Girl World: a primary prevention program for Mexican American girls.
Theories about women's health have not traditionally been extended to include the healthy development of young women. This article applies a women's health perspective to the implementation and evaluation processes of a gender-specific primary prevention program that worked with 9- to 14-year-old Hispanic girls in a low-income community. Although community-based after-school programs can be an important venue for education and girls' development, long-term effects are elusive to evaluate. The authors used ethnographic techniques to learn more about girls and their interactions with the program and to assess short-term program impact. Three themes were found: Program environment can contribute to girls' expression and behavior, issues of struggling families can slide girls into early adulthood, and mentoring can benefit both girls and adult women. Community-based primary prevention programs, although an essential part of a social safety net available to low-income girls, provide researchers with a unique set of evaluation challenges.
Kelly
Patricia J
PJ
University of Missouri School of Nursing, and UMKC/TMC Center of Excellence in Women's Health, Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
Bobo
Tess J
TJ
McLachlan
Kate
K
Avery
Shana
S
Burge
Sandra K
SK
D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D018672:Community Health Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008611:Mentors; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D020380:Needs Assessment; D011203:Poverty / Q000208:ethnology; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D013781:Texas; D016387:Women's Health / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology