Young Parents Project: A 21st-century nursing intervention

The purpose of this exploratory, descriptive pilot study was to describe the usage of the Young Parents Project, a computer network offering health information and support, to adolescent mothers. Nine midwestern adolescent mothers were provided a computer so they could access the Young Parents Project in their homes. Participants gained access to the computer network 834 times for a total of 7,046 minutes during the year of the study. Adolescent mothers read and posted 402 electronic messages to one another and 110 electronic mail messages to advanced practice nurses. The following eight themes emerged when participants' electronic messages were analyzed using content analysis: introductions, emotional support, social support systems, infant sharing, infant issues, postpartum issues, finances and education, and computer support. The adolescent mothers' evaluation of the Young Parents Project was primarily positive, and the project served as a mechanism for providing health information and social support to adolescent mothers.