title: Strategies to Build Readiness in Community Mobilization Efforts for Implementation in a Multi-Year Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This paper describes an assessment of community readiness to implement a community-wide teen pregnancy prevention initiative, Youth First, and presents strategies used to enhance this readiness as informed by the assessment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-five community stakeholder interviews were conducted to assess four domains of readiness: (1) attitudes, perception, and knowledge of teen pregnancy; (2) perceived level of readiness; (3) resources, existing and current efforts; and (4) leadership. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed to identify key themes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Stakeholders acknowledged teen pregnancy as an issue but lacked contextual information. They also perceived the community as ready to address the issue and recognized some organizations already championing efforts. However, many key players were not involved, and ongoing data collection to assess teen pregnancy and prevention efforts was limited. Though many stakeholders were ready to engage in teen pregnancy prevention efforts, they required additional information and training to appropriately address the issue.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In response to the assessment findings, several strategies were applied to address readiness and build Youth First partners' capacity to implement the community-wide initiative. Thus, to successfully implement community-wide prevention efforts, it is valuable to assess the level of community readiness to address health issues.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Community Health, Malden, Massachusetts. Electronic address: nbhuiya@challiance.org.
authors.forename: Nazmim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bhuiya
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: L Duane
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: House
authors.affiliation: Institute for Community Health, Malden, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Desmarais
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.affiliation: Institute for Community Health, Malden, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Maeve
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Conlin
authors.affiliation: Youth Empowerment Adolescent Health! (YEAH) Network, Holyoke, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Perez-McAdoo
authors.affiliation: City of Beverly Council on Aging, Beverly, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Waggett
authors.affiliation: Institute for Community Health, Malden, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Shalini A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Tendulkar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006284:Health Plan Implementation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008404:Massachusetts; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D012736:Sex Education / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adolescent pregnancy; Community mobilization; Community readiness