SMALL-AREA ANALYSIS - TARGETING HIGH-RISK AREAS FOR ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY PREVENTION PROGRAMS

Context: Traditional methods of identifying areas in need of adolescen t pregnancy prevention programs may miss small localities with high le vels of adolescent childbearing. Methods: Birthrates for 15-17-year-ol ds were computed for all California zip codes, and the zip codes with birthrates in the 75th percentile were identified. Panels of local exp erts in adolescent pregnancy reviewed these ''hot spots'' for accuracy and grouped them into potential project areas, based on their demogra phics, geography and political infrastructure. Results: In all, 415 zi p codes exceeded the 75th-percentile cut-off point of 62.8 births per 1,000, and 210 of them differed significantly from the state average o f 44.5 per 1, 000 for 15-17-year-olds. While all had high adolescent b irthrates, they varied greatly in racial and ethnic mix, poverty and e ducational attainment, and certain perinatal measures such as inadequa te prenatal care and repeat pregnancy Conclusions: The use of zip code -level data holds promise for more effective program planning and inte rvention.