Plain Talk

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Plain Talk

• Lorelei Walters
• Program Officer
• Plain Talk Replication
• Public/Private Ventures
• Replication and Expansion Services

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The Plain Talk Vision

• All vulnerable youth will have a knowledgeable,
  caring adult they can turn to for support,
  information and helpful communication in order to
  make informed, responsible decisions about sexual
  behaviors and consequently increase options for
  connecting to educational and economic
  opportunities.

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Plain Talk Overview

• At its core, Plain Talk is about
• Messages
• Messengers and
• Skills, tools and information that messengers
  want and need to deliver clear, consistent and
  accurate messages about protection from too-early
  pregnancy, STDs and HIV/AIDS.

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Theory of Change
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Plain Talk Demonstration Phase

• Phase 1994 1998
• 5 million, 4-year neighborhood-based,
  family-centered initiative designed by The Annie
  E. Casey Foundation, to improve ARH outcomes in 5
  racially ethnically diverse, low-income
  communities.
• Atlanta, Ga.
• Hartford, Ct.
• New Orleans, La.
• San Diego, Ca.
• Seattle, Wa.

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Plain Talk Evaluation

• cross-site and multi-method
• outcomes study was planned for 3 of the 5
  communities
• Were the sites able to create a community
  consensus?
• How effective were the community education
  strategies in educating a large number of
  adults?
• Did the sites improve access to quality, age
  appropriate reproductive health services?
• Did Plain Talk have an effect on adolescents
  behavior and teen pregnancy rates?

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Evaluation Design

• Multiple methods
• Surveys of community adolescents in 1994 and 1998
• Implementation research
• Ethnographic research
• Birth records data

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Interim Outcomes

• Increased levels of talk between adults and
  sexually active youth
• 61 in 1994
• 70 in 1998
• Talkers showed increased knowledge about
  sexuality and birth control
• 1.4 times more likely to know where to get birth
  control in 1994
• 2.1 times more likely to know where to get birth
  control in 1998.

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Key Long-Term Outcomes

• The effects of residents as community volunteers
  and workshop facilitators
• Informal outreach in the community
• Teens
• Males
• Changing Institutions- Working with healthcare
  providers to increase and improve reproductive
  health services for community adolescents

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Key Long-Term Outcomes

• Proportion of sexually experienced youth who
  spoke with adults about topics related to
  sexuality were half as likely to
• have an STD,
• have had or created a pregnancy
• have a child
• Compared to youth who did not talk with adults

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Linking Evaluation Results With Program Components

• The two sites that used Peer-Educators (Walkers
  Talkers) in conjunction with Home Health Parties
  had a higher degree of success in educating a
  larger number of adult residents
• 800 in New Orleans
• 1,350 in San Diego
• Sites that equally focused on both increasing
  adults sexual knowledge and increasing adults
  ability to communicate with teens about sexual
  issues had better success.

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Making the Case for Replication The Power of
Evidence

• 1998 2000 Conducted final household survey
  outcome report
• 1999 2000 Documented growing demand from
  communities
• 2000 2001 Conducted replication assessment
• 2001 2003 Piloted 3 replication projects to
  test
• Potential for streamlining costs
• Potential for streamlining the model
• Tools and materials for transferring knowledge
  and
• Potential for achieving RESULTS.
• 2004 Established P/PV as national intermediary
  for replication

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Replication Assessment of Plain Talk Program

• Assessed program implementation in Atlanta, New
  Orleans and San Diego
• Examined elements of each program that were
  successful
• Paid close attention to similarities across sites

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The More Successful Sites had 3 Common Program
Components

• Community Mapping
• Walkers Talkers (Peer Educators)
• Home Health Parties

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Services to Sites

• P/PV staff provides technical assistance to all
  replication sites in the areas of
• Funding and Health policy
• Training and Technical assistance
• Data collection and Analysis

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Plain Talk Website

• http//www.plaintalk.org