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Atlanta
In January 1997 a five-year media and educational campaign to combat pregnancy in pre-teens was launched in the Atlanta, Georgia, combining an educational campaign in the media market with the distribution of educational materials in public schools and youth-serving communities, in two urban counties. The Journal of Community Practice “Getting the Word Out: Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Pregnancy Prevention Campaign for Pre-Teens (2002) provides an overview of the effort and presents results from the evaluation of the campaign, drawing data from teachers, adults and youth.
The agency leading the Atlanta effort partnered with the Campaign for Our Children, a non-profit entity that developed the media campaign materials for the State of Maryland. The targeting rationale for CFOC’s strategic approach is based on data showing that eighty percent of the 9 to 14 year old population has yet to become sexually active. The underlying theory of the Campaign messages can be seen closely allied with the social norms approach as well as with elements of social marketing concepts. The campaign draws on the theory that the messages can be closely allied with the social norms approach to dispel myths about the sexual behavior of adolescents and the risks of sexual risk taking through informational messages.
The mass media education program coupled with community-based (schools, churches, neighborhood organizations) education efforts, the mass media seeks to complement the approach by raising the question for discussion, while the community-based group discussions provide the vehicle for critical change in thinking and behaving. The media campaign uses a variety of images and messages to communicate core themes of abstinence and male responsibility. These images and messages are tailored to use in television, radio and outdoor media outlets, as well as for use in classroom and youth organization settings. The abstinence related images included:
- The word “Virgin” in large letters, followed by the tag line, “Teach your child it is not a dirty word,” and
- The text “AIDS is the leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds,” followed by “The earlier you start having sex, the closer you are to becoming a statistic.
The male responsibility images included:
- A picture of a baby’s face with the text, “It’s amazing how many guys disappear when one of these shows up,” and
- A picture of a live chicken in tennis shoes with the text, “What do you call a guy who makes a baby and flies the coop?”
The evaluation of the campaign focuses on three parallel primary data sources and one secondary data source. Three key constituent groups were surveyed directly: teachers and adult leaders, the general youth population, and the general adult population. In addition, county-level data on adolescent births were reviewed to explore differences between the core target area of the campaign and the surrounding areas.
Below are some points from the study:
- 70% of teachers and adult leaders report having used the campaign materials such as posters, bookmarks, and videos in some manner
- 70% of the people who work in school and 80% of people who work with community organizations say the materials are “very effective” or moderately effective.”
- Youth identify with campaigns dealing with AIDS (79%), the “Disappearing Dad”(67%), the “Virgin” image (40%), “You can go farther if you don’t go all the way”(40%), and the “Chicken image”(24%)
- Youth from the core target area showed the highest knowledge of the campaign, over twice the rte of high recognition shown among youth living outside the core target area (49% v. 22%). Minimal differences exist in respect to gender and race
- Young children (age 9-10) have the least knowledge of the campaign (75%), whereas youth aged 11 and older showed somewhat greater knowledge of the campaigns (95%)
- The child’s living arrangement does not affect the association with the campaign
- Campaign messages are reaching both lower and high-risk groups equally well
- No differences in knowledge of the campaign are evident based on a breakout according to youth’s level of sexual activity
- Non-sexually active males have a higher knowledge of the “Chicken” and “Disappearing Dad” images
- Sexually active females have a higher knowledge of the “Disappearing Dad” and “Virgin” images
- Youth that have ever been enrolled in a participating school showed higher knowledge of all campaign images as compared to youth never enrolled in a participating school
- For the primary target population of the Campaign (age 10-14) between 1996 and 1998, the birth rate among 10-14 year olds declined 25% in the core target area and metro area, while state-wide the decrease was only 15% and nationally it was 17%.