Project reach: advancing equity in adolescent health - project overview: reach (reproductive education to achieve community health) is an adolescent health, wellness, and equity improvement initiative…

Project reach: advancing equity in adolescent health - project overview: reach (reproductive education to achieve community health) is an adolescent health, wellness, and equity improvement initiative in oklahoma county focused on school, clinic, and community settings with youth populations that represent high teen birth rates; racial-ethnic diversity; persistent economic, health, education, and equity disparities; and higher adverse childhood experience (ACE) scores. The program settings include middle and high schools in three metro area public school districts; youth-serving nonprofits that offer out-of-school time programs; and health clinics that provide adolescent services. High need: oklahoma has remained among the five states with the highest teen birth rates for the past decade, reporting the four highest (worst) rate for ages 15-19 in 2021. Oklahoma county is the state's most populous and most racially and ethnically diverse county, with the largest number of teen births. The county's teen birth numbers represent one-fifth of all teen births in the state, with teen birth rates in some ZIP codes reaching over 3-4 times the U.S. Average. Geographic area and target populations: over 4,500 youth, aged 13-19, will be directly served annually through school, clinic, and community settings in seven oklahoma county ZIP codes: 73107, 73108, 73109, 73110, 73115, 73119, and 73129. Over 300 youth and adults will be actively engaged in promoting health education, accessible adolescent-friendly health services, building protective factors and supports for youth, and advancing equity each project year. Program strategies: reach uses a holistic approach to advancing health and equity that blends best-practice risk reduction with positive youth development. Evidence-based programs (ebps) are provided in school settings in core curriculum classes at sequenced grade levels. Clinic settings provide both ebps and adolescent-friendly services that are youth-informed and led. Community settings offer ebps during out-of-school time programs to ensure health education and practicing health-promoting skills are available to young people during non-school hours. Peer education and leadership activities give youth a prominent, substantive role in promoting protective factors and improving health services. Relevant support services for vulnerable youth populations at higher risk for teen pregnancy, stis, and sexual victimization will be developed using human-centered design principles. Engaging the community as active partners and strengthening health support services networks are key strategies for building the relationships, inclusive learning opportunities, and community supports youth need to thrive. Advancing equity through collaboration: the oklahoma city-county health department (occhd) is the grantee, with grant coordination and program delivery responsibilities. Other program delivery partners are variety care teen clinic and teen empower! All are part of the oklahoma county teen pregnancy collaboration, a community-wide collective impact initiative committed to equity and inclusion as a core value. Monitoring & improvement activities for the project will be provided by the hudson college of public health, university of oklahoma. All partners include health and equity as part of their mission, values, policies, and practices.