JULY 2015
FEATURE: RIGHTS, RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY: A K-12 SEXUALITY EDUCATION CURRICULUM.
This curriculum developed by Advocates for Youth is fully mapped to meet the National Sexuality Education Standards, inclusive for issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, includes family homework activities, and provides resources for educators at every grade level. The curriculum will be available in Fall 2015 and is based on Advocates’ award-winning When I’m Grown and Life Planning Options. Training of this curriculum is not required, but recommended and available upon request. Did we mention the resource is FREE! Look out for more details later this summer.
Teens, Health, and Technology.
The Northwestern University’s Center on Media and Human Development released the results to a national survey exploring teens’ use of mobile apps and digital games on health, as well as the amount of health information they get from other sources such as parents, health classes at school, and health providers. The survey represents more than 1,100 13- to 18-year-olds and covers which issues teens have researched online, how satisfied they are with the information they’ve found, how they go about conducting their searches and selecting sites to click on, and whether/how they have changed their behavior as a result. To download the report, click here.
RESOURCES
2015 Sexually Transmitted Disease Treatment Guidelines. After consultation with a group of professionals knowledgeable in the field of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), the CDC updated guidelines for the treatment of persons who have or are at risk for STDs. These updated guidelines discuss 1) alternative treatment regimens for Neisseria gonorrhoeae; 2) the use of nucleic acid amplification tests for the diagnosis of trichomoniasis; 3) alternative treatment options for genital warts; 4) the role of Mycoplasma genitalium in urethritis/cervicitis and treatment-related implications; 5) updated HPV vaccine recommendations and counseling messages; 6) the management of persons who are transgender; 7) annual testing for hepatitis C in persons with HIV infection; 8) updated recommendations for diagnostic evaluation of urethritis; and 9) retesting to detect repeat infection. These guidelines can be used to assist School-Based Health Centers, physicians, and other health-care providers in the prevention and treatment of STDs. To view the updated report, click here.
DHAP Strategic Plan 2011-2015. The Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (DHAP) developed a blueprint for its vision of achieving a future free of HIV. The Plan focuses on maximizing DHAP’s effect on the epidemic and internal and external coordination and collaboration. To learn more about The Plan and how it’s been making a difference in the way the Division operates, click here.
Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. The Center for Disease Control’s Division of Adolescent and School Health has released the 2013 National, State, and District Combined Datasets on the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) website. The combined data sets include more than 1.3 million records from 820 YRBS high school surveys conducted from 1991-2013 and selected additional data from optional questions about sexual identity, sex of sexual contacts, HIV testing, bullying, and other topics. To view the redesigned website, click here.
Sexual Orientation and Risk of Pregnancy Among New York City High-School Students. A recent study released by the American Public Health Association suggests pregnancies are more common among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths than among their heterosexual counterparts. The report concluded sexual orientation should be considered in future adolescent pregnancy-prevention efforts, including the design of pregnancy prevention interventions. To read the article and access the study, click here.
Advancing Legislation to Define School Based Health Centers. Members of the School-Based Health Alliance Policy Learning Collaborative worked this past year to create a common understanding of the School-Based Health Centers delivery model across the states by defining SBHC’s services. To learn about the team’s process, click here.
CAPACITY BUILDING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
National HIV Prevention Conference Abstracts Have Re-Opened! Late breaker abstract submission for the 2015 National HIV Prevention Conference (NHPC) will open on July 8th and close July 31st. Only individual oral and panel presentation abstracts will be considered. Late breaker abstracts are intended for data not previously available. To learn more, click here.
Answer’s Online Workshops. Answer’s dynamic and highly interactive online professional development workshops allow learners to set their own pace while learning about teen sexuality. Participants who complete one of the self-directed workshops receive six hours of professional development credit. Online workshops include Sexuality ABCs: Abstinence, Birth Control and Condoms; STD Basics: Helping Students Stay Sexually Healthy; LGBTQ Issues in Schools: Celebrating and Supporting Diversity; Boys and Sex Ed: Beyond Statistics and Stereotypes; Sexual Anatomy and Response: Getting Under Your Skin; Pregnant and Parenting Teens: The Basics and Beyond; and Relationship Skills for Teens: Dating, Mating and Deliberating. To learn more and access the online workshops, click here.
National Sex Ed Conference. The National Sex Ed Conference is the largest conference in the United States that is exclusively devoted to sexuality education. Participants attend from across the nation and many other parts of the world to network and learn best practices in sexuality education, addressing a spectrum of topics, audiences, and ages. This year’s conference will be held December 9-11, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Brunswick, NJ. To find out more about the conference and register, click here.
Envisioning the Future, Creating Our Path: NACCHO Annual 2015. The National Association of County and City Health Officials hosts an annual conference that addresses the specific needs and concerns of local health officials. NACCHO’s conferences are learning and networking opportunities for local health officials and their public health partners from all geographic regions of the nation. Participants gather to share perspectives and engage in dialogue on common key public health practice issues. The NACCHO annual conference will take place July 7-9, 2015 in Kansas, MO. To find out more information, click here.
Youth 360°: How & Where Youth Live, Learn & Play Matters. Healthy Teen Network’s 36th annual national conference will take place October 13-16, 2015, at the Lord Baltimore Hotel in Baltimore, MD. The goal of the conference is to strengthen the capacity of participants to incorporate Youth 360° health promotion practices to assist adolescents and young adults, including teen parents, to thrive. Conference tracks include Partnership and Collaboration, Public Policy, Programs, Research & Evaluation, and Organizational Capacity Building. To learn more about the conference and register, click here.
Shape America 2016. The Society of Health and Physical Educators 2016 SHAPE America National Convention & Expo will take place at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, MN, April 5-9, 2016.To find out more, click here.
National Evidence-Based Programs Training of Trainers. ETR will be hosting a 4-day training of trainers September 15-18, 2015 in New Orleans, LA. This training will prepare individuals to effectively train educators on one of three evidence-based programs- Draw the Line/Respect the Line, Reducing the Risk, or Becoming a Responsible Teen. This certificate program is designed specifically for seasoned trainers. To learn more or register, click here.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Transitions in Body and Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Study on the Relationship between Pubertal Development and Adolescent Sexual Behavior. This article focuses on contrasting and combining results from several studies of the correlation between sexual behavior and puberty. The results often showed that adolescents who started puberty at an earlier age, as well as those farther in their pubertal status, were more likely to have/have had sexual intercourse, as well as engage in non-coital sexual behavior (kissing, touching, petting, etc.). The article also explores the social influences of puberty and how it relates to sexual behavior, such as how sexuality in adolescent boys is viewed differently from sexuality in adolescent girls. This research is important because it gives us a general timeline of common adolescent sexual behavior. When providing sexual health education to 13-19 year old young men who have sex with men (YMSM), it is imperative to address physiological changes that occur during puberty and sexual debut. The content from this article reinforces the need to address sexual health topics at younger ages within school settings to offset the negative effects that may occur when engaging in intercourse. To read this article, click here.
Creating Comprehensive, Youth Centered, Culturally Appropriate Sex Education: What Do Young Gay, Bisexual, and Questioning Men Want? This publication focuses on the experiences of young gay, bisexual, and questioning men (YGBQM) with school-based sexual health education. YGBQM share suggestions for improving resources, what they learned, how they supplemented their information, online sexual health education content, and alternative sources of sexual health information. To view the publication, click here.
Accessing sexual health information online: use, motivations and consequences for youth with different sexual orientations. This article examines what sexual health information youth research on the internet, why they do it, and what they do with the information. It also examines the difference amongst sexual orientation and benefits/consequences of LGBTQ youth researching sexual health information online. This article emphasizes the importance of online sexual health information being accurate and easily available to sexual minority youth. To read the article, click here.
DCPS Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Policy Guidance. The District of Columbia Public Schools Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Policy Guidance is intended to be a tool for schools, parents, and students to effectively navigate existing laws, regulations, and policies that support transgender or gender‐nonconforming DCPS students. It provides guidance to ensure that all students are treated equitably and with dignity at school. To view the guidance and find out what an inclusive school policy can look like for young people, click here.
Gender and Sexual Orientation Diversity in Children and Adolescents in Schools. In August 2014, the American Psychological Association Council of Representatives adopted the Resolution on Gender and Sexual Orientation Diversity in Children and Adolescents in Schools. The resolution calls for K-12 public schools to be places of safety and support for all students and offers recommendations for policies, programs, training and practices. To view the resolution, click here.
State Health Department Leadership in Addressing Chronic Conditions in Schools: Case Studies from Massachusetts and Missouri. The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) released a report highlighting how state health departments in partnership with schools and other stakeholders can lead the way in the management of students with chronic health conditions to improve health and education outcomes. These two case studies feature the work and accomplishments of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) and the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services (MDHSS) in addressing chronic health conditions in the school environment, including strides toward better identification and tracking of students with chronic disease and conditions and improved daily or emergency management. To view the publication, click here.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
National Quality Initiative Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Networks (NQI CoIIN). The School-Based Health Alliance announces an exciting opportunity to participate in a learning collaborative with the release of their National Quality Initiative Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Networks (NQI CoIIN) request for proposals. Teams comprised of school-based health centers (SBHCs), sponsors, and community- and state-level organizations are invited to apply. To access the NQI CoIIN request for proposals and NQI CoIIN application form, click here.
Revised Surveillance Case Definition for HIV Infection. Following extensive consultation and peer review, CDC and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists have revised and combined the surveillance case definitions for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection into a single case definition for persons of all ages. The revisions were made to address multiple issues, the most important of which was the need to adapt to recent changes in diagnostic criteria. For more information on this update, click here.
The Children’s Health and Education Mapping Tool. This tool will allow users to harness the power of geographic information systems (GIS) technology for data-driven decision-making. County-level data can be searched, mapped, downloaded, and compared, and high need areas can be identified. Schools and school-based health centers (SBHCs) can be mapped, filtered, and key characteristics can be displayed. This tool will be released in fall of 2015. To learn more about the Mapping Tool, click here.
SEA Institute. The NGO Collaborative (Advocates for Youth, American Psychological Association, and the National Coalition of STD Directors) conducted a two-day institute for all 19 State Education Agencies funded by the CDC PS13-1308 Promoting Adolescent Health Through School-Based HIV/STD Prevention and School-Based Surveillance. To view highlights from the Institute, click here.
To submit an article, announcement, or resource for the School Health Equity Newsletter, please call email Januari at januari@advocatesforyouth.org
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