Unintended Teen Pregnancy, HIV, and STD Prevention Efforts

1. Unintended Teen Pregnancy, HIV, and STD Prevention Efforts Strengthening Communication and Collaboration Between Agencies CDC Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH)

2. Presentation Overview • The issues: HIV, STDs, unintended teen pregnancy • Why collaboration and communication between agencies is critical • Benefits of strengthening collaboration and communication • Common strategies • Collaboration in action • Moving toward collaboration

3. Presentation Objectives • Increase awareness of how HIV, STDs, and unintended teen pregnancy have overlapping causes and prevention factors • Encourage agencies to collaborate in addressing these issues • Benefits of working within a coalition • Outline strategies to build and sustain a coalition • Show collaboration in action • Stress the importance of evaluation and assessment of a coalition – before, during, and after its life span

4. Presentation Overview (Cont.) • These slides may be used as a template which individual users can modify to create their own presentation • This may include • Adding STD, HIV, and unintended pregnancy statistics for a specific state • Including local, state, or regional resources and referrals

5. The Issues Data and Statistics STDs HIV Unintended Teen Pregnancy

6. Each Year, American Youth Experience • Nearly 900,000 teen pregnancies • Approximately 9 million new cases of STDs • An estimated 15,000 new cases of HIV among those aged 15-24 Sources: U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics, Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2004, and Weinstock, H., et al., Sexually Transmitted Diseases in American Youth: Incidence and Prevalence Estimates 2000

7. Despite of Widespread Efforts to Delay and Discourage Sexual Activity Among Young People, the Reality Is That One in Five Americans Have Sex Before Their 15th Birthday. Source: 14 and Under – The Sexual Behavior of Young Adolescents, National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2003

8. The Issues A Closer Look STDs HIV Unintended Teen Pregnancy

9. STDs • More than 9 million cases of STDs occur each year in young people aged 15-24 • Half of all American youth will contract an STD by age 25 • Rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea are higher in females aged 15-19 than in any other group • Lifetime medical costs associated with STDs in young people are estimated to be at least $6.5 billion Sources: Weinstock, H., et al., and Chesson, H.W., et al., The estimated direct medical cost of sexually transmitted diseases among American youth, 2000

10. STDs – Nearly Half of All New Cases Are Diagnosed In Youth Youth are only 25% of the sexually active population Source: Weinstock, H., et al.

11. STDsIn 2000,lifetime medical costs associated with STDs in young people are estimated to be at least $6.5 Billion Source: Chesson, H.W., et al.

12. HIV One-quarter of new HIV cases in youth are among those 21 and under Sources: NIAID 2002, NCHS 2002, CDC Surveillance Data, and Weinstock, H., et al.

13. HIV • HIV infections are especially increasing among young women and youth of color • 63% of HIV infections reported among 13-19 year olds are among women • African Americans account for 67% of HIV cases reported among 13-19 year olds Source: CDC Surveillance Data 1999, and Weinstock, H., et al.

14. Unintended Teen Pregnancy • Approximately 900,000 teen pregnancies in the U.S. Each year • Aged 14 and under: 20,000 pregnancies • Poor and low-income teens make up a disproportionate number of teen pregnancies • Although between 1991-2001 teen birth rates declined for every ethnic group, rates for African American and Hispanic women continue to be higher than those for other groups Source: U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics, Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2004

15. Pregnancy and Birth Rates for 2000 Among Women Aged 15-19 Source: Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2004

16. Benefits of Strengthening Collaboration and Communication

17. Benefits of Collaboration • Inclusive • Provides a springboard for communication among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners • Creates a forum for professionals to develop a shared vision for addressing HIV, other STDs, and unintended teen pregnancy • Expands the base of support for developing effective policies and programs

18. Benefits of Collaboration • Practical • Promotes awareness that many of the same risk factors contribute to HIV, other STDs, and unintended teen pregnancy and the same protective factors may prevent them • Contributes to effective strategies to promote public health

19. Benefits of Collaboration • Cost Effective • Increases the pool of available resources to address these topics by bringing new players to the table • Conserves resources (from a programmatic standpoint), because it is more efficient to address HIV, STDs and unintended teen pregnancy simultaneously rather than individually

20. Common Strategies for Collaboration Action Steps

21. Action Steps – Front End Planning • Collaborations require needs assessments and gap analysis as part of preliminary planning • Be clear about what the coalition wants to accomplish • Think about the resources needed to do the job and compare that with what the members bring to the table

22. Action Steps – Front End Planning (Cont.) Coalition building involves identifying agencies that would be good members of the alliance and bringing them together. Members should join for the right reasons and offer value to the collaborative • Diversity – strive for members who bring different perspectives, skills, and expertise • Build a leadership structure – do so in a cooperative fashion that includes representation from each member • Conflict resolution – decide up front how this will be handled. Set ground rules that are incorporated into your bylaws

23. Action Steps – Crafting a Governing Document • Mission statement • Developing bylaws • Plan of action

24. Action Steps – Mission Statement This is the vision shared by the collaborative that defines what you seek to accomplish. Write down a concise, clear statement of your goals • Use common goals – for example, do prospective members serve the same populations? • Develop shared objectives – this helps members to “buy in” to the collaboration and helps to define who you are and what you will do

25. Action Steps – Bylaws • Guidelines and procedures for the coalition • May include • A description of the membership • What types of agencies are involved? What is their common thread? • List of officers • e.g., Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Treasurer • Finances • Sources of revenue and fund-raising • How are funds accounted for? Who has oversight?

26. Action Steps – Bylaws (Cont.) • Frequency, time, and location of meetings • Conflict resolution • How will disagreements be resolved? • Specifics about decision making • How many representatives from each agency may vote? Are decisions reached by a simple majority of those voting?

27. Action Steps – Plan of Action Create a plan that considers both your goals and the available resources of your collaborative, as identified in the needs assessment • Objectives must be specific and realistic given the resources available • Establish time frames for the completion of specific tasks

28. Collaboration in Action

29. Collaboration in Action • Communication and process evaluation • Involving the community • Summary evaluation

30. Collaboration in Action Communication and process evaluation • The evaluation process is ongoing, not something to be done only at the end – build this into the coalition’s work plan • This allows you to assess how well long- and short-term goals are being met • Periodically review how members network and interact to see who may be isolated or on the “outside”

31. Collaboration in Action Involving the community • Educate policymakers • e.g., highlight the issues by providing HIV, STD and unintended teen pregnancy data for your city, state, or region • Educate and engage parents • Identify prominent organizations and individuals– “gatekeepers” in the community where the collaboration works

32. Collaboration in Action Summary evaluation • When the collaboration has run its course, evaluate your efforts • What worked? What didn’t work so well? • Partners can work together on data collection • Others will benefit from your perspective as they build coalitions

33. Moving Toward Collaboration

34. What Does It Require? • Creative thinking • Flexibility • Exploring common ground • Examining current programming gaps • Commitment

35. What Is the Payoff? • Efficiency • Energizing effect of being part of a larger team • Opening lines of communication leads to expanded awareness of different approaches to common problems • Lighten the load through shared responsibilities

36. Those in Public Health Work Hard and Work Smart Never more so than when working TOGETHER!

37. For more on building and maintaining effective coalitions see the booklet Essential Tips for Successful Collaboration, developed by a joint work group on school-based teen pregnancy, comprised of 8 national organizations, funded by DASH CDC DASH http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/index.htm

38. The National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) is a partnership of public health professionals dedicated to the prevention of STDs. NCSD provides dynamic leadership to strengthen STD programs. We advocate for effective policies, strategies, and sufficient resources and strive to increase awareness of the medical and social impact of STD. 1275 K Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005 www.ncsddc.org

39. The American Social Health Association (ASHA) is dedicated to improving the health of individuals, families, and communities, with a focus on preventing sexually transmitted diseases and their harmful consequences. P.O. Box 13827, RTP, NC 27709 www.ashastd.org