Interagency Youth Working Group

Resources on Youth Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS

Research Tools

Youth sexual and reproductive health programs and research require a variety of tools to conduct meaningful research, program monitoring, and evaluation.

This page provides research tools and guidance for public health practitioners and researchers working with youth. Other research issues specific to youth, such as study recruitment and retention as well as youth self-reporting biases, may be addressed on this page in the future. If you have information that you think would be useful to researchers or suggestions for developing this page, please let us know.

• Ethical Guidance
• Assessment Tools/Guides
• Data Collection Instruments
• Data Sets
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Health Services Research
• New Techniques 

Ethical Guidance

Ethical Approaches to Gathering Information from Children and Adolescents in International Settings  (98 pages, 828 KB)
This report provides guidance on how to gather data among young people in a way that minimizes harm and maximizes benefits for researchers and program managers. Developed through a multidisciplinary international consultative process, this new resource provides guidance and case studies that highlight the roles of research and program staff in ensuring that child-related activities are conducted ethically. It also provides references to resources on related topics, including the use of participatory methods with children. (Population Council/Horizons Program and Family Health International/Impact, 2005)


Assessment Tools/Guides 

A Rapid Assessment of Youth-Friendly Reproductive Health Services  (12 pages, 203 KB)
This tool was developed to facilitate the rapid assessment of youth-friendly characteristics, using the clinic assessment tool described above, providing the basis for developing and implementing a comprehensive action plan. (Pathfinder, 2003)

Assessing the Quality of Youth Peer Education Programmes  (46 pages, 612 KB)
This tool guides program managers in assessing a peer education program using a series of checklists. Developed through YouthNet's peer education research project and part of the Youth Peer Education Toolkit, these evidence-based checklists can be used to gather the most essential information for determining how a peer education project can best function and can be compared over time and across programs. (FHI/YouthNet and UNFPA, 2006) 

Clinic Assessment of Youth-Friendly Services: A Tool for Improving Reproductive Health Services for Youth  (24 pages, 3.5 MB)
This tool helps program managers and clinicians determine the extent to which current reproductive health services are youth-friendly. Results from the tool can be used to tailor services to better meet the needs and preferences of young people. Under the African Youth Alliance (AYA) Project, Pathfinder conducted baseline assessments in Botswana, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ghana using this tool. (Pathfinder, 2003) 

Conducting a Participatory Situation Analysis of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Affected by HIV/AIDS: Guidelines and Tools  (210 pages, 1.9 MB)
These tools provide guidance on conducting a situation analysis to help build consensus and produce sound recommendations regarding orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS. The 210-page guide offers sample consent forms, baseline surveys and interview guides, which can be adapted for local use. Because this resource is focused on children, it features a special emphasis on ethical considerations for information-gathering. (FHI, 2005) This is also available in French  (307 pages, 1.3 MB). (Plan International, 2006)
 

Engaging Communities in Youth Reproductive Health and HIV Projects: A Guide to Participatory Assessments  (126 pages, 2.3 MB)
This manual discusses how to conduct participatory assessments with youth and community members for improved youth reproductive health and HIV prevention, drawing on YouthNet’s experience in Namibia, Tanzania, and Ethiopia with youth-led projects using these tools (FHI/YouthNet, 2006)

Asking Young People about Sexual and Reproductive Behaviours: Illustative Core Instruments  (20 pages, 47 KB)

This collection of tools for researchers includes a questionnaire  (42 pages, 126 KB), and an individual interview and focus group discussion guide  ( 5 pages, 25 KB). They serve as a starting point for investigators wishing to study the sexual and reproductive health of young people. (UNDP/UNFPA/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction, 2000)

Behavior Surveillance Surveys: Guidelines for Repeated Behavioral Surveys in Populations at Risk of HIV  (358 pages, 2.81 MB)
Behavior surveillance surveys (BSS) use reliable methods to track HIV risk behaviors over time as part of an integrated surveillance system which monitors various aspects of the epidemic. They are especially useful in providing information on behaviors among sub-populations who may be difficult to reach through traditional household surveys, including unmarried youth. These guidelines are designed to provide a "one-stop" reference to help public health official set up and manage systems that provide reliable trends in HIV risk behaviors. Information is also provided to help those who will be implementing the surveys themselves. (FHI, 2000)

School-based Survey on Risk and Resiliency Behaviours of 10-15 Year Olds  (135 pages, 2.1 MB)
The survey instrument (included as an appendix to a larger report) was used for an in-school study in 2005 examining Jamaican youth age 10-15. It covers questions on risk and resiliency to determine factors that provide protection from teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and violence and obesity to inform programs targeted at the early adolescent period. (MEASURE Evaluation, 2007) 

Tools for Research on Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing and Reproductive Health Services for Youth in Tanzania
Below are tools used in research that described the health needs of youth seeking HIV voluntary counseling and testing services (VCT) and contraceptive services using several sources (mystery clients, youth clients, and providers). Research tools also examine the quality of care offered to youth at these clinics and the relationship between youth's intended and actual risk behaviors following VCT.

• Structured Client Exit Interviews (MS Word, 315 KB)
  Interviews were conducted for youth clients attending VCT services and those attending other RH services who had never used VCT but who were sexually active. The interview includes both open and fixed-response questions concerning knowledge, risk behaviors, perceived risk, referrals, and experience with the service. Exit Interview Guide for Youth VCT Clients

• Provider Interviews
  This survey includes questions on VCT provider’s knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding adolescent sexual and reproductive health.
  Provider Survey: VCT and Youth Semi-structured Interviews
  These qualitative interview guides aimed to document youth’s intended and actual risk behaviors following VCT among a subset of youth participating in the exit interviews. 
  In-Depth Interview Guide: Reproductive Health and VCT Clients (MS Word, 36 KB)
  In-Depth Interview Guide: Reproductive Health Clients (MS Word, 39 KB)
  In-Depth Interview Guide: VCT Clients (MS Word, 39 KB)

• Mystery Clients (MS Word, 70 KB)
  This tool can be used to gather information from mystery clients about the services they encountered.
  Mystery Client Instrument

Clinic Assessment of Youth-Friendly Services: A Tool for Improving Reproductive Health Services for Youth  (24 pages, 3.5 MB)
This tool helps program managers and clinicians determine the extent to which current reproductive health services are youth-friendly. Results from the tool can be used to tailor services to better meet the needs and preferences of young people. Under the African Youth Alliance (AYA) Project, Pathfinder conducted baseline assessments in Botswana, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ghana using this tool. (Pathfinder, 2003)

Tools for Research on Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing and Reproductive Health Services for Youth in Tanzania
These tools describe the health needs of youth seeking HIV voluntary counseling and testing services (VCT) and contraceptive services using several sources (mystery clients, youth clients, and providers). They also examine the quality of care offered to youth at these clinics and the relationship between youth's intended and actual risk behaviors following VCT.

New Techniques

Risk-Taking Behaviors among Youth Socializing in Target Venues of Carrefour, Haiti: Adaptation of the Priorities for Local AIDS Control Efforts (PLACE) Methodology  (67 pages, 738 KB)
The Priorities for Local AIDS Control Efforts (PLACE) method identifies areas likely to have a higher incidence of HIV infection, and within these areas, specific venues where AIDS prevention programs could target potentially high risk adolescents. This report discusses a modified PLACE approach used to better understand HIV prevention programming needs and risk-taking behaviors of young people in Carrefour, Haiti. (MEASURE Evaluation, 2007)

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