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American Academy of Pediatrics:

Clinical considerations for the pediatrician: Help ensure that all adolescents have knowledge of and access to contraception, including barrier methods and emergency contraception supplies.[1]

Pediatricians should actively support and encourage the use of reliable contraception and condoms by adolescents who are sexually active or contemplating sexual activity. … In the interest of public health, restrictions and barriers to condom availability should be removed. Schools are an appropriate site for the availability of condoms in a community program because they contain large adolescent populations.[2]

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists:

Health professionals have an obligation to provide the best possible care to respond to the needs of their adolescent patients. This care should, at a minimum, include comprehensive reproductive health services, such as sexuality education, counseling… [and] access to contraceptives …[3]

American Medical Association:

The AMA urges schools to implement comprehensive, developmentally appropriate sex education programs that (a) are based on rigorous, peer reviewed science; (b) show evidence of delaying the onset of sexual activity and a reduction in sexual behavior that puts adolescents at risk for contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted diseases and for becoming pregnant; (c) include an integrated strategy for making condoms available to students and for providing both factual information and skill-building related to reproductive biology, sexual abstinence, sexual responsibility, [and] contraceptives, including condoms…[4]

American Nurses Association:

ANA is aware that the focus of condom use in the past has been related to controlling HIV infection, however the rising numbers of reported sexually transmitted diseases indicate the education about condom use must be expanded and enhanced. … Preventive health techniques, including safer sex practices, condoms, and other barriers reduce the possibility of transmitting debilitating and, in some cases, fatal diseases.[5]

American Psychological Association:

We have found that comprehensive sexuality education programs—those that provide information, encourage abstinence, promote condom use for those who are sexually active, encourage fewer sexual partners, educate about the importance of early identification and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases and teach sexual communication skills—are the most effective in keeping sexually active adolescents disease free.[6]

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Latex condoms, when used consistently and correctly, are highly effective in preventing the transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Studies show that polyurethane condoms including the female condom, also provide effective barriers against sperm, bacteria, and viruses, such as HIV.[7]

Institute of Medicine:

The Committee recommends that Congress, as well as other federal, state, and local policy makers, eliminate requirements that public funds be used for abstinence-only education, and that states and local school districts implement and continue to support age-appropriate comprehensive sex education and condom availability programs in schools.[8]

National Institutes of Health:

Although sexual abstinence is a desirable objective, programs must include instruction in safer sex behavior, including condom use. The effectiveness of these programs is supported by strong scientific evidence.[9]

Studies demonstrated that the consistent use of male condoms protects against HIV/AIDS transmission between women and men.[10]

World Health Organization:

WHO included condom programmes among the essential components of public health packages for preventing and controlling STIs, especially among adolescent youth.[11,12]

References

1. Klein JD and Committee on Adolescence. Adolescent pregnancy: current trends and issues. Pediatrics 2005; 116:281-286.
2. American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Adolescence. Condom availability for youth. Pediatrics 1995; 95:281-285.
3. American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists. Policies and Materials on Adolescent Health of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Washington, DC: ACOG, http://www.acog.org/departments/dept_notice.cfm?recno=7&bulletin=3316; accessed 9/13/2005.
4. American Medical Association Council on Scientific Affairs. Sexuality Education, Abstinence, and Distribution of Condoms in Schools. [Report 7, I-99]. Chicago, IL: AMA, 1999.
5. American Nurses Association. Education and Barrier Use for Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV Infection. [Position Statements] Washington, DC: ANA, 1997.
6. Committee on Psychology and AIDS, American Psychological Association. Based on the Research, Comprehensive Sex Education Is more Effective at Stopping the Spread of HIV Infection, says APA Committee. [Press Release] Washington, DC: APA, 2005.
7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Male Latex Condoms and Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Atlanta, GA: CDC, 2002.
8. Committee on HIV Prevention Strategies in the United States, Institute of Medicine. No Time to Lose: Getting More from HIV Prevention. Washington, DC: national Academy Press, 2001.
9. National Institutes of Health. Consensus Development Conference Statement. Rockville, MD: The Institutes, 1997.
10. National Institutes of Health. Workshop Summary: Scientific Evidence on Condom Effectiveness for Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Prevention, June 12-13, 2000. Rockville, MD: The Institutes, 2001.
11. Holmes KK et al. Effectiveness of condoms in preventing sexually transmitted infections. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2004; 82:454-461.
12. Dehne KL, Riedner G. Sexually Transmitted Infections among Adolescents: the Need for Adequate Health Services. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO, 2005.

Compiled by Sue Alford, MLS
2005 © Advocates for Youth