‘ s Up: Peer Education In Action

1. ‘s Up: Peer Education In Action Strategies for Addressing Health Disparities June 28, 2002 National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Research Center Div. General Pediatrics &Adolescent Health University of Minnesota Supported by grant #U48/CCU513331 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention *

2. ‘s Up is a Youth Development Peer Education Model Youth development is an ongoing process by which youth gain the personal, social, academic and citizenship competencies necessary for a successful and full adolescence and adult life.

3. What Is Youth Development? The youth development approach focuses on youths’ strengths, capacities, and formative needs, and facilitates the transition into adult life.

4. How Is Peer Leadership Related to Youth Development? Peer leadership provides a unique opportunity for youth development. It allows young people to build specific competencies, participate in society in a meaningful way, and improve their community through education and advocacy.

5. Peer leadership fortifies youths’ internal resiliency. • It builds social competence, problem solving skills, and aspects of identity such as self-worth and belonging. • The peer leadership model enhances youths’ employability and civic ability -- all central to positive youth development.

6. Theory of Peer Education Empowerment Health Education Model “Education about health issues that puts learner’s interests, needs, and questions about health central to the (learning) process and where learners are active participants in the learning process. There is a focus on facilitation of individual and community choices by supplementing knowledge acquisition with values clarification and decision-making practice through non-traditional teaching methods.” -- The National Institute for Literacy’s Empowerment Health Education in Adult Literacy (Hohn, 1998)

7. ‘s Up Members are: • 13-18 year old males and females • Who live or go to school in the Phillips Neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota

8. Health Statistics of Phillips • % of live births in Mpls to mothers less than 18 years of age: 10.3% which is the second highest in Mpls • % of live births to mothers 18-19 years of age: 12.3% (2nd)

9. Mpls Resident Live Births by Mother’s Race in Phillips • White: 34.1% • African American: 39% • American Indian: 16.3% • Asian/Pacific Islander 7% • Source: www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/planning • 1998-2000 data

10. Philips’ Resident Live Births by Selected Characteristics • Low birth weight: 8.7% (3rd highest) • Less than high school education: 50.4% (1st highest) • First trimester prenatal care: 53.8 (worst of all communities)

11. Live Births to Unmarried Women 1998-2000 by Community • Camden 52.5 % • Northeast 35.8 % • Near North 65.8% • Central 50.4% • University 27.3% • Calhoun Isles 21.5% • Phillips 59.6%

12. Live Births to Unmarried Women 1998-2000 by Community Cont. • Powderhorn: 55.6% • Longfellow: 37% • Nokomis: 22.5% • Southwest: 13.9% • Minneapolis: 42.9%

13. Teenage Births in Mpls as % of Total 17 and Under • 1997/1999 • White: 3%/3% • African American: 12%/10% • Asian: 9%/11% • American Indian: 15%/14% • Hispanic: 6%/6% • Source: Minneapolis Vital Statistics, www.ci.Minneapolis.mn.us./dhfs

14. ‘s Up Components • 16, 2 hour sessions • Training, employment as peer health educators • Topics focus on “real-life” health and employment issues

15. ‘s Up Peer Educator Program • Employment: one-on-one contacts • One contact targets the parent or caring adult in the educator’s life: “Show What You Know”

16. ‘s Up Employment • One-on-one health education contacts • “Contact” = 15-minute conversation • Salary: $5.00/contact, $5.00 attendance bonus

17. ‘s Up’s 16 Sessions: • Orientation to Program • Body Basics • Menstruation and Contraception • Job Skills 101 • Contraception

18. ‘s Up’s 16 Lessons: • Friendship, Love and Decision Making • Sexually transmitted diseases • Drinking, Drugs, and Sex

19. ‘s Up’s 16 Lessons: • Dating Differences • Speaking Up and Speaking Out • Thinking and Rethinking Gender • Depression

20. ‘s Up’s 16 Lessons: • Pregnancy Options • Doing Great Things: Building a Personal Mission Statement • Job Skills II • Celebration Dinner

21. Effects of Peer Education: • Expand youth’s identity • Increase self-awareness • Build youth interests • Something for youth to do besides hang out

22. Inter and Intra Personal Skills • Build relationship skills • Build communication skills • Practice life skills that will help youth outside of group too • Establish norm/expectation to “show up” or “commit” to something

23. Why Use Peer Education? • Highlight youth development principles as they begin with the premise that youth have strengths and capacities. • It is user-friendly, focus on strengths.

24. Why Use Peer Education? • Helps normalize and increase comfort for members around sexuality and reproductive health. • Helps normalize and support other members to seek out resources.

25. How Successful are We in Attracting Participants? • Very! In Spring, 2002: • 64 inquiries: 28 males, 36 females • 27 applied: 9 males, 18 females • 15 selected, 12 finished.

26. Why Such Success? • Sustained effort • Cooperation with Park Board Staff • Easy, interesting model for both participants and instructors • Job focused, youth focused, success focused.

27. “Problem-free is not fully prepared. We should be as articulate about the attitudes, skills, behaviors and values we wish young people to have as we are about those we do not want.” -- Pittman and Irby, 2001