Global Determinants in Adolescent Childbearing: Powerful New Study on Social Determinants

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | November 15, 2016
Chief Science Officer, ETR

ETR is thrilled to see a new article, just released today. It is published by our close colleague, Dr. John Santelli, and his team at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. The Santelli team’s comprehensive work demonstrates that when we narrow income inequality and increase opportunities for education, we positively affect youth health and wellbeing. The study explicitly links increases in investment in education to declines in teen childbearing.

Affirming Our Work

ETR is an organization that has been committed to both health and education for 35 years. We are encouraged by the ways this study expands the evidence base of the linkage between the two. It confirms the value of work focusing on the intersection of health and education.

Our organization’s work is driven by a health equity framework that posits that social determinants of health have an impact on health and education outcomes at the individual, community and policy levels. We are well-known for our teen pregnancy prevention interventions. We’ve committed ourselves to understanding the long-term impact of providing teens with the information and skills to delay childbearing.

For nearly two decades, ETR’s school-based health and wellness initiatives have evaluated the link between health outcomes and education achievement. Our work on equity and inclusion in STEM reflects our passion for increasing educational opportunities for all people, especially underserved youth. This work has recently coalesced with our sexual health portfolio in a study we launched in May to examine both health outcomes and educational/professional opportunities.

It is immensely gratifying when a study such as this from Santelli and colleagues affirms so much of the work we have been doing and the frameworks we are using.

Like other organizations working in health education and delivery, ETR is continuously improving and evolving our efforts within a changing world. Santelli’s team drives us to be mindful that regardless of the ebbs and flows in resource allocation to health and education programs, we must remain committed to exploring the relationships and intersections between social determinants and the health and wellbeing of youth, families and communities.

Thank you, and congratulations, Dr. Santelli!

Vignetta Charles, PhD, is Chief Science Officer at ETR. You can reach her at vignetta.charles@etr.org or here.