Users of reproductive health clinic services in a school pregnancy prevention program

Although the potential of school-based programs in the prevention of adolescent pregnancy is well recognized, few have been evaluated. This paper describes the use of a reproductive health care clinic associated with a school pregnancy prevention program which had demonstrated success. The program operated in one junior and one senior high school in a large city during the 3 school years from 1981 to 1984. Three facets of the 818 users of the program clinic are explored: (a) who enrolled in the clinic, (b) why they enrolled and what contraceptive method they received, and (c) their continuation with the clinic. Chi-square analysis and Student's t-tests were used to test for significant differences between the two school and sex groups. Life table and regression techniques were employed to examine clinic continuation. The main findings are (a) teens of both sexes used the clinic, and junior high males used it in surprisingly large numbers; (b) there were no major school or sex differences in the characteristics of those who enrolled; (c) most students enrolled obtained a contraceptive method; (d) although many females served by the clinic had previously used another family planning clinic, the majority of them had unmet needs; (e) the rate of clinic continuation was high; and (f) certain factors contributed to clinic continuation. These findings suggest that a clinic in a school-linked setting can successfully attract students to use its services and it may offer certain advantages for reaching sexually active teens in search of contraceptive protection.