. It achieves these results in a timely fashion.

4. It can make a convincing case that the program, not other factors, caused the results.

Plain Talk hit the mark on all four conditions.

A program is worthy of replication when it meets four conditions:

Replication Assessment

• Were directly connected to the positive evaluation results;

• Had been implemented in two or more sites; and

• Had been successfully implemented in at least two sites.

The assessment focused on RESULTS. The process identified core elements that:

Blueprint for Success• Community Mapping: Survey of

neighborhood-based knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of adults and adolescents about teens’ sexual behaviors and their access to services and supports;

• Walkers and Talkers/Promotoras: Adult peer educators who can make a difference one person at a time; and

• Home Health Parties/Vecino-a-Vecino: Small group learning circles to help adults become “askable adults”.

What Are Promotoras and Walkers & Talkers?

• Build awareness of local attitudes, thoughts and beliefs about teens’ sexual behaviors;

• Point out the differences between what adults want and what young people are doing;

• Inform residents about services and supports for young people; and

• Inform the community about Plain Talk and related strategies.

Adult Peer Educators who:

Characteristics

• Outgoing and friendly• Known and respected in the

community• Able to motivate others;• Able to read and write;• Able to communicate in a manner

that is easily understood; and• Able to think fast and grasp new

information quickly.

Walkers & Talkers/Promotoras Were Pivotal to Plain Talk’s

Success• Quantity: Sites had a

higher degree of success in providing adult peer education;

• Quality: Sites with home health parties were able to have more candid, effective conversations

Lessons Learned from the Evaluation and Replication

Assessment• W&T/P were residents themselves, thus

viewed with less suspicion;• They had access to more people in the

neighborhoods;• They led more direct and focused

discussions than professional health educators; and

• They felt they had the responsibility and right to challenge other residents with the PT/HC messages (moral authority).

The Role of Staff

Create a Safe Space to help W&T/Ps:

– Identify their characteristics, values, attitudes and traits that will help them to be effective;

– Identify relevant personal and professional experiences;

– Determine gaps in information and learning needs; and

– Establish a conceptual link between this work and their desire to make a difference in their community.

(reference: Self-Evaluation Matrix)

Core Learning Components

• Exploration of attitudes and values about teen sexual activity;

• Exploration of their family communication traditions;

• Adult/adolescent communication; including information about listening skills; and

• Adolescent growth and development.

Core Learning Needs(continued)

Pregnancy Prevention • How pregnancy occurs.• Types of methods available to young

people.• Relative “risks” associated with the

methods.• Correct use of methods/protection.• Where and how to obtain contraceptives

locally.

Core Learning Needs(continued)

Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV/AIDs

• What an STD is.• How HIV and STDs are transmitted.• How HIV and STDs are prevented.• Where to go for services.

Vecino-a-Vecino/Home Health Parties

• Purpose:– To create a safe space and learning

environment for neighborhood adults;– To increase the number of “Askable

Adults” in neighborhoods; which consequently leads to…

– An increase in the accuracy and frequency of adult/adolescent communication about sex, protection and contraception.

Preliminary Activities

• A resident volunteers to “host” the event;

• The WT/P meets w/the host to plan logistics – Small stipend provided to cover

refreshments– Review paperwork, e.g. sign-in sheets,

ground rules, etc– Address emergent questions

• Host recruits 6 to 10 participants

Let’s Party!

• WT/P arrives 30 minutes early to help Host prepare.

• When guests arrive, host & WT/P introduce themselves. Participants also provide introductions. (10 minutes)

• Sign-in sheet is distributed (get contact information to assist with future outreach).

• Confidentiality sheet is discussed and distributed. (10 minutes)

La Fiesta Continua….• Icebreaker - should be quick, simple and FUN!

- 10 minutes• Pre-test question sheet - 5 minutes• Presentation of community mapping data (flip

charts and handouts) – 30 minutes• Mini-lecture on selected topic

(adult/adolescent communication, birth control, STD prevention) – 40 minutes

• Q and A period - 10 minutes• Post-test question sheet - 10 minutes• Raffle • Refreshments

Total time: approximately 2 hours

Summary Comments:Walkers & Talkers and

Promotoras • W&T/Ps have proven to be effective:

– They have deeper and more consistent reach into the neighborhoods;

– They increase service providers’ capacity to conduct outreach; and

– They have moral authority.

• They play a dual role:– Ongoing outreach and information sharing;– Front-line support for Home Health/Vecino-a-

Vecino sessions.

Program Role...

• Demonstrate authentic commitment, compassion and respect for community partners;

• Recruit committed, credible and outgoing residents; and

• Provide strong supports and training.

The Plain Talk / Hablando Claro Story Continues…

• 1st Cohort– New Orleans: State

and local funds to adapt model for Medicaid enrollment;

– San Diego: Private foundations supporting replication in two new sites;

– Atlanta: Contracted by DOH to expand “Askeable Parents”

• Sample Replication Activities– Minneapolis: state $$

$s to launch community mapping

– Wayne County –TANF $$$s used to replicate Plain Talk in semi-rural area

– Children’s Aid Society: Integrated Walkers & Talkers into its flagship teen pregnancy program

Replication is More Than Program Duplication….

Plain Talk is the cornerstone for AECF’s 4-pronged field building strategy:

• Improve practice• Increase knowledge about reproductive

health behaviors of African American and Latino Youth

• Build Public Will• Influence policy and shift public resources to

increase teens’ access/utilization of reproductive health services and comprehensive sexuality education.

Field-Building Investments

• Examples:– Practice: CARTA, P/PV, Children’s Aid Society,

ETR, NOAPPP, PPNYC, National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, SIECUS

– Knowledge Development: Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, UCSF, Girls Inc.

– Build Public Will: AGI, Advocates for Youth– Shift Public and Private Resources:

Association of Maternal and Child Health, Ms Foundation

Plain Talk / Hablando Claro Resource Materials

• Plain Talk: The Story of a Community-Based Strategy to Reduce Teen Pregnancy, 1999

• Adult Communication and Teen Sex: Changing a Community, P/PV, 2001

• The Plain Talk Planning Year: Mobilizing Communities to Change, P/PV, 1995

• The Plain Talk Implementation Guide, P/PV 2002

• Walking the Plain Talk – A Guide for Trainers, P/PV, 2003

www.aecf.org/publicationsddelgado@aecf.org