Is “16 and Pregnant” an effective form of birth control?
HSA 6520 Epidemiology and Health Planning
Module 1 Current Events
January 18, 2014
Is “16 and Pregnant” an effective form of birth control?
On January 13, National Public Radio, as well as several other news organizations in print, published an article on a study by Melissa Kearney and Phillip Levine of the Brookings Institute. The study, titled ”Media influences on social outcomes: The impact of MTV’s 16 and Pregnant on teen childbearing” was sponsored by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Their research examined the association between teens’ interest in the reality television program surrounding teenage pregnancy and motherhood, and changes in teen childbearing outcomes. Using Nielsen ratings data to measure viewership geographically, temporally related internet searches and Twitter messages concerning the program, pregnancy and/or birth control were measured as well as teen birth rates.
Measurements were highly correlated geographically using viewership data, IP addresses and Vital Statistics Natality microdata. Confounding factors controlled for included an already declining teen birth rate, changes in local statutes, abortion rates, and economic factors such as the recession. The data imply that the shows led to a 5.7% reduction in teen pregnancy between June 2009, when the show began, and the end of 2010. This amounts to one third of the total decline of teenage pregnancy during that period.
The rigor of the data collection and analysis in this study plausibly leads to an assumption of causality between the decrease in teen childbearing and the reality television program even allowing for some unmeasured intermediary factor. From a public health perspective, it would be interesting to examine the attributes which were most effective in changing the sociologic culture to allow broader application. For example, was it the mode of delivery, the content, the affiliation with viewership or these and other factors combined responsible for
Module 1 Current Events
January 18, 2014
Is “16 and Pregnant” an effective form of birth control?
On January 13, National Public Radio, as well as several other news organizations in print, published an article on a study by Melissa Kearney and Phillip Levine of the Brookings Institute. The study, titled ”Media influences on social outcomes: The impact of MTV’s 16 and Pregnant on teen childbearing” was sponsored by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Their research examined the association between teens’ interest in the reality television program surrounding teenage pregnancy and motherhood, and changes in teen childbearing outcomes. Using Nielsen ratings data to measure viewership geographically, temporally related internet searches and Twitter messages concerning the program, pregnancy and/or birth control were measured as well as teen birth rates.
Measurements were highly correlated geographically using viewership data, IP addresses and Vital Statistics Natality microdata. Confounding factors controlled for included an already declining teen birth rate, changes in local statutes, abortion rates, and economic factors such as the recession. The data imply that the shows led to a 5.7% reduction in teen pregnancy between June 2009, when the show began, and the end of 2010. This amounts to one third of the total decline of teenage pregnancy during that period.
The rigor of the data collection and analysis in this study plausibly leads to an assumption of causality between the decrease in teen childbearing and the reality television program even allowing for some unmeasured intermediary factor. From a public health perspective, it would be interesting to examine the attributes which were most effective in changing the sociologic culture to allow broader application. For example, was it the mode of delivery, the content, the affiliation with viewership or these and other factors combined responsible for