How can we use a media-based Entertainment Education intervention to prevent unwanted pregnancies and STIs among justice-involved youth in New Orleans?

That’s the big and exciting question our Media & Communications team is tackling as a member of the Policy & Research Group’s (PRG) Juvenile Justice Innovation and Impact Network (JJIIN), funded by the Office of Population Affairs (OPA). Of course, we’re doing this in the way we know best – by creating a short film in collaboration with and with guidance from folks that will be impacted the most by this work.

Over the past several months, we’ve worked with PRG and other members of the JJIIN network to begin to create an Education Entertainment intervention that aims to promote healthier and more positive sexual health choices among systems- and juvenile justice (JJ) involved youth. To kick off the process we’ve conducted a needs assessment with youth and adults in and around the JJ system to understand the needs of the youth we are aiming to reach with the intervention. This research has included 1) a literature review summarizing the health and wellbeing of JJ-involved youth as well as the delivery, accessiblity and availability of services, needs/gaps, and areas for improvement; and, 2) ten one-on-one interviews with JJ-involved youth (n=4) and adults (n=6) who work in/around the JJ system to build upon the literature review and better understand their emotional landscape, motivations, and layers of both traumatic experiences and protective factors. Overall we concluded that justice- and systems-involved youth have their own needs, risk-factors, and lenses that need to be taken into account when addressing their sexual and reproductive health.

In our research, we found that JJ-involved youth are more likely to have experienced trauma in their lives—including extreme poverty and violence, instability, and physical, sexual and emotional abuse—are more likely to be sexually active (and begin having sex at a younger age), and are more likely to engage in riskier sexual behaviors than their peers that are not JJ-involved. Some of the potential themes we pulled from the research that can be explored in the film and intervention are: healthy/unhealthy relationships; contraception and general sexual health information; safe spaces for accessing reliable sexual health information, both people to talk to and other resources; and, potentially most importantly, the connection between thoughts, feelings, and actions, to show how trauma can show up in unhealthy decisions and patterns. Overall, an intervention is needed that can respond to JJ-involved youths’ particular emotional and reproductive health needs that is easily accessible for folks from a variety of educational attainment levels, who face varying levels of instability in their lives in aspects such as housing and regular routines, and that provides access to resources and services they otherwise may miss out on.

Educational entertainment has been a consistent and unique way that IWES has approached public health issues.

Throughout our history we’ve used media such as films, podcasts, and photography as a key component of our efforts to inspire and promote healthy behavior changes. A lot of that work is available on our Mosaic website, yet others may have experienced it at in-person events and screenings, during interactive presentations and activities, or even at conferences. While our work can stand alone at say a film festival or through a viewing on Vimeo, it is often accompanied by some form of group or individual interaction to process and reflect upon the piece, especially as it often supports and reinforces our other programming. While the film we are creating for this project will be available online and for one-off in-person screenings, the goal of JJIIN is to create a comprehensive intervention to be able to reinforce the key takeaways of the film and promote the behavior changes we’re seeking to impact. Following the needs assessment, we formed a Youth Advisory Board to make sure that both the film and intervention will resonate with and having meaning for JJ-involved youth, and after the film has been shot and edited we will pilot that intervention with youth from our priority population, as well.

To make sure we are starting this process off with clarity around our goals, intended outcomes, and impacts, we’ve created a theory of change that we can refer back to as we evaluate our pilot, as well as a basic treatment for the first draft of the film that describes the characters, key plot points, and key messaging we want to address. In March we pitched the idea for the film to PRG staff, members of the JJIIN network, and even some of the funders from the Office of Population Affairs, and we were very glad to see that the concept was well-received and we feel that so far we are on the right track. This summer we will take some time to finalize the script, assemble a cast and crew, and identify locations, with the goal of kicking off production in late Summer/early Fall. Stay connected to our Mosaic channels for updates about the process, and to maybe even catch some behind the scenes footage!

To learn more about the film and accompanying intervention, please contact Iman Shervington, IWES’ Director of Media & COMMS.