RESUMO
The Kentucky Teen Institute trains youth throughout the state to advocate for policies that promote health in their communities. By evaluating two program summits held at universities, regularly scheduled community meetings, ongoing technical support, and an advocacy day at the state Capitol, the aims of this study were to assess the impact of the intervention on correlates of youths' advocacy intentions and behaviors and to assess youth participants' and other key stakeholders' perceptions of the intervention. An ecological model approach and the theory of planned behavior served as theoretical frameworks from which pre-post, one-group survey and qualitative data were collected (June 2013-June 2014). An equal number of low-income and non-low-income youth representing five counties participated in the Summer Summit pretest (n = 24) and Children's Advocacy Day at the Capitol posttest (n = 14). Survey data revealed that youths' attitude toward advocacy, intentions to advocate, and advocacy behaviors all improved over the intervention. Observations, interviews, a focus group, and other written evaluations identified that the youths', as well as their mentors' and advocacy coaches', confidence, communities' capacity, and mutually beneficial mentorship strengthened. Stronger public speaking skills, communication among the teams, and other recommendations for future advocacy interventions are described.
