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03.09.2018
Resources

School Health Equity Newsletter November 2017

NOVEMBER 2017

Feature:

Technology is Crucial for Youth Sexual Health—Here’s Why: Youth Tech Health (YTH), an organization that aims to advance the health of youth and young adults through technology, explains the importance of health technologies. They allow young people, who might not otherwise have access to the resources, tools, and information they need, to keep themselves safe and advocate for their own health.

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RESOURCES

SIECUS State Profiles Fiscal Year 2017

The SIECUS State Profiles: A Portrait of Sexuality Education, Fiscal Year 2017 Edition includes individual profiles of adolescent sexual health promotion programs and abstinence-only-until-marriage federal funding and programs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the other U.S. Territories and associated states. It is intended to serve as a resource for advocates, educators, policymakers, public health professionals, parents, youth, and stakeholders across the country who are working to advance sexual health education.

Explaining Sexual Assault and Consent to Youth

With all that has been going on recently in the news surrounding sexual harassment, students are likely to have questions about sexual assault and consent. AMAZE is here to help explain it to them with two new videos and resources for educators that help educators tackle these tough topics.

Tell Me What You See

The Connecticut State Departments of Education and Public Health in collaboration with Concerned Citizens for Humanity and the Prison Arts Program developed a prevention education for high school aged youth, The Tell Me What You See (TMWYS) program integrates health knowledge and skill development through an art-based approach for STD, hepatitis and HIV prevention education, TMWYS uses artwork and poetry created by incarcerated youth as the foundation for interactive classroom activities that promote and enhance actionable prevention programs in school, community-based settings and youth detention centers. For more information, please visit their website.

CAPACITY BUILDING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The School Superintendents Association Conference: Education in the Digital Age

Date & Location: February 15-17, 2018 in Nashville, TN. Registration for the School Superintendents Association (AASA) annual conference is now open!

Time to Thrive Conference

Date & Location: February 16-18, 2018 in Orlando, FL.

Registration for the fifth annual Time to Thrive conference is now open! The Human Rights Campaign Foundation in partnership with the National Education Association and the American Counseling Association present Time To THRIVE, the annual national conference to promote safety, inclusion and well-being for LGBTQ youth…everywhere!

Save the Date: 21st Annual National School Social Work Conference

Date & Location: March 14-17, 2018 in Columbus, OH.

Mark your calendars for the 21st annual School Social Work Conference! This annual conference is the only national conference devoted exclusively to the School Social Work profession! This year’s conference will be hosted at the Hyatt Regency Columbus.

Youth Tech Health Live conference

Date & Location: May 6-7, 2018 in San Francisco, CA.

Registration is now open! YTH Live is the premier conference for trailblazing technology that advances youth health and wellness.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Pregnancies, Births and Abortions Among Adolescents and Young Women in the United States, 2013: National and State Trends by Age, Race and Ethnicity

This report contains statistics for 2013 on the incidence of pregnancy, birth and abortion among adolescents and young women aged 24 or younger for the United States as a whole and for individual states. National data include trends for multiple age-groups since 1973, and state data include trends among 15–19-year-olds since 1988. The report concludes with a discussion of the methodology and sources used to obtain the estimates.

Sexual Orientation Disparities in Mistimed and Unwanted Pregnancy Among Adult Women

Adult sexual minority women have an elevated risk for experiencing an unintended pregnancy, according to a study by Bethany G. Everett of the University of Utah and colleagues, which relied on data from the 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth. Compared with heterosexual women who had only male partners, heterosexual women who had sex with women were more likely to report that a pregnancy was mistimed, and bisexual and lesbian women were more likely to report that a pregnancy was unwanted. The authors note that sexual minority women are less likely than others to access reproductive health services and to receive medically accurate information about their sexual health needs, and both of these factors could increase their risk of unintended pregnancy.

Overall Contraceptive Use in the United States Remained Steady from 2008 to 2014

According to a new study by Guttmacher researchers, in 2014, as in 2008, 60% of all women and 90% of women at risk of unintended pregnancy reported using some method of contraception. Although overall contraceptive use did not change over time, the authors, Megan Kavanaugh and Jenna Jerman did observe changes in which contraceptive methods were being used and by which groups of women.

CDC/ DASH Resources

CDC/DASH released new resources that address the connection between student health and academic achievement. The resources include an MMWR article, a web page with factsheets, data tables, and other resources, and a digital press kit. CDC/DASH released the 2016 School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS) results. Please go to the SHPPS webpage to access the results of the study.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Introducing the SIECUS State Policy Director!

Jennifer Driver joined SIECUS in August as the State Policy Director. In this role, she oversees SIECUS’ efforts to develop and provide strategic policy and advocacy guidance to state and local partners and leads research and analysis of the SIECUS state profiles and legislative reports. She incorporates an intersectional lens by examining policies and practices that addressed health disparities related to racism, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and socioeconomics.

Folks can contact Jennifer directly at jdriver@siecus.org to receive state updates. For updates from SIECUS, sign up here!

This document was made possible by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health (CDC-DASH) under cooperative agreement 1UP87PS004154. The contents do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. divider

To submit an article, announcement, or resource for the School Health Equity Newsletter, please email Mary Beth Szydlowski at marybeth@advocatesforyouth.org

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