school health equity newsletter – march 2013

feature: national youth hiv & aids awareness day

national youth hiv & aids awareness day is a day to educate the public about the impact of hiv and aids in young people as well as highlight the amazing work young people are doing across the country to fight the hiv & aids epidemic in the united states. lead by 喀麦隆vs巴西波胆分析 and 12 founding partners, the first ever national youth hiv & aids awareness day will be held on april 10, 2013. the day will be celebrated all across the country with events hosted by various organizations and individuals in high schools, colleges, churches, community centers, and more! there are also opportunities for online participation.

learn more about national youth hiv & aids awareness day here.

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capacity building and professional development

presentations from ncsd’s advancing sexual health through state sexual health plans meeting. the national coalition of std directors (ncsd) hosted a meeting to further the development of state sexual health plans. held on february 20-21 in washington, dc, advancing sexual health through state sexual health plans meeting was the first of its kind, bringing together approximately 50 key sexual health stakeholders from selected state and national partners. for more information about this meeting and to access all presentations, click here.

new tools for cdc’s u.s. medical eligibility criteria for contraceptive use, 2010. the u.s. medical eligibility criteria for  contraceptive use, 2010 (u.s. mec) is composed of more than 1,800 recommendations for the safety of contraceptive methods among women and men with certain characteristics or medical conditions. cdc has developed several new tools to assist health care providers in accessing and using the u.s. mec.

identifying programs that impact teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and associated sexual risk behaviors: call for studies. mathematica policy research seeks studies for a systematic review of the evidence base for programs that impact teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and associated sexual risk behaviors. the review is being conducted for the office of the assistant secretary for planning and evaluation (aspe), the administration on children, youth and families (acyf), and the office of adolescent health (oah) within the u.s. department of health and human services (hhs). submissions should be emailed to pprer@mathematica-mpr.com by april 30, 2013. apart from three changes to the review protocol – cluster adjustments, attrition calculations, and effect size information – this review will follow the same protocol used for the last round of reviews which can be found here.

grant opportunities

contract to conduct client surveys at std clinics. this proposal opportunity from the national association of county & city health officials (naccho) is for agencies, institutions, organizations, or individuals to conduct a clinic-based survey of clients accessing healthcare at local health department (lhd) std clinics. the purpose of the survey is to assess: 1) the demographic characteristics of clients accessing care at lhd std clinics, 2) clients’ insurance status, 3) clients’ reason(s) for seeking care at the std clinic, and 4) std-related services received by the client. the application deadline is april 1, 2013. for more information about this proposal opportunity, click here.

recent publications

2011 hiv surveillance report. this report presents data on diagnoses of hiv infection through 2011 and reported to the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) through june 2012. for the first time, cdc is able to present data on diagnosed hiv infection from all 50 states, district of columbia, and six territories. the report demonstrates that hiv continues to have a devastating toll on americans, particularly men who have sex with men (msm) and racial/ethnic minorities. for example, msm represent two percent of the u.s. population but 62 percent of all hiv diagnoses are attributed to male-to-male sexual behavior. in addition, african-americans represent 12 percent of the u.s. population but 47 percent of diagnose of hiv infection. to read the full report, click here.

prime time: sexual health outcomes at 24 months for a clinic-linked intervention to prevent pregnancy risk behaviors. prime time is a youth development intervention that aims to reduce pregnancy risk among adolescent girls seeking clinic services who are at high risk for pregnancy. the objective of the study was to evaluate risk behaviors and related outcomes within a 24-month post-baseline survey and six months after the conclusion of the prime time intervention. main outcomes of the study included self-reported consistency of condom, hormonal, and dual-method contraceptive use with most recent male sex partner and number of male sex partners in the past six months. to access the article, click here.

announcements/news

“scientists say child born with hiv apparently cured, offers clues for fighting pediatric aids.” mississippi hiv specialists report that giving an hiv-infected newborn faster, stronger treatment than usual seems to have “cured” the two-and-a-half-year-old by preventing the hiv virus from establishing hidden reservoirs of hiv cells in the body. when tests completed during labor revealed that the baby’s mother was hiv-positive, doctors at the small hospital sent the baby to university of mississippi pediatric hiv specialist dr. hannah gay, who treated the at-risk baby with a combination of three hiv drugs within 30 hours of birth. to read the full article, click here.

“georgia no. 4 for syphilis.” georgia ranked fourth among the 50 states and the district of columbia for syphilis in 2011 and has some of the worst sexually transmitted disease rates in the country based on data compiled by the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc). georgia also ranked seventh for gonorrhea and eighth for chlamydia. the syphilis elimination program based in atlanta attempts to identify sexual partners of those who test positive for syphilis so that they might be tested and treated if necessary. however, this program only works if individuals can identify their sexual partners. lynn beckmann, the georgia department of public health’s district 10 infectious diseases program coordinator, advises the public to be personally responsible for their sexual partners, to be sure that they are free from stds through testing, and to take precautions such as wearing condoms. to read the full article, click here.

resources