Plain Talk In the News
Plain Talk Aims to Cut Pregnancies
Albuquerque Journal
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
By Michael Davis
Journal Staff Writer
The South Valley is home to the highest teen pregnancy rates in the state, according to Department of Health statistics.
The department hopes to change that through a program that stresses communication and outreach by community members.
Veronica Plaza, the health promotion specialist who oversees the program for the department, said teen pregnancies occur in the South Valley at a rate of one in 10.
That's almost double the state average and twice the national average, she said.
In comparison, teenage girls in the Northeast Heights are four times less likely to become pregnant, according to the statistics.
"The South Valley has a really high teen pregnancy rate when compared with the rest of the state and the country," Plaza said. "When you look at teen pregnancy, there are many things you have to consider. High rates are caused by a very complex set of social problems."
Some of the things the department considered in its most recent study were the area's education level, race and ethnicity, access to health care and reproductive health services, the high school dropout rate and the poverty level.
"When you look at that data in the south quadrant of the city - those indicators are also high," Plaza said.
She said 70 percent of the population in the South Valley is Hispanic. The national average is 12 percent.
"Hispanics are much more likely to become pregnant than non-Hispanics," she said. "But that's due to a combination of different social indicators such as access to health care, increased poverty, and living conditions. This isn't to say that a white woman with those same conditions isn't at risk because they definitely are as well."
The South Valley's poverty rate is high, Plaza said.
"Right now almost half the population is living under 185 percent of the federal poverty level, which is about $13,000 for a family of four," she said. "That comes out to a few thousand dollars a year, which means about half the population is receiving some form of federal assistance."
On top of that many teens aren't aware of the services available to them, Plaza said. But she hopes to change that with the latest Health Department program: Plain Talk Hablando Claro.
"Plain Talk is one of the few programs that has been proved effective to reduce teen pregnancy," she said. "It's a community-based intervention program. That helps parents and community leaders communicate with youth to discuss the options that are available and gives them the tools they need to make health decisions concerning their reproductive health."
During the program's first six months, neighborhoods in the South Valley will be surveyed. The results will be used to develop messages and strategies to educate teens for them to make healthy choices and to educate adults to communicate effectively with their children regarding reproductive heath issues.
The final step involves people from the community educating teens and adults during health house parties where partygoers explore a range of healthy options from abstinence to proper use of birth control, and proper prenatal care in the event of a pregnancy. Plaza said the program is in its first phase and volunteers are almost ready to hit the streets. Volunteers are undergoing training to begin the community mapping process.
"During this phase we will be going to homes in the South Valley to conduct surveys regarding reproductive health and sexual attitudes," she said. "This is going to tell us where the community stands so we can tailor a program for parents, community leaders and teens."
Training will be provided in February by staffers with the Anne E. Casey Foundation, the group that developed Plain Talk, and volunteers will be conducting surveys in March.
In addition to Plain Talk, Plaza is working with the South Valley Male Involvement Project, which includes males in the family planning picture.
"We have been working with teens in different settings, such as the charter schools and community theater; also working with males in temporary housing and at the detention centers to get them involved," she said.
Plaza said part of the Male Involvement Project uses barbers in the South Valley who are trained to discuss issues with young men in their neighborhoods.
"It's where the guys hang out," Plaza said. "So we provide the barbers with material and training."
The department also is working with other partners, such as Planned Parenthood and the New Mexico Teen Pregnancy Coalition, and offers reproductive health services to those who need them, she said.