MARCH 2014

Feature: The Reproductive and Sexual Health of Young Men of Color: Redressing Disparities and Engaging YMOC in Prevention

This new factsheet from Advocates for Youth provides data on the disparity among young men and their sexual health outcomes, young men’s demonstrated improvement and potential for better sexual and reproductive health, and what health professionals and young serving professionals can do to meaningfully engage this demographic. To access the full factsheet, click here.

Capacity Building and Professional Development

Healthy Teen Network’s Annual 2014 Conference. This year Healthy Teen Network challenges you to think creatively about partnerships/ innovative collaborations that embrace the Youth360 approach – How and where youth live, learn, and play matters. The theme for this year’s is Synergy: Achieving More Together. Healthy Teen Network is currently accepting applications for abstract proposals. The deadline for submission is March 23, 2014. The conference will be held in Austin, Texas from October 21-24, 2014. For more information about the conference and to submit a proposal, click here.

United States Conference on AIDS 2014. For nearly two decades, USCA has sought to increase the strength and diversity of the community-based response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic through education, training, new partnerships, collaboration and networking. This year, USCA will work to high-light the changes in our movement that have brought us closer than ever to ending the epidemic, and ways that we can move forward as a community to make this dream a reality. USCA will be held in San Diego, California from October 2-5, 2014.The deadline for abstract submission is April 4, 2014. For more information about the conference and abstract submission guidelines, click here. To learn more about the National Minority AIDS Council, the leading organizers of the conference, click here.

Funding Opportunities

Community Approaches to Reducing Sexually Transmitted Diseases (CARs). The purpose of this program is to support local implementation of community engagement methods to achieve health equity, identification and implementation of systems and environmental change strategies that promote sexual health and support healthy behaviors, facilitate community-clinical linkages to build support for interventions to prevent and reduce STI disparities, enhance and sustain partnerships, support communication strategies that promote STD program successes and leverage additional resources for STI, HIV, viral hepatitis control and prevention, and evaluate the efficacy of this intervention approach. The Letter of Intent is due March 17, 2014 and the application deadline is April 10, 2014. For more information about this opportunity, click here.

Resources

HIV/AIDS Medical Practice Guidelines Accessible From Mobile Devices. The AIDSinfo mobile site recently released a mobile-optimized format of the federally approved HIV/AIDS medical practice guidelines. Now users can navigate between different guideline sections easily and utilize the search function to find information faster. In addition, the boxed recommendations which are a summary of the most important recommendations, are more prominent. These updates make it easier than ever to reference the HIV/AIDS guidelines at the point of care. To read the full article about the updates, click here. To review the guidelines, click here.

Speaking – and Listening – To Teens Through New Media Tools. The Baylor College of Medicine Teen Health Clinic’s website was expanded to assist adolescent in their searches for reproductive, family planning and HIV information and services. The website now includes new content and links to additional social network sites such as Instagram and Snapchat. To read the full article about the expansion, click here. To access the updated Teen Health Clinic website, click here.

Recent Publications

Implementation findings and lessons learned. The Journal of Adolescent Health just released a special issue supplement titled, “Implementing Evidence-based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs: Legislation to Practice,” featuring implementation findings and lessons learned from Office of Adolescent Health’s (OAH) Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program. Each paper in the supplement addresses a unique topic in implementation science while reinforcing common themes, such as the importance of planning, monitoring fidelity, and assessing and building capacity. The full journal issue will be available via open access for the next six months (until 8/19/2014). To read the journal issue, click here.

What Does It Take to Implement Evidence-Based Practices?: A Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program Shows the Way. After widespread emphasis on identifying what works, the focus has now shifted to how to successfully put proven programs in place in a variety of locations. This report by The Bridgespan Group, concludes that the OAH’s TPP Program is “a model worth emulating” on how to support the growth of evidence-based programs. To read the full report, click here. To read the recent article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, where authors of the report explain the importance of following the recipe for successful program implementation and other lessons learned, click here.

Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy, Sexually Transmitted Infections, and Associated Sexual Risk Behaviors: A Systematic Review. This systematic review provides a comprehensive, updated assessment of programs with evidence of effectiveness in reducing teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), or associated sexual risk behaviors. Out of the 88 studies that met the review criteria, 31 programs were identified with evidence of effectiveness. To access the full article, click here.

Facts Influencing Abstinence, Anticipation, and Delay of Sex Among Adolescent Boys in High-Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevalence Communities. This study explores the attitudinal, behavioral, and family contexts relating to abstinence and the decision to delay sex among adolescent boys. Abstinence among boys is common, even in high–STI risk communities. For these boys, abstinence appears to be a complex behavioral decision influenced by demographic, behavioral, attitudinal, and contextual factors such as age, race, non-coital sexual behaviors, and masculine values. Understanding the attitudes and contexts of abstinence, including plans to delay sex, can inform the development of public health programs for early fatherhood and STI prevention. To access the full study, click here.

Announcements

April 10th is National Youth HIV and AIDS Awareness Day! National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day is a day to educate the public about the impact of HIV and AIDS on young people as well as highlight the amazing work young people are doing across the country to fight the HIV & AIDS epidemic. Resources for the day include the following:

• National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day is now featured on AIDS.gov!
• Check out the updated NYHAAD campaign starter kit!
• Find us on Facebook and Twitter
• Don’t forget to check out NYHAAD events near you or register your own event!

D.C. Legalizes Expedited Partner Therapy to Combat High Rate of Sexually Transmitted Infections. The D.C. council recently approved an expedited partner therapy (EPT) program to fight the high rates of STD infection and reinfection. The Expedited Partner Therapy Act of 2013 allows doctors who treat individuals diagnosed with STDs to provide treatment for their partners also, without seeing the partner for an exam. Partners are likely to be infected as well. To read the full article, 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.

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.