Prevention of Teenage Pregnancy Policy in the UK

IntroductionThis essay will discuss the menstruum policies in ordinate to proscribe jejune gestation in the United Kingdom. Firstly, it will predate the key concept of puerile gestation period and discuss it against the context of the difficultys it creates. The afoot(predicate) teen maternal quality polity will then be presented and critiqued. Finally, a number of recommendations and conclusion will be drawn.Definition and Background concord to the orbit wellness Organization (WHO), teenage maternity is sterilised as pregnancy in a woman aged 10 19, whilst Unicef (2008) define it as initiation occurring in a woman aged 13 19 (Unicef, 2008). On the basis of this definition, Unicef calculated that the teenage pregnancy measure in the UK is the highest in Western Europe (Unicef, 2001), and aside from a splendid decrease in the birth rate to teenage incurs during the 1970s it has remained comparatively constant since 1969 (DoH, 2003). In 1999, the wear upon Governme nts Social excision Unit (SEU) presented its new-fangledspaper to parliament acknowledging the scope and seriousness of the problem, itemly with refer to damage to the fixs academic and career progression, and the wellness of the child.The field teenage maternity systemThe SEU implored the Government to commit to reducing teenage beliefs by 50% by 2010, and to address the kindly exclusion of unseas superstard mothers. To meet the first aim, the SEU champi unmatchedd improved finishual education, both inside and impertinent work and offend gravel to contraceptives. To achieve the second, it recommended the instruction execution of multi-agency government programmes designed to provide wear in housing, education and training.To implement the recommendations of the bill, the Government impersonate up the young motherhood Unit (TPU), which was located in the incision of wellness, but required topical anesthetic authorities (LA) to produce their own strategies t o fasten teenage excogitation by 50% by 2010, with an interim identify of 15% by 2004. The studyity of prevention strategies foc utilise on quaternion key areas the enforce of mass media to increase awareness of intimate wellness, rouse and relationship education (SRE) in schools and companionship circumstances, easily available run and principle on informal wellness and better-quality strengthener for young parents to ramble loving exclusion (DCFS 2009). In 2000, the Department for Children, Schools and Family (DCSF) issued directives to all schools to ensure that SRE in schools aimed to enable young stack to make responsible and well-informed choices more or less their wake upual lives and desist from adventurey behaviours which influence unintended pregnancy (DCSF 2009c). LA gave their strong backing to ensure inclusion of complete SRE programmes into personal and social education lessons in all schools (DfES 2006).The methods of administering SRE differed acr oss LAs. For example, the services of sexual health specialists were stretched outside clinical environment to encom stretch schools and community settings. Programmes outside of the school environment were apply to expose teenagers to the realities of parenting and the advantages of sensible sexual choices, and acknowledge exact your Life, Body Tool Kit, Teens and Tots, and the Virtual Doll Plan. The varying needs of culturally diverse communities were measured, and programmes were tailored to meet them. In LA containing the most at-risk teenagers, advanced SRE plans involving parents, teachers, school nurses, teachers and vanguard staff were do. Southwark LA for example, sought to improve the learning of young people on early gestations, direct them to making dependable choices and in turn decrease the rate of teenage pregnancies ((NHS Southwark 2007 Fullerton et al 1997).The actions interpreted were in line with the goals and purposes of the agenda studies have demonstra ted that teenagers value a forum to discuss sex and relationship issues, and such forums are estimable as they decrease the chances of earlier sexual contact (Allen et al. 2007 Fullerton et al. 1997). Nevertheless, local differences occurred that hampered with the dispersion of SRE in the schools in some areas. Not all schools embraced SRE in their teaching syllabus, some of the teachers were uncertain of the degree to teach and were either uncomfortable or awkward about young peoples sexual matters. more or less schools had a syllabus that excluded social or emotional topics, which play an outstanding role (Chambers, 2002). Some areas allow ind mixed sex classes these were less favored as some teenagers, particularly females, felt inhibited (Stephenson et al. 2004). Additionally, some parents refused to support the constitution and withdrew their children from SRE classes (Lanek, 2005). In reaction to these difficulties, the wellness & Social Care examen Sub-Committee (20 04) made further recommendations, furiousnessing the responsibility of schools (particularly faith schools) to include SRE in the curriculum. digest 2010, the insurance insurance aims and objectives were to build on the brisk dodging, and enable young people to receive the knowledge, advice and support they need from parents, teachers and other specialist to deal with the squeeze to have sex, enjoy positive and caring relationships and have satisfactory sexual health.Policy TypeBirkland (1984) and Lowi et al. (1964) have argued that knowing the type of constitution one is dealing with will enable one to predict what may exclude after the policy has been implemented. However, Wilson (1973) has criticized catego ascension policies, as some are besides labyrinthian to be so simply defined. This is a criticism that can be fiarly levelled at the policy under discussion, which is both preventive and self-regulatory. It aims to reduce and prevent pregancies to bridging health and education inequality gaps that teenage mothers face, reducing child need and reducing the cost of teenage pregnancy on public notes. It is both distributive and pragmatic distributive in that it permits benefit to a particular group (Birkland, 1984), and pragmatic in that it was designed to be practical and executable (Maclure, 2009).The Political ContextAccording to Leichter (1979) contextual factors that can affect policy production can be policy-making, social, economic, cultural, national and global, with some factors becoming major contributors to the policy. Taking the example of international factors, Levine (2003) states that interdependency of nations with the same social problem can affect the policy of the adopting nation takes to solve their problem. In the UK, international influences such as the European Union, WHO and countries facing the same high teenage pregnancy rate have all bear uponed UK policy on the same issue (Baggott, 2007). As a member state of Euro pean Union, the regulation of our national law by the Union takes priority in informing and sharpening our policies (Mclean, 2006).Politically in Britain, the teenage mother has grow to comprise social decline. This began with the Conservative government in the 1990s, who first politicised the single mother by describing her as typifying the prevalent moral standards (particularly amongst the lower social classes) that exist society (Macvarish, XX). Following the election of the Labour party in 1997, this political perception was altered in line with the New Labour good deal a more optimistic national mood teamed with traditional Labour views on social equality. Under this perspective, issues such as impoverishment and unemployment were viewed as symptoms of social exclusion whereby individuals were unfairly excluded from participating fully in society. much(prenominal) communities were to be viewed sympathetically instead of being blamed, and it was within this context that t he dodging evolved reducing teenage pregnancy was one way of making the excluded included (Macvarish XX).Against this backdrop of poitical ideology, the UK has a democratic system of government whereby decisions and policies are made based on the influence of the stakeholders. The teenage pregnancy strategy had pluralist influences including the music director of public health, consultants in public health, the director of social services, specialist midwifes and parents of teenagers. These contributions were multi-level nationally, regionally and locally. At a national level, financial support and endorsement was provided by senior ministers, counseling and monitoring was provided at a regional level, and fraternity by young people and their parents provided the local input.Policy implementation force-outuation is the process of turning policy into practice (Buse, 2005). The implementation of the teenage pregnancy policy was two microscope stage the first launched in 1999 a nd depended on better sex education both in and out of schools, and improved gravel to contraception. The second phase came 10 days later in 2008 and relied upon dissimilar government programs designed to assist teenage mothers with returning to education or training, gaining employment or providing support with other social factors such as housing.The implementation of teenage pregnancy policy was also top-down. The purpose of the policy was to reduce and prevent teenagers from becoming early parents with support and increase implementation of preventative guidance by the government and to combat social exclusion of teenage mothers. The policy can be seen to be self-regulatory because it was behavioural and aimed to provide the individual with the skills to make informed decisons regarding their sexual health (Bartle & Vass, 1998). in that respect are additional factors that help to facilitate the implementation of policy actors in policy, and experts in the agenda. Actors ev erydayly are individuals with power that can be excercised through influencing policy. They may be lobby or pressure groups and can include politicians, civil servants, and members of an interest group (Buse, 2005).The involvement of experts in the agenda setting was clear from the outset. The National guidance allowed the local areas to enlarge the scope of the policy using guidance. The involvement of local actors and the use of data from the local areas helped to make local action. Taking advantage of local knowledge or information facilitates matching policy to the specific needs of the teenagers.Analysis of policy successStrategy implementation related successFollowing the publication of the policy, the earliest the strategy could begin to be implemented was early 2000, but this was highly dependent on the employment of local teenage pregnancy co-ordinators. By the third quarter of 2000, 75% of these posts were staffed, rising to virtually 100% in 2001 (TPSE, 2005). With rega rds the communication strategy, the percentage of local areas that used media campaigns to reinforce the messages of the national campaign grew steadily from 2% in 2000 to 40% in 2001 (TPSE, 2005). The number of areas with at least one sexual health service dedicated to young people increased consistently from 68% in 2000 to 84% in 2001, while support for young parents with emphasis on reintegration into work and training rose to 70% according to TPSE (2005). oer the course of the strategy, 10,000 teachers, support staff and nurses were trained to deliver Personal, Social and Health culture in schools (TPAIG, 2010).Prevention related successThe original ambition of the teenage pregnancy strategy was to achieve a 15% reducing in under-18 conception by 2004 and 50% reduction by 2010, accompanied by a downward trend in the under-16 conception rate (TPSE 2005). The first phase of the strategy came to an end after a period of ten years without achieving its entire target. In the early p art of tits implementation, the policy appeared to have correct success. By 2002, the conception rate for under-18s had fallen by 9%, reversing the upwards trend seen prior to the strategy implementation, and contrary to the relatively static rank observed over the past 30 years (TPSE, 2005). Success alter across the UK, but a steeper decline in conception rates in socio-economically deprived areas suggested that it had targeted the most at-risk areas. For example, Hackney council reported a decrease in the rates of repeated abortion from 49% to 27% in under-18s, and they report that the majority of under-16s report not having sex ascribable to understanding of abstinence. How successful the policy had been depended greatly on how robustly it was implemented across various local areas. In general, there was a reduction in areas that have carried out proper implementation, with some areas able to report a 45% decline, while other areas performed unfortunately due to poor implem entation, with no reduction, or in some cases, an increase (TPAIG, 2010).However, the follow-up report jejune motherhood Strategy Beyond 2010 found that the boilersuit conception rate had fallen by 13.3% since 1998, falling well short of the project 50% reduction. However the DoH add that births to under-18s had fallen by 25% over this period (DoH, 2010).They also point to the increase in access to sexual health services, information and advice as an additional indicator of success. The new phase goes beyond the original 10-year target, adding more content added to the policy, following an additive process according to TPSE (2005). Incrementalpolicy according to Lindblom (1993) is a major achievement that is deliver the goods as a result of small steps taken which reticent against policy disaster. However, the new phase exists within a climate of austerity. The current downtrend of conception rates in the under-18 age group will be difficult to maintain against a backdrop of di sinvestment, which has already led to far-flung closure of specialist sexual health services for under-18s.Gaps in the policyIn applying teenage pregnancy policy to the present situation, it can be said that the policy did not really look inward into the situation that the country was facing. It looked at the success rate of other countries without tailoring their measures to curb the problems specific to Britain. The policy is a social policy and as such it focussed on the social aspect of the problem without looking at the health issues that come with teenage pregnancy. Addiitonally, the time frame given to meet its target of a 50% was too short. teenage pregancy is inextricably linked to both poverty, a social issue too wide to tackle in one decade. It is also strongly related to culture, and specifically the need to foster a culture of openess regarding sexual behaviour and health. This again is too complex to contest in 10 years.RecommendationsIn the first instance, the coal ition Government essential address the shortcomings currently seen in sexual relation education (SRE). The former(prenominal) Government elected to not make SRE part of the compulsory curriculum, and as a result provision of SRE across the country is patchy. The Government should pass legislation ensure good practice such as SRE becomes compulsory. Additionally, refinements to existing SRE need to be made. In particular this should include devising heathenish and faith-based SRE programmes, which will better address the diversity of beliefs held in a youthful multi-cultural Britain. Also, the deliberation of same-sex SRE classes should be completed and implemented (Fullerton et al 2001). More use should be made of robust team-working within communities, health sectors and schools in supporting SRE, and the creative use and further training of more peer-educators to deliver the strategy within schools should be considered.Secondly, an approach which combines measures to prevent teenage conception and support teenage mothers must be in tandem to wider measures to address poverty and social exclusion. The loss of the Education Maintenance Allowance and the closure of many an(prenominal) Sure Start centres disproportionately disadvantage the socio-economically deprived, and widen the gap in attainment between the rich and poor.Thirdly, the coalition government must be invested in making reductions to teenage pregnancy rates a priority. Ring-fencing of funds for specialist sexual health services and training in SRE must be guaranteed in order to not lose the small, but profound reductions in teenage pregnancy rates seen to date. Relatedly, strategies to address teenage pregnancy should be integrated into all future policies.Finally, the patchy nature of strategy deliverance across local authorities must be addressed. Areas that drip to implement the strategy effectively should be identified, and supported according. Sharing of good practice across local au thorities should be made routine.ConclusionsIn conclusion, this essay has outlined the teenage pregnancy strategy devised in 1998, its oscilloscope and political context. It went on to discuss the outcomes of the first ten-year phase. At this point, it is still too early to say whether the second phase will meet its overall target, especially in the current economic climate, although the strategy focused maintenance on the problem and provided materials to help local, regional and national implementation of the strategy. As Britain remains a culturally diverse country, addressing this with regards teenage sexual health should remain a priority. 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