Plain Talk: Addressing Adolescent Sexuality Through a Community Initiative

Plain Talk is an approach to teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease prevention that enlists a broad section of community adults in the effort to protect teens from pregnancy and disease. The Plain Talk design called for creation of community consensus around the needs of youth by focusing on adults, both as recipients of accurate information about these issues and disseminators of this information. This report covers Plain Talk's 3-year implementation period in five cities: Atlanta, Georgia; Hartford, Connecticut; New Orleans, Louisiana; San Diego, California; and Seattle, Washington. Data were collected by on-site ethnographers in four cities and by research staff during multiple site visits. Findings suggest that the sites' emphasis on resident involvement generally had impressive results in their efforts to spread information about sexuality and the importance of protecting sexually active youth. Site staff acknowledged that many people prefer to encourage abstinence among adolescents, but they insisted that youth who were already sexually active needed protection from pregnancy and disease. Improvements and increases in reproductive health services occurred in all the sites, with many changes in clinic practices and relatively fewer changes among schools and social services. The report contains a review of the activities at each site and explains the strategies used at each. [ERIC]