REDUCING ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY THROUGH A SCHOOL-BASED AND COMMUNITY-BASED INTERVENTION - DENMARK, SOUTH-CAROLINA, REVISITED

The publication of a 1987 article in the Journal of the American Medic al Association evaluating a pregnancy prevention program in Denmark, S .C., showed declines in estimated pregnancy rates among adolescents in the intervention area. A reanalysis of the data that selected better matched comparison areas and extended the time period covered confirms that the adolescent pregnancy rate in the intervention area significa ntly decreased from an annual average of 77 pregnancies per 1,000 wome n aged 14-17 during the preprogram period (1981-1982) to 37 per 1,000 following the intervention (1984-1986). However, the reanalysis also s hows that the pregnancy rate returned to a higher level (66 per 1,000) in 1987-1988 after the discontinuation of important program component s and related nonprogram services. These services included the efforts of a school nurse, who provided contraceptive services to students an d whose intervention was not previously reported.