School Health Equity Newsletter - November 2012

---

Feature: National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day

National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day (NYHAAD) is a nationwide observance that calls on people to take action and invest in young people - in their health, their education, and their leadership – so we can truly reach an AIDS-free generation. It is coordinated by Advocates for Youth and twelve Founding Partners: Adolescent AIDS Program Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, AIDS Alabama, AIDS Alliance, AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland, AIDS United, Hetrick-Martin Institute, Metro TeenAIDS, National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, National Black Men’s Advocacy Coalition, National Minority AIDS Council, National Coalition of STD Directors, and Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. The FIRST National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day will be held on April 10, 2013.

In order to achieve this day, your support is needed! Sign the petition – as either an individual or an – that calls on President Obama, Congress, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the HIV & AIDS community to officially recognize April 10 as National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day.

Take action now for a National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day!

Professional Development and Capacity Building

National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day Youth Ambassador Program Application. This program is for young people between the ages of 13-24 who are passionate about HIV & AIDS work. Youth Ambassadors will work in collaboration with Advocates for Youth and the twelve Founding Partners to create and implement National Youth HIV AIDS Awareness Day. To learn more about the program and to apply to be a Youth Ambassador, click here.

Training Institute in Sexuality Education(TISHE). This is a five-and-a-half day training on lifelong sexuality, learner diversity, values clarification, giving and receiving feedback, and answering difficult questions. Applications to attend TISHE are now open and applicants are selecting on a rolling basis. TISHE will be held in Baltimore, Maryland from August 4-9, 2013. For more information about the training program, click here.

Community Health Workers 2.0. This webinar, hosted by the National Assembly on School-Based Care (NASBHC), will feature representatives from AmeriCorps and Health Leads to discuss how their volunteers can serve school-based health clinics. Hear about a full service “ready to use” curriculum on how to train and utilize community health works in your clinic from Kimberly R. Conner, CHA outreach program coordinator at the Center for Healthy Communities. The webinar was postponed due to Hurricane Sandy, click here for more information including scheduled webinar date and time.

2013 National Conference on Bullying The 2013 National Conference on Bullying will be held February 27 to March 1 in Orlando, Florida. Breakout session will cover topics such as strategies to combat cyber-bulling, gang related bullying, girl bullying, and more. This year there is also a new specialty track for students 18 and younger, which is called the Youth Anti-Bullying Ambassador Specialty Track. To read more about the conference and to register, click here.

Recent Publications

Young Women and Long-Acting Reversible Contraception In 2012, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) revised its practice guidelines on Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARCs), including implants and IUDs. Based on research and expert opinions, the new guidelines advise that adolescents who are sexually active and at high risk of unintended pregnancy should be encouraged to consider LARCs as a contraceptive option. This factsheet from Advocates for Youth provides youth serving professionals, educators and health care providers with some of the facts about long-acting reversible contraception (LARC).To read the factsheet, click here.

Tweeting About Testing: Do Low-Income, Parenting Adolescents and Young Adults Use New Media Technologies to Communicate About Sexual Health? A sample of 94 low-income, parenting adolescents and young adults who were recruited at clinics in Connecticut completed an audio computer-assisted self-interview about their use of media technologies, communication with friends about sexual health and willingness to use media technologies for such communication. From this sample 93 percent had mobile phones and 71 percent used Facebook regularly. Less than one-third however reported being willing to share sexual health information with friends through a specific new media technology. The study thus concluded that since young urban parents prefer private forms of communication for conversations about sexual health, social networking sites may not aid STD interventions. Access the full study here.

The Real Education for Health Youth Act: Honest, Age Appropriate Sexual Health Education for Responsible Decision MakingThe Real Education for Healthy Youth Act was introduced in November 2011 by Senator Frank Lautenburg (D-NJ) and Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA). This Act would ensure that federal funding is allocated to comprehensive sexual health education programs that provide young people with the skills and information they need to make informed, responsible, and healthy decisions. Read the Advocates for Youth policy brief on the Read Education for Healthy Youth Act here.

Announcements

HPV Vaccine Doesn't Alter Sexual Behavior, Study Finds.A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics found that after looking at a sample of nearly 1,400 girls, researchers found no evidence that those who were vaccinated for HPV beginning at approximately age 11 went on to engage in greater sexual activity than those who had not been vaccinated. Access the study here.

Fathers Play Key Role in Teens' Sexual Behavior, Says Study. A new review of studies suggests that fathers’ attitudes toward teen sex and their relationships with their teens can substantially influence their teens’ sexual behavior, separately from the influence of mothers. The review demonstrated that fathers’ attitudes toward teen sexual behavior were linked to the age at which teens first had sex. According to studies included in the review, those teens whose dads approved of adolescent sexual activity tended to begin sexual activity earlier than those teens whose dads did not approve. Read the full article here.

Time Magazine Ranks OraQuick In-Home HIV Test Among Best Inventions of 2012. Time magazine has chosen the OraSure Technologies Inc. over-the-counter HIV test as one of its “Best Inventions of 2012.” The OraQuick test detects HIV antibodies through an oral swab in 20 to 40 minutes and is sold at retail locations. OraQuick was among 26 inventions that Time recognized this year. Read the full article here.

Resources

• National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day

• Advocates For Youth(AFY)

• Shop Advocates

• Association of Maternal and Child Health Program (AMCHP)

• National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)

• National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE)

• National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD)

 

To submit an article, announcement, or resource for the School Health Equity Newsletter, please call Sulava at 202.419.3420 ext. 65 or email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .