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Planned Parenthood access linked to lower high school dropout rate in girls

Access to Planned Parenthood services is associated with a lower high school dropout rate among girls and young women, according to data published in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

“Although many factors may contribute to a teenager’s risk of dropping out of high school, pregnancy is an especially important risk factor for young women,” Katherine Hicks-Courant, MD, and Aaron L. Schwartz, PhD, of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Tufts Medical Center, and Harvard Medical School, wrote. “Thirty percent of teenage girls who have dropped out of high school cite pregnancy or parenthood as a reason for dropping out, and only 40% of teenage mothers finish high school. … Family planning services are one important aspect of teen pregnancy prevention.”

To determine whether local access to family planning services, particularly Planned Parenthood and Title X clinics, is associated with lower high school dropout rates among female teenagers and young adults, the researchers conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study, using the locations of clinics and microdata from the 2012-2013 American Community Surveys.

The researchers used nearest-neighbor matching estimations to determine any association between female high school dropout rates and access to local clinics. Models included covariates to account for sociodemographic differences across communities and male dropout rates. Total sample included 284,910 females aged 16 to 22 years.

According to the researchers, local access to Planned Parenthood was associated with decrease in female high school dropouts, with a rate of 4.08% compared with 4.83% in areas without access (relative risk ratio 0.84, P < .001). The association was consistent across several model specifications, the researchers said. In addition, local access to a Title X clinic was also associated with a decrease in dropouts, with a rate of 4.79% compared with 5.07% in areas without (relative risk ratio 0.94, P = .03). However, the Title X association did not remain significant across models.

“Future work examining whether clinic closures or openings are associated with educational and childbearing changes would be informative,” Hicks-Courant and Schwartz wrote. “Finally, given the substantial geographic variation in the availability of family planning clinics, health care providers should be aware that regional differences in family planning access may be an important factor regarding adolescents’ social outcomes.” – by Jason Laday

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.