Short-Term Impacts of a School-Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program for Latino Youth: a Cluster Randomized Trial

Abstract This study evaluates El Camino, a goal-setting sexual health promotion program developed for Latino youth. A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted in grades 9–12 in 68 classrooms ( n = 746 students) across 11 schools in Maryland with large populations of Latino students. A total of 208 students were lost to follow-up, leaving 538 students for an intention-to-treat analysis (El Camino, 34 clusters, n = 289; control, 34 clusters, n = 249). At baseline, most participants (72.1%) reported never having had vaginal sex and no sex in the last 3 months (84.4%). This study did not detect any significant intervention impacts on sexual behavior outcomes but found impacts on several proximal sexual health outcomes. At post-test, approximately 1–2 weeks after curriculum completion, scores were significantly higher among El Camino participants compared to control participants on measures of contraception knowledge ( β = 0.5 (cluster robust SE 0.1)), condom knowledge (0.4 (0.1)), consent knowledge (0.3 (0.1)), and awareness of birth control methods (0.9 (0.1)), as well as confidence to discuss sex with a partner (0.3 (0.1)). A total of 84.7% of El Camino participants reported positive attitudes toward condom use compared to 67.1% of control participants (OR = 2.7, 95% CI [1.8, 4.0]); 83.1% reported intending to use condoms if sexually active compared to 72.6% of control participants (1.9, [1.2, 2.9]); 80.9% reported knowing where to get birth control compared to 48.9% of control participants (4.4, [2.8, 7.0]), and 83.3% reported being confident to state and ask for consent compared to 70.5% of control participants (2.1, [1.2, 3.7]). This study also found that intervention impacts varied by student gender and program implementation factors. Overall, El Camino appears to be effective in improving sexual health knowledge, self-efficacy, and intentions among Latino youth. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT06485284. Date 7–3 - 24.