Evaluation of Talking Parents, Healthy Teens, a new worksite based parenting programme to promote parent-adolescent communication about sexual health: randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a worksite based parenting programme-Talking Parents, Healthy Teens-designed to help parents learn to address sexual health with their adolescent children. DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial (April 2002-December 2005). SETTING: 13 worksites in southern California. PARTICIPANTS: 569 parents completed baseline surveys at work, gave permission for confidential surveys to be posted to their adolescent children, and were randomised to intervention or control groups. Parents and adolescents completed follow-up surveys at one week, three months, and nine months after the programme. INTERVENTION: Talking Parents, Healthy Teens consists of eight weekly one hour sessions at worksites for parents of adolescent children in 6th-10th grade (about ages 11-16 years). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Parent-adolescent communication about a list of sexual topics; whether parent taught adolescent how to use a condom; ability to communicate with parent/adolescent about sex; openness of parent-adolescent communication about sex. RESULTS: Differences between intervention and control groups were significant for the mean number of new sexual topics that parents and adolescents reported discussing between baseline and each follow-up (P<0.001 for each); intervention parents were less likely than controls to discuss no new topics (8% v 29%, 95% confidence interval for difference 16% to 24%) and more likely to discuss seven or more new topics (38% v 8%, 19% to 41%) at nine months. Some differences increased after completion of the programme: at one week after the programme, 18% of adolescents in the intervention group and 3% in the control group (6% to 30%) said that their parents had reviewed how to use a condom since baseline (P<0.001); this grew to 29% v 5% (13% to 36%) at nine months (P<0.001). Compared with controls at nine months, parents and adolescents in the intervention group reported greater ability to communicate with each other about sex (P<0.001) and more openness in communication about sex (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A worksite based programme can have substantial effects on communication between parents and adolescents about sexual health. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials NCT00465010.

Talking parents, healthy teens: a worksite-based program for parents to promote adolescent sexual health.

Parents play an important role in the sexual health of their adolescent children. Based on previous research, formative research, and theories of behavioral change, we developed Talking Parents, Healthy Teens, an intervention designed to help parents improve communication with their adolescent children, promote healthy adolescent sexual development, and reduce adolescent sexual risk behaviors. We conduct the parenting program at worksites to facilitate recruitment and retention of participants. The program consists of 8 weekly 1-hour sessions during the lunch hour. In this article, we review the literature that identifies parental influences on adolescent sexual behavior, summarize our formative research, present the theoretical framework we used to develop Talking Parents, Healthy Teens, describe the program's components and intervention strategies, and offer recommendations based on our experiences developing the program. By targeting parents at their worksites, this program represents an innovative approach to promoting adolescent sexual health. This article is intended to be helpful to health educators and clinicians designing programs for parents, employers implementing health-related programs, and researchers who may consider designing and evaluating such worksite-based programs.

Worksite-based parenting programs to promote healthy adolescent sexual development: a qualitative study of feasibility and potential content.

CONTEXT: Parents can play a significant role in promoting healthy sexual development and risk reduction among adolescents, but many are uncertain about how to talk with their adolescents about sex. Worksites provide an untapped but promising setting in which to reach parents to help them develop parenting and communication skills. METHODS: Focus groups with 33 employed parents of adolescents and 41 high school students, and interviews with seven worksite executives, explored the desire for worksite-based parenting programs, how best to implement programs and recommendations for content. Standard qualitative analysis techniques were used to identify major themes in participants' comments. RESULTS: Parents and employers were enthusiastic about worksite-based parenting programs. Parents reported that adolescents are reluctant to talk with them, but acknowledged their own inexperience talking about sex. Their suggestions included that programs be held at lunchtime, give participants opportunities to interact with each other and with facilitators, and give participants exercises to practice at home. Employers described potential benefits (e.g., improved employee morale) and challenges (e.g., privacy concerns) of programs. Teenagers said that their parents made false assumptions about their sexual activity if they asked about sex. Participants suggested that parenting programs cover adolescent development, sex, abstinence and communication (e.g., how to start conversations). CONCLUSIONS: A worksite-based program designed to help parents of adolescents develop communication and parenting skills could provide a way to reach busy parents. Recommendations from parents, employers and teenagers can be used to make such a program appealing and effective.