Running head: TEEN PREGNANCY: WEXFORD COUNTY

Teen Pregnancy: Wexford County

Amanda McKellar, Amber Johnson, Darian Marks, Elizabeth Rickard, & Jenna Applebach
Ferris State University

TEEN PREGNANCY: WEXFORD COUNTY

Teen Pregnancy: Wexford County

Teen Pregnancy has been an ongoing issue across the board. Although teen pregnancies
rates are slowly declining, it is still seen as a local and national issue (Barcelos, 2014). The
United States has seen a 42% reduction in teen pregnancy rates over the past 20 years. However,
some counties, such as Wexford County, still need help reducing the occurrence (Tolma et al.,
2014). Parental involvement is necessary in preventing teen pregnancy. Unfortunately, theyre
involvement will not completely eradicate and prevent teen pregnancy, it takes many other
sources and interventions from every aspect to prevent teens form becoming pregnant (Silk &
Romero, 2014).
Analysis
The rate of teen pregnancy in Wexford County is 54.9%, comparing to the district rate of
49.3%, and the Michigan rate 48.3% ("District Health Department #10," 2013). Factors that
contribute to teen pregnancy in Wexford County include, but are not limited to: 17.7% poverty
rate, majority of population below age of 18, lack of preventable resources available, poor access
to health care, knowledge deficit, and only 15.9% of the population holding a bachelors degree
or higher ("District Health Department #10," 2013).
The Health Belief Model examines the elements within a group or community that are
necessary in order to overcome a health-related issue and to lead to health promotion. According
to Harkness and Demarco (2012):
The health belief model specifies that individual, family, or community health related
behavior depends on the severity of the potential illness or physical challenge, the level

TEEN PREGNANCY: WEXFORD COUNTY

of conceivable susceptibility, the benefits of taking preventative action, and what stands
in the way of taking action toward the goal of health promotion. (p. 77)
In the case of the Wexford County teen pregnancy rate, it is obvious that something a
collection of elements - stands in the way of teenagers taking preventive action to keep
pregnancies from occurring.
In order to help prevent pregnancy, Wexford County does have clinics and organizations
such as the Stehouwer Free Clinic and Great Lakes Family Care, both of which grant healthcare
access to low-income families or to those who are uninsured. The Health Department also has a
teen pregnancy program through District 10, as well as Care Net. Most, if not all, of such
services are for teenagers who are already pregnant. These resources may seem adequate, but a
problem still exists due to the high percentage of pregnant teens. The aforementioned services,
while unlikely, may even offer preventative services as well. However, if sexually active
individuals are not educated they will not understand the need and/or how to gain access. The
need to drop the teen pregnancy rate and the need to educate on how to use system properly
indicates that the problem is appropriate for community nursing. Other disciplines that are, or
should be, involved include teachers, schools, community groups, and social workers.
Community groups to consider that can be resources are the Health Department, Teen Pregnancy
Prevention Program, and the Pregnancy Resource Center.
Knowledge Deficit
The population of Wexford County, primarily teens, exhibits knowledge deficit related to
poverty, emotional instability, and lack of readily available preventative resources as
demonstrated by elevated teen pregnancy rates. Because there is a need to decrease the teen

TEEN PREGNANCY: WEXFORD COUNTY

pregnancy rate, the need to educate teenagers on safe sex and preventative practices is essential.
This is where community health nursing could help to correct this issue. A lot of teaching is
involved in community nursing and this is precisely where the profession could help to reduce
pregnancy rates. Other disciplines that may also be involved might include school teachers and
schools, social workers, and other healthcare or health department workers. Community groups
that may be involved in preventive measures might include the Health Department of Wexford
County, the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, and the Pregnancy Resource Center of Care
Net.
There are a variety of ways with which to combat the teen pregnancy issue. One way
may include the passing out of pamphlets in schools regarding contraception or awareness of
teen pregnancy. Another way to combat youthful conception is counseling from current teen
mothers, or adults that have parented children at very young ages to tell stories of their struggle.
Sex education could be reinforced and contraceptive items given to those who are sexually active
in schools as well. Perhaps as a more extreme measure, many schools utilize the robotic infants
overnight or for a weekend in reproductive and child-rearing courses could be programmed so
that they are especially colicky and difficult to console. This might discourage some teenagers
from wanting to become pregnant if they had a pervious desire for parenting.
It will be evident that the aforementioned interventions for pregnancy prevention are
successful if, most importantly, the Wexford County teen pregnancy rate decreases within the
next several years. Subsequently, there would be a decrease in the poverty rate as well as a
probable increase in the rate of those with secondary education. There would also be a rise in the
number of resources available for preventative purposes, from contraceptive resources to
counseling resources to educational resources. Prior to any interventions, teens in Wexford

TEEN PREGNANCY: WEXFORD COUNTY

County will be asked to participate in a survey to more accurately determine levels of knowledge
present about sex and pregnancy, perceived availability of resources, emotional states, whether
or not they are sexually active, and understanding of consequences of actions.
Smart Goal
An appropriate SMART goal for teen pregnancy prevalence in Wexford County would
be: adolescents of Wexford County will exhibit greater understanding of resources available,
consequences of actions, and greater emotional stability as evidence by improved survey results,
effective contraceptive use, and a 7% drop in teen pregnancy rates by the year 2020. We will
implement the goal by speaking to the town council for drives, school district officials about
classes and counseling, as well as health departments for contraceptives to be placed in schools
and the school board for this approval. We will ask for community volunteers such as parents
affected by teen pregnancy to help out with the drives and outreach to the adolescent population.
We will host the drives in multiple locations to help with the convenience for everyone.
To evaluate effectiveness, we will send out a second set of surveys to the adolescent
population (mostly in schools) to again determine levels of knowledge present about sex and
pregnancy, perceived availability of resources, emotional states, whether or not they are sexually
active, and understanding of consequences of actions, post-intervention. The data from before
and after will be compared as one method of gauging effectiveness of interventions. We will
also be monitoring current and future pregnancy rates for comparison to determine whether a 7%
decrease in teen pregnancy rates is achieved by the year 2020. If this goal is achieved, poverty
rates should decline as well.

TEEN PREGNANCY: WEXFORD COUNTY

Conclusion
It is true that teenage pregnancy stems from many other societal issues and is therefore
difficult, if not impossible, to eradicate entirely. However, it is necessary to recognize the
importance and impact of communities coming together to combat the issue. Addressing issues
as a community will lead to greater results and relationships. With nurses taking the initiative to
begin assessing problems and planning interventions, community wide implementation should be
manageable. In turn, through community participation, it is entirely possible to decrease teenage
pregnancy rates not only in Wexford County, but in other regions in the United States as well.

TEEN PREGNANCY: WEXFORD COUNTY

References
Barcelos, C. A. (2014, Dec 24). Producing (potentially) pregnant teen bodies: bipower and
adolescent pregnancy in the USA. Critical Public Health, 4, 476-488.
http://dx.doi.org/http://0-dx.doi.org.libcat.ferris.edu/10.1080/09581596.2013.853869 .
Harkness, G. A., & Demarco, R. F. (2012). Community and Public Health Nursing. Philadelphia,
PA: Wolters Kluwer Health.
Heath Profile Chartbook 2013: Wexford County. (2013). Retrieved from
http://dhd10.org/chartbooks
Silk, J., & Romero, D. (2014, August). The Role of Parents and Families in Teen Pregnancy
Prevention An Analysis of Programs and Policies. Journal of Family Issues, 35, 13391362. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0192513X13481330
Tolma, E. L., Stoner, J. A., Mccumber, M., Montella, K., Douglas, T., & Digney, S. A. (2014).
Longitudinal Evaluation of a Teenage Pregnancy Case Management Program in
Oklahoma. Journal of Family Social Work, 17, 457-479. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1080/10522158.2014.940634