DECEMBER 2013
Feature: School Health Equity Website!
The School Health Equity program at Advocates for Youth is by funded CDC/DASH and offers resources and support to state education agencies (SEAs) to improve their capacity to implement exemplary sexual health education (ESHE) with priority school districts. As part of these efforts, the School Health Equity website has been updated! The website features new sections such as Adolescent Sexual Health 101, Evidence-Informed Sexual Health Education, and Meeting the Needs of Youth at Disproportionate Risk. It also provides links to all archived monthly newsletters. To check out the updated School Health Equity website, click here.
Capacity Building and Professional Development
2014 Conference on Adolescent Health: Optimizing Adolescent Health through Research, Education, and Practice Change.
The University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) Health Initiative and the Michigan Department of Community Health present the first state-wide conference on adolescent health in Michigan. Attend the conference to learn how to translate knowledge on working with adolescents into practice. The conference will be held on April 4, 2014 in Ypsilanti, Michigan. To register for the conference, review the agenda, and for more information, click here.
Closing the Health Disparities Gap. The School-Based Health Alliance has launched three new series of webinars: Grand Rounds, Sustainability, and Health Reform. As part of this series, the “Closing the Health Disparities Gap” webinar, will be held on December 17, 2013 at 3:00pm EST. For this Grand Rounds webinar, the School-Based Health Alliance partnered with Fenway Institute’s National LGBT Health Education Center to talk about how HIV is impacting LGBTQ and other vulnerable youth and how school-based health programs can make a difference. To register for the webinar, click here. For more information about the webinar series and other School-Based Health Alliance webinars, click here.
Grant Opportunities
STD/HIV Disease Intervention Services Training Centers (DISTC). The purpose of this FOA is to provide necessary training to strengthen the skills and capacity of Disease Intervention Specialist (DIS) and other partner services (PS) provider staff working in or with state/local health department STD/HIV prevention programs to deliver efficient and effective STD/HIV PS and other disease intervention activities. The application deadline is January 6, 2014. For more information about this grant opportunity and to apply, click here.
Resources
Beforeplay.org. The Beforeplay campaign, launched by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDHE) and funded solely by the Colorado Initiative to Reduce Unintended Pregnancies, was a statewide effort to “normalize conversation” around family planning, birth control, and sexual health among young adults ages 18-29. The campaign is based on personal interviews, online programs, and focus groups with urban and rural Coloradans, imparted the messages that knowledge is power and having control over choices results in a happier future. To read more information about the campaign, click here. To view the Beforeplay campaign website, click here.
2010-2011 Census Report: State Fact Sheets.
The School-Based Health Alliance has released individual factsheets containing state-level data from the 2010-2011 Census Report on the status of school-based health centers. These factsheets can be used to compare state-level responses with national data. To access the factsheets, click here.
Recent Publications
2012 School Health Profiles. The School Health Profiles is a system of surveys assessing school health policies and practices in states, large urban school districts, territories, and tribal governments. Profiles monitors the status of school health education requirements and content; physical education and physical activity; school health policies related to HIV infection/AIDS, tobacco-use prevention, and nutrition; asthma management activities; family and community involvement in school health programs; and school health coordination. For an overview of the Profiles, click here. To read the full 2012 Profiles report, click here.
Chlamydia in the South: Raising the Bar for Everyone. The National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) has released a new state-based resource, a factsheet titled “Chlamydia in the South: Raising the Bar for Everyone.” This factsheet was written for state policymakers and is a part of NCSD’s ongoing state policy focus as well as a focus on areas disproportionately affected by STDs. To access the factsheet, click here.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). Child Trends recently published a new Adolescent Health Highlight publication. The report, “Sexually Transmitted Diseases,” presents key research findings about the trends in STD rates among US adolescents; discusses factors that heighten or reduce adolescents’ risk of acquiring an STD; and provides information and resources on STD prevention and testing. To access the publication, click here.
Announcements/News
In the Know: Social Media for Public Health.
In the Know is a live, interactive webcast series designed to provide the latest in social media to support public health success. In the Know II will build upon the strategies and tactics that were presented in the first series and offer even more social media best practices, current trends, and successful public health campaign examples. To view the first In the Know series, click here. The first webcast in the second series, “The Life Cycle of a Social Media Plan,” was held on November 20, 2013. Future webcasts will be held on February 6, 2014 and March 6, 2014. To register for future webcasts, click here.
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.
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