Take Action

Join the movement of young people working to protect our health and lives

Action Center

Take action to help ensure young people's health and rights.

arrow-grid

Donate now

Support youth activists working for reproductive and sexual health and rights.

arrow-grid

Sign up

Get text and email updates

arrow-grid
02.18.2014
Resources

School Health Equity Newsletter January 2014

Advocates for Youth NewsletterJANUARY 2014

Feature: : State Summit VIII

Advocates for Youth, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and SIECUS are currently seeking the expertise of sex education professionals across the country for State Summit. This year, the State Summit has four workshop tracks which include Policy Change, Implementation, Community Mobilization, and Sex Education Practice.

The State Summit is a national gathering of state sex education advocates and education professionals. It will be held in Washington, DC on June 1-3, 2014. The eighth annual State Summit will continue to focus on advancing the availability of quality sex education in our nation’s schools by improving administrative, local, state and federal policy and ensuring the implementation of effective sex education programs. . We do this by creating a unique forum for state sex education advocates and allies to explore ways to share recent policy developments and develop strategy, address potential challenges, implement effective sex education programs and ensure ongoing support for comprehensive sexuality education at the federal, state, and local levels.

To submit a Workshop Proposal, click here. Proposals are due at 5:00pm (EST) on February 10, 2014. If you have any questions regarding workshop proposals for State Summit VIII, please contact the planning committee at StateSummit@advocatesforyouth.org.

divider

Capacity Building and Professional Development

142nd American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Exposition. The APHA is now accepting abstracts for the 142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition. The theme of the meeting is Healthography: How Where You Live Affects Your Health and Well-being. Abstracts are due between February 10-14, 2014. For information about abstract submission, click here. The 2014 Annual Meeting and Exposition will be held on November 15-19, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana. For more information about the meeting, click here.

NCSD’s 2014 Annual Meeting. The National Coalition of STD Director’s Annual Meeting provides attendees with the opportunity to network and share effective STD and HIV prevention strategies for a variety of populations. This yearly meeting is the only annual meeting for the key STD leads in state and local health departments and the only annual meeting in the country where STDs are the primary focus. The meeting will be held in Washington, DC from October 28-31, 2014. For more information about the meeting, click here.

Healthy Teen Network New Webinar Series. Healthy Teen Network is excited to announce a new series of webinars designed to increase the capacity of youth-serving professionals. Topics of the three webinars include youth-friendly clinical services, using trauma-informed approaches, and using motivational interviewing to enhance programs. The first webinar will be held on February 4, 2014. For more information about the webinar series and to register, click here.

Resources

Teen Pregnancy Prevention among Latinos. Despite recent declines in teen childbearing, estimates suggest that 28 percent of Hispanic women will have a baby by the time they turn 20. Supported by The JPB Foundation, Child Trends has developed a series of briefs and infographics related to teen pregnancy prevention for Hispanic teens. To access the resources, click here.

HIV Prevention Basic Questions and Answers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention recently added this new resource on its website. The resource offers information in a questions and answers format on how testing, condoms, safer sex, and biomedical options can lower the risk for HIV. To check out the new resource, click here.

 Recent Publications

2012 Sexually Transmitted Diseases Surveillance. This annual report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides statistics and trends for three sexually transmitted diseases (STDs): chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. In 2012 persons under 25 years of age represented 70 percent of all reported chlamydia cases. Rates of reported chlamydial infection were highest among persons aged 15-19 years and 20-24 years. Gonorrhea rates however decreased about eight percent for persons 15-19 years, but increased three percent for persons aged 20-24 years. To read the full report, click here.

AIDSinfo has released new, redesigned HIV/AIDS Fact Sheets. The new AIDSinfo fact sheets are easy to read and are an excellent patient education resource for people with HIV, their family and friends, and anyone who wants to learn more about HIV/AIDS. The fact sheets provide an overview of HIV, including information on treatment, prevention, side effects, and issues specific to women. For more information and to access the fact sheets, click here.

Under pressure to sext? Applying the theory of planned behavior to adolescent sexting. In this study of 498 adolescents between the ages 15 through 18, researchers aimed to determine the predictors of adolescent sexting. The study found that most teens sext for attention, to lower the chances of contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD), and to find a romantic partner. Twenty-six percent of those surveyed admitted to sexting in the two months preceding the survey. The main motivator for sexting among teens was social pressure from boyfriends and girlfriends. One’s reputation or being blackmailed did not appear to be big factors in deterring the behavior. To read the full study, click here.

Announcements/News

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. February 7 is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD). NBHAAD is an HIV testing and treatment community mobilization initiative for Blacks in the US and across the Diaspora. There are four specific focal points for NBHAAD: Get Educated, Get Tested, Get Involved, and Get Treated. For more information about the day and to plan your own event, click here.

Many teens are not discussing sex during their annual checkup. A new study revealed that doctors often neglect to have a discussion with their teen patients about sexuality issues during their annual physical. This results in missed opportunities to inform and counsel young people about healthy sexual behaviors and prevention of STDs and unplanned pregnancies. To read more about the study, click here.

Sex Ed Still Lags in Oakland Schools. According to the Oakland-based reproductive health organization Forward Together, more than half of Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) high school students received no sex education in 2012, in spite of California state policy that required public schools to provide comprehensive sex education. Since state budget cuts diminished sex education instruction, organizations such as Peer Health Exchange, Girls Inc., and Planned Parenthood have attempted to fill the gaps. However, teen pregnancy and chlamydia rates have increased in Oakland, which reported the highest chlamydia incidence in Alameda County. To read the full article, click here.

divider

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 sulava@advocatesforyouth.org.

Was this e-mail forwarded to you? If so and you would like to subscribe to Advocates for Youth’s mailing list, please visit www.advocatesforyouth.org/get-involved/sign-up-for-email-alerts.

Advocates for Youth

Sign up for Updates