• Michelle C Kegler, Clayton W Williams, Carol M Cassell, John Santelli, Scott R Kegler, Susanne B Montgomery, Mary Lou Bell, Yolanda G Martinez, Jonathan D Klein, Peter Mulhall, Jeffry A Will, Vicki Harris Wyatt, Toni L Felice, and Sharon C Hunt.
• Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA. mkegler@sph.emory.edu
• J Adolesc Health. 2005 Sep 1; 37 (3 Suppl): S31-41.

PurposeTo describe coalition membership, examine associations between coalition processes and short-term coalition outcomes, and assess the relative contribution of key coalition processes to perceived accomplishments in teen pregnancy prevention coalitions.MethodsA self-administered survey was distributed to active members of 21 teen pregnancy prevention coalitions in 13 communities. The overall response rate was 67%, with 471 surveys returned. Process measures included staff competence, member influence in decision making, and coalition functioning. Short-term outcome measures included perceived accomplishments, member satisfaction, member participation, and coalition viability.ResultsAbout 50% of coalition members represented health or teen pregnancy prevention or youth development service organizations, with 13% participating primarily as residents or youth. None of the process measures were associated with coalition viability (defined as active 2 years post-survey). Many bivariate associations between coalition processes and other short-term outcomes were significant at the individual and coalition levels of analysis. In a multivariate random coefficients model, coalition functioning (p <.001) and member influence in decision making (p = .019) were significantly associated with perceived coalition accomplishments.ConclusionConsistent with research on coalitions that have addressed other health issues, good coalition processes were associated with short-term indicators of effectiveness in these teen pregnancy prevention coalitions. Coalition processes were not associated with coalition viability 2 years post-survey, however, suggesting that other factors influence coalition survival.

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