Forecasting services for pregnant and parenting adolescents using the Delphi Technique

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine existing services and barriers to services at the local level for pregnant and parenting adolescents and to forecast the events that would remove those barriers in the next decade. The Delphi Technique was the research method selected. The study involved surveying the boards of directors of the National Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenting and the Texas Association Concerned with School Age Parenthood to determine consensus on issues related to services for pregnant and parenting adolescents. Each panel completed three questionnaires. Round I (the first questionnaire) consisted of five open-ended questions reflecting the purposes of this study. For Round II, the researcher categorized the Round I questionnaire responses by type of service, barrier, or event and participants were then asked to rate each item. Round III built on the previous questionnaire by providing the mean rating of each item and the individual panel member's rating on each item. This study reflected consensus among professionals at the state and national levels about the needs of teen parents and pregnant adolescents and the policy changes necessary to meet those needs. However, the responses related to the services, barriers and policy changes that were generated through this series of questionnaires were not significantly different from the results of previous research in the area of adolescent pregnancy. Based on the results of the data analysis of the study, recommendations were made concerning the need for education and information about the realities of adolescent pregnancy, the importance of coordinating services for pregnant/parenting adolescents at the local level, the necessity of emphasizing prevention services, and the need for increasing funding for services. Recommendations for future research included repeating the study with a narrower focus, examining barriers from the point of view of the client as well as the service provider, studying policymakers' perceptions regarding the issue of teen pregnancy, and examining the policy changes necessary to impact the problem at both the national and the state level.