title: Efforts to Increase Implementation of Evidence-Based Clinical Practices to Improve Adolescent-Friendly Reproductive Health Services.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purposes of this study were to describe changes in implementation of evidence-based clinical practices among health center partners as part of a multicomponent, community-wide teen pregnancy prevention initiative; to better understand the barriers to and facilitators of implementation of the evidence-based clinical practices; and to describe the technical assistance and training provided to the health center partners and key lessons learned.
  
  
  METHODS
  Health center data from the second and third years (2012 and 2013) of the teen pregnancy prevention community-wide initiative were analyzed from 10 communities (the first year was a planning year; program implementation began in the second year). Data were analyzed from 48 health center partners that contributed data in both years to identify evidence-based clinical practices that were being implemented and opportunities for improvement. In addition, data were analyzed from a purposive sample of 30 health center partners who were asked to describe their experiences in implementing evidence-based clinical practices in adolescent reproductive health care and barriers and facilitators to implementation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Across 48 health centers in the 10 communities, 52% reported an increase in the implementation of evidence-based clinical practices from 2012 to 2013, mostly in providing contraceptive access (23%) and offering Quick Start (19%). Among health centers that reported no change (13%), the majority reported that practices were already being implemented before the initiative. Finally, among health centers that reported a decrease in implementation of evidence-based clinical practices (35%), most reported a decrease in having either hormonal contraception or intrauterine devices available at every visit (15%), having HIV rapid testing available (10%), or participating in the federal 340B Drug Discount Program (2%). In addition, health systems and community-level factors influence health center implementation of evidence-based clinical practices. In particular, support from health center leadership, communication between leadership and staff, and staff attitudes and beliefs were reported as factors that facilitated the implementation of new practices.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To increase adolescent's use of quality, client-centered, affordable and confidential reproductive health services, improvement in the implementation of evidence-based clinical practices is needed. Efforts to identify barriers to and facilitators for implementation of evidence-based clinical practices can inform for health centers of opportunities to build their capacity to ensure that evidence-based clinical practices are being implemented.
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia. Electronic address: lmromero@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Oluwatosin
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Olaiya
authors.affiliation: Cicatelli Associates Inc. (CAI, Inc.), New York, New York.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hallum-Montes
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Balalakshmi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Varanasi
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Trisha
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: L Duane
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: House
authors.affiliation: Cicatelli Associates Inc. (CAI, Inc.), New York, New York.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schlanger
authors.affiliation: Cicatelli Associates Inc. (CAI, Inc.), New York, New York.
authors.forename: Dawn
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Middleton
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000379:methods*; D005006:Ethnicity; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006284:Health Plan Implementation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D034121:Reproductive Health Services; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adolescent health care access; Adolescent-friendly reproductive health care; Teen pregnancy prevention