Journal of Public Health Advance Access originally published online on November 9, 2006
Journal of Public Health 2006 28(4):304-308; doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdl069
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Life as a league table bottom dweller: teenage pregnancy in Lambeth
Abdu Mohiddin, Consultant in Public Health
Lucinda Cawley, Teenage Pregnancy Strategy Coordinator
Yimmy Chow, Specialist Registrar in Public Health, London Deanery
Ruth Wallis, Director of Public Health
Directorate of Public Health, Lambeth Primary Care Trust/London Borough of Lambeth, 2nd Floor, 1 Lower Marsh, SE1 7NT, London, UK
Address correspondence to Abdu Mohiddin, E-mail: abdu.mohiddin{at}lambethpct.nhs.uk
In mid-2004, the lead for tackling teenage pregnancy in Lambeth moved from the Council to Public Health in the coterminous Primary Care Trust. Lambeth is a deprived inner-city London borough with a culturally rich and diverse population. The under-18 teenage conception rate had risen by 19% over the 5-year period (19982003) following the launch of the National Teenage Pregnancy Strategy. There was considerable pressure from local and national agencies to reduce this high rate (then standing at twice the English average). This article describes how we attempted to do this.
Keywords: sexual health, strategy, teenage pregnancy