Overview of the Plain Talk Data Collection System

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Overview of the Plain Talk Data Collection System

• Sarabeth Shreffler, MPH, CHES
• Program Officer, Plain Talk Program
• Public/Private Ventures

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The Purpose of Data Collection

• To answer 2 Questions
• Is the program working as intended?
• Why is this the case?
• To improve and refine the program
• To serve as a decision-making tool for planners,
  policy makers, and program funders

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Goals of Plain Talk

• 1) To create a consensus among parents and adults
  about the need to protect sexually active youth
  through encouraging early and consistent use of
  contraceptives
• 2) To give parents and other community adults the
  information and skills they need to communicate
  more effectively with adolescents about
  responsible sexual behavior and
• 3) To improve adolescent access to quality,
  age-appropriate and readily available
  reproductive health care, including
  contraception.

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Plain Talk Formula for Success

• Education Communication Access to
  Contraceptives
• Fewer unwanted pregnancies and STDs

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Plain Talk Staff Confidentiality

• Site Directors, program coordinators, Walkers
  Talkers, and volunteers must all sign a
  Confidentiality agreement in which they pledge to
  not discuss private information of any and all
  Plain Talk participants and staff members.
• Purpose is to help ensure confidentiality and
  safety of participants which in turn helps
  establish trust between participants and staff.

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Plain Talk Participant Consent

• Informed consent of each Plain Talk participant
  is necessary before taking part in ANY type of
  data collection process.
• This includes anything from Community Mapping
  surveys and Home Health Parties to having
  photographs of them taken.

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Plain Talk Data Collection

• Both process and outcome data is being collected
  continuously over the 3 year program cycle.
• Planning Stage
• Community Mapping Stage
• Home Health Party and Walkers Talkers Stage

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Planning Stage

• Data Collection Tools
• Community Demographics Form
• Selection of neighborhoods and random sampling
  strategy is set

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Community Demographics Form

• Purpose
• To establish a baseline profile of the Plain Talk
  Community
• Key Points of Measurement
• Socio-economic status
• Adolescent sexual health status
• (pregnancy rates, live birth rates, STD rates)

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Community Mapping Stage

• Data Collection Tools
• Volunteer/Walker Talker Intake Form
• Adult Survey
• Adolescent Survey
• Service Site Survey
• Physician surveys
• Inventory of Sources for Non-Prescription
  Contraceptives Survey

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Volunteer and Walkers Talkers Intake Form

• Purpose
• To establish a baseline profile for each person
  who is a volunteer for the Plain Talk program
• Key Points of Measurement
• Demographic information
• Reading, writing, and speaking skills

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Adult Survey

• Purpose
• To better understand the thoughts and opinions of
  adults in the community
• Key Points of Measurement
• How adults feel about adolescent sexual health
  and sexuality in their community
• Whether they feel comfortable talking to teens
  about sex
• If they know where teens can go to get
  information about sex

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Adolescent Survey

• Purpose
• To better understand the thoughts and opinions of
  adolescents in the community
• Key Points of Measurement
• How teens feel about sex
• Whom they feel comfortable talking to about sex
• Where they go to get information about sex

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Physician Survey and Service Site Survey

• Purpose
• To learn about health care services offered to
  the community as well as the access to
  contraceptives
• Key Points of Measurement
• Health care services offered
• Demographics of patients
• Physicians and health care staffs thoughts and
  opinions regarding adolescent sexual health

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Inventory of Sources for Non-Prescription
Contraceptives Survey

• Purpose
• To better understand where contraceptives are
  made available in the community
• Key Points of Measurement
• Available contraceptives
• Prices of contraceptives
• Helpfulness of clerks and/or staff

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Home Health Party and Walkers Talkers Stage

• Data Collection Tools
• Volunteer/Walker Talker Update Form
• Home Health Party Forms
• Community Forum Reports
• Pre/Post Tests
• Interviews, focus groups, staff observations,
  photos

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Volunteer and Walkers Talkers Update Form

• Purpose
• To update and keep current the profile of the
  volunteer/Walker Talker
• Key Points of Measurement
• Attendance
• Level of involvement/Participation
• Training progression

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Home Health Party Form

• Purpose
• To establish a baseline profile for each Home
  Health Party
• Key Points of Measurement
• Location of Home Health Party
• Topics covered
• Demographics of participants

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Community Forum Report

• Purpose
• To disseminate results of the Community Mapping
  and/or present special sexual health topics to
  larger Plain Talk community gatherings.
• Key Points of Measurement
• Location of Community Forum
• Topics covered during forum
• Demographics of participants

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Pre/Post Tests for Data Collection

• Pregnancy Prevention Pre/Post Test
• STDs and HIV/AIDS Pre/Post Test
• Purpose
• To assess the breadth of sexual health material
  each participant learned from the Home Health
  Parties

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Plain Talk Participant and Staff Qualitative
Feedback

• Staff online journals to record observations of
  the Plain Talk implementation process
• Interviews with staff
• Focus groups

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Online Journals

• The purpose of the online journal is to record
  the implementation and maintenance of the Plain
  Talk program in each community.
• Sites are to record
• Experiences, observations, and interactions
  during Plain Talk community events and the
  distribution of survey results.
• Experiences, observations, and interactions
  during volunteers/Walkers Talkers' surveying of
  the Plain Talk community.
• Experiences, observations, and interactions
  during Home Health parties.
• Observations, experiences, and feedback from the
  Plain Talk program site staff.
• Any other observations, interactions, or
  experiences involving the community response
  (i.e. openness to Plain Talk, willingness to
  participate, interest in survey results, etc.).

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Focus Groups

• The purpose of focus groups are to evaluate
• Adults who have participated in Plain Talk
• Adolescents who have participated in Plain Talk
• Adults and/or teens who have participated in Home
  Health Parties
• Video and/or audio tapes will be used to record
  exactly what is said in the focus group as well
  as examine facial expressions, body language, and
  group dynamics so that all major discussion
  points offered by the participants will be
  recorded.
• However, prior to analyzing, using, and sharing
  any focus group information with any other
  researchers, the focus group transcription will
  be stripped of any personal information (such as
  name, birth date, and address)

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Other Ideas Qualitative Data

• Brawley, CA is using focus groups to gather
  additional information as well as help secure
  federal grant money.
• St. Paul, MN is developing a Plain Talk PLUS to
  analyze different effects of participants
  attending additional Plain Talk sessions on
  topics such as peer pressure and dating violence.
  
• New Orleans used an ethnographer during the Plain
  Talk demonstration phase
• Naranjito, PR is currently using an ethnographer

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Plain Talk website

• www.plaintalk.org