The Promise of Technology to Advance Rigorous Evaluation of Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Programs in American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal Communities

Despite high levels of adolescent childbearing and sexual risk taking among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youths,1 to date, no adolescent pregnancy prevention programs adapted or developed for AI/AN youths have been identified by federal review systems as effective. The lack of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for this population may arise from the challenges of implementing rigorous evaluation designs within tribal communities. Advances in technology hold promise to offset these challenges by providing engaging and culturally appropriate adolescent pregnancy prevention programs with high fidelity, while also easing some of the burdens associated with conducting rigorous research in low-resourced settings.