How to reduce teenage pregnancy in Northern Ireland? A movie-based educational approach

Maria Lohan, Áine Aventin & Peter O’Halloran (QUB)

This seminar will describe the development of an educational resource designed to increase young people’s intention to avoid adolescent pregnancy and to increase their ability to communicate about this issue. The resource, entitled ‘If I were Jack…’ is based upon an interactive video drama which tells the story of an unintended teenage pregnancy from the point of view of a young man. Relationship and sex education (RSE) can be a controversial issue in Ireland and Northern Ireland. One of the key challenges has been to ensure that the resource reaches the target population (adolescents) and can be included in the RSE curricula of both jurisdictions. We have developed a number of strategies to ensure maximum impact. These include: developing a credible, evidence-based, theory-informed resource which builds on previous research and is amenable to rigorous evaluation; ensuring acceptability by involving key (public sector) stakeholders in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the resource development and using a drama based approach that engages boys as well as girls and ensuring the resource is promoted appropriately by utilising technologies such as video and the internet to increase national and potential international impact.

Date of seminar:15 November 2012.