Strategies

Address the needs of teenage parents via clinic-based programs that provide health care and family planning services as well as case management, counseling, and other supports

Expand incentives such as scholarships and loans with service requirements and loan repayment or forgiveness programs for health care providers who practice in rural or other underserved areas

Provide pregnant or parenting teens with services based upon their needs (e.g., counseling, connections to health care or social services, academic support, etc.) in school or community settings

Expand use of J-1 physician visa waivers for foreign national physicians who have trained in the U.S. and will serve patients in designated Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs)

Increase access to LARCs through cost reduction, comprehensive birth control counseling, provider training, efforts to ensure availability at local clinics, etc.

Expand medical school training and learning experiences focused on the skills necessary to practice successfully in rural areas

Provide reproductive health care services such as counseling, contraception, and testing in middle and high school-based health centers

Use counseling, informational materials, etc. to inform smokers and non-smokers of the harms of secondhand smoke and encourage them to implement home smoking bans

Implement private sector rules or public sector regulations that prohibit smoking indoors or restrict it to designated, often outdoor, areas

Support school-, community-, and clinic-based teen pregnancy prevention programs such as comprehensive sex education, HIV/STI prevention and youth development efforts, service learning, etc.