Find the NCC on Facebook!

The National Chlamydia Coalition is now on Facebook. To follow the NCC, simply visit our page and click the "like" button. Don't forget to share it with your friends and colleagues!

NCSD is Hiring

The National Coalition of STD Directors is recruting a Manager of Policy and Communications. Interested candidates should send a cover letter, resume, a two page writing sample, and three references to kmayor@ncsddc.org.

April is STD awarness month! Have you developed any cool new materials to celebrate and promote GYT? If so, feel free to share them with your colleagues by uploading them to the Chlamydia Resource Exchange. Or, search for customizable materials that your organization can use to increase awareness during the remainder of the month and in the future!  

The Affordable Care Act directs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to offer an Annual Wellness Visit, which includes a health risk assessment, to Medicare beneficiaries. In late March, CMS released Interim Guidance for Health Risk Assessments. The document calls for inquiring about sexual practices when assessing personal health risks for each Medicare beneficiary-persons age 65 and over and over 8 million disabled persons. Partnership for Prevention and Thomson Reuters developed the report on which the guidance was based.

The April 1st MMWR includes an article based on CDC's May 20, 2010 Grand Rounds presentation focusing on chlamydia. The presentation and article detail current efforts to reduce the burden of chlamydia and its complications, as well as addresses the myriad social disparities and challenges that face those seeking to limit the reach of this serious public health problem. 

The session was presented by Dr. Sami L. Gottlieb, Catherine L. Satterwhite, and Dr. Raul A. Romaguera, with Dr. Gale Burstein of the Society for Adolescent Medicine and Dr. Gail Bolan of the California Department of Public Health as discussants.    

According to a CDC Vital Signs report, the U.S. teen birth rate declined by 37% between 1991 and 2009 to the lowest level in 70 years. Despite the decline, the U.S. teen birth rate was six to nine times higher than birth rates in other developed countries between 2008 and 2009. Racial and ethnic disparities still persist, with black and Hispanic teens having a birth rate two to three times higher than white teens. Blacks and Hispanics also have the lowest rate of contraceptive use. The report also found that just 50% of teens receive comprehensive sex education. Read an overview of the full report here.

The third installment of the National Chlamydia Coalition's research brief series is now available. Getting More Young Women Screened for Chlamydia: Findings from Qualitative Research summarizes overall findings and conclusions from existing qualitative studies and literature reviews that provide valuable insights into why women do or do not seek chlamydia screening. These studies help us understand the key factors influencing a woman's decision to get tested, including attitudes, knowledge, beliefs, perceived social norms, and skills.

CDC is working to expand the reach of the GYT: Get Yourself Tested campaign with a focus on chlamydia screening for 15-25 year-old women. To this end, nine subcontracts, valued up to $20,000 each, have been awarded. Programs will use this funding to support locally tailored GYT efforts with the implementation and evaluation of strategic social marketing plans to promote chlamydia (and other STD) screening. Funding has been awarded to nine programs, including the Jackson County Health Department (IL); Johns Hopkins University; Metro TeenAIDS (DC); Planned Parenthood of KY; Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan NJ; Sacramento County- Department of Health and Human Services (CA); Sanford Health (SD); the University of California, San Francisco; and the University of Missouri.

As part of STD Awareness Month, the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) and their partners are publishing a series of new blogs every week on the RH Reality Check website to highlight key areas of STD prevention and treatment. Pieces already posted include:  Preventing Sexually Transmitted Infections: The Money Crisis by William Smith, NCSD Executive Director; "Got STD Testing?": Meeting the STD and HIV Testing Needs of Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) by Ken Katz, NCSD Associate Member; and  Sex Education and STDs: Why the Message Matters by Sandra Serna Smith, NCSD Program Manager.