By Emily Bridges, Director of Public Information Services

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) examined reporting of “adverse events” associated with Gardasil, the virus that protects against four types of HPV that cause the majority of cervical cancer. 

Gardasil is approved by the FDA and recommended by the CDC for young women ages 11-26.  But it has faced opposition from the far right, first as a shot that would contribute to “immoral behavior” by lessening the risk of unprotected sex.  Now that the vaccine has been approved, its opponents have turned to scare tactics, including circulating the unproven and false claim that Gardasil comes with the risk of serious illness and death.

JAMA’s study found that while adverse events had been reported by patients who received Gardasil, they were consistent with reports for other vaccines; that is, Gardasil was not more or less likely to cause illness than other vaccines.  The study did find that Gardasil was more likely to cause dizziness shortly after it is administered to the patient than some vaccines, and recommended that doctors monitor the patient for 15 minutes after they get the vaccine.

By Emily Bridges, Director of Public Information Services

Does Withdrawal Deserve Another Look?

Researcher Rachel K. Jones, in a study published in the journal Contraception, found that withdrawal is only slightly less effective than the male condom at preventing pregnancy. 

To Jones’s surprise, her article was met with skepticism and even anger from public health and activism communities concerned about the promotion of withdrawal.

Advocates for Youth believes young people deserve the facts about withdrawal’s benefits and disadvantages.  Among typical heterosexual couples who initiate use of withdrawal, about 18 percent of women will experience an accidental pregnancy in the first year, compared to 85 percent of couples who use no method. Withdrawal does not offer protection against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. Withdrawal is most effective when used with another method, such as a condom.

By Emily Bridges, Director, Public Information Services

By, Emily Bridges, Director of Public Information Services, and Rachel Harlich, Library and Research Intern

Child Development Perspectives, Volume 3 Issue 1, 2009

Douglas Kirby is well known for his extensive study of teen pregnancy prevention of STD/HIV prevention programs and what characteristics effective programs share.  (Read Kirby’s Emerging Answers)  In this most recent paper he examines curriculum-based HIV/STD prevention programs that have been rigorously evaluated and provides his findings.

• Two-thirds of the programs had a significant impact on behavior.
• None of the programs hastened the initiation of sex or increased the frequency of sex.
• Effective programs gave clear messages about behavior, typically one that stressed the importance of abstinence as well as the importance of using condoms and contraception to protect from pregnancy and STDs if the young person chooses to have sex.
• The programs that had the strongest evidence for success included ones profiled in Advocates’ own guide to effective programs, Science and Success.  Learn more about these effective programs:  Safer Choices; Making Proud Choices; SiHLE; and Becoming a Responsible Teen.
• Effective programs also included activities that instructed youth to visualize situations that might lead to unprotected or unintended sex and how to get out of them. 
• Of the small number of abstinence-only programs that met the criteria for rigorous evaluation, none were found to be effective at delaying sex, increasing the return to abstinence, or reducing the number of partners. Kirby admits studies of abstinence programs which are effective at improving abstinence may be published, but stresses that at this time no abstinence-only program has achieved this goal.