This paper describes the development of a Dutch online programme called "Long Live Love+" focusing on positive, coercion-free relationships, contraception use, and the prevention of STIs, using the Intervention Mapping (IM) approach. All six steps of the approach were followed. Step 1 confirmed the need for a sexual health programme…

The United States continues to have one of the highest teen birth rates in the developed world, and adolescent rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are also high. These factors highlight the need to identify effective evidence-based programs to improve adolescent reproductive health. This brief synthesizes findings from 118 experimental…

Nigeria is one of few countries that reports having translated national policies on school-based comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) into near-nationwide implementation. We analysed data using the World Health Organization-ExpandNet framework, which provides a systematic structure for planning and managing the scaling up of health innovations.…

This study evaluated the impact of the Teen Prevention Education Program (Teen PEP), a peer-led sexuality education program designed to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV among high school students. The study design was a quasi-experimental, nonrandomized design conducted from May 2007 to May…

Young people have higher rates of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) than the general population. Research has shown that there is a clear link between emotional distress, depression, substance abuse and sexual risk taking behaviours in young people. "headspace" is a youth mental health early intervention service operating in more…

Objective: This pilot study tested the efficacy of a brief, novel, theory-driven, self-guided, home-based intervention designed to promote condom use among young men who have sex with men (YMSM). Participants: Thirty YMSM were recruited from a large public US midwestern university during spring of 2012. Methods: The intervention was tested using a…

Indigenous communities raise concerns that they are overresearched and tired of research always asking the same questions and reproducing the same answers, thus pressuring researchers to open the discourse on mixed methods research so as to enable new debates and approaches to emerge. A postcolonial indigenous paradigm provides a theoretical…

Girls face unique developmental challenges in childhood and adolescence. Compared to boys, girls tend to report more mental health problems, and they are susceptible to reproductive health risks, such as unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. While a number of evidence-based programs have been found to be effective at reducing risk…

This article describes a quasi-experimental evaluation of a community-based, culturally and ecologically tailored HIV prevention intervention for Mexican American female adolescents grounded in the AIDS risk reduction model. A total of 378 Mexican American female adolescents (mean age = 15.2) participated in either the nine-session SHERO's (a…

The reproductive health of American adolescents has been, and continues to be, a matter of serious concern. America's teen birth rate--already the highest among developed nations--is again on the rise, and rates of sexually transmitted diseases among American teens are very high. As such, the development and identification of effective…

This study evaluates the efficacy of Keepin' It Safe, a theory-based, gender-specific, CD-ROM-mediated HIV prevention program for urban, early adolescent girls. Intervention effects were examined in a randomized, pretest-posttest wait-list control-group design. Changes in HIV/AIDS knowledge, protective attitudes, and skills for reducing HIV…

Objective: This article provides an evaluation of a federally funded faith-based program that serves African Americans who use heroin and cocaine and are at risk for HIV/AIDS in Nashville, Tennessee. Methods: Data were collected from 163 individuals at baseline and 6- and 12-month follow-up interviews. A subset of participants (n = 51) completed…

Although a necessary component of good program management and accountability, monitoring data do not usually provide answers to questions about whether, how, and why a specific program works. More in-depth, systematic inquiry is needed to do this. In this article, the authors focus on the evaluation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-prevention…

There is an extensive body of research on the factors that are associated with reproductive health, focusing on factors within the adolescent as well as within the various components of the adolescents environment. This paper presents a selective review of the research pertaining to each layer of the adolescent's ecosystem. Emphasized are (1)…

Background: Although there are many high-quality models for program and evaluation planning, these models are often too intensive to be used in situations when time and resources are scarce. Additionally, there is little added value in using an elaborate and expensive program and evaluation planning procedure when programs are small or are planned…