By Lisa Boyce | November 1, 2022
Boyce



Working Collaboratively to Develop Programs and Improve Lives of Indigenous Adolescent Mothers and Their Children in Ecuador

 Their primary focus is with indigenous families in the rural areas of the Amazon and Andes as these adolescents have the highest rates of teen pregnancy. Many developmental, cultural, economic, and family factors contribute to this high rate. 

Earlier this year, Marcela Santos (Universidad Casa Grande), Drs. Boyce (HDFS-Child Development), Bradshaw (HDFS-Marriage & Family Therapy) and Ortiz (Institute for Disability Research, Policy, & Practice) met with representatives from the Ministerio de Educación, Ministerio de Inclusión Económica y Social del Ecuador, UNICEF, and several universities to discuss strategies to promote the optimal development of adolescent mothers and their children through a strengths-based lens to build upon community, cultural and familial strengths.

 

We are excited to continue this collaboration and build on these initial meetings through faculty and graduate student research, grant-writing, culturally-responsive program development, and program evaluation.

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