Managing Partner
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Learn more about Partnership for Prevention's initiatives here. |
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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!
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Dear Colleague,
Welcome to NCC News. This online newsletter was created to keep you up-to-date on all things chlamydia and related areas of interest. We hope you will find it useful and informative. Please feel free to share this with your colleagues who also may find it of use. |
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April is STD Awareness Month!
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April is STD Awareness Month, and in 2014 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is promoting STD prevention as a part of HIV prevention. STD and HIV testing is a critical step in preventing the spread of disease. Each year in the US there are 20 million new STD cases, which cost an estimated $16 billion. Take a moment to read this blog from Gail Bolan, Director of the Division of STD Prevention at the CDC, and get yourself tested!
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Opportunity to Submit Comments: Draft USPSTF Recommendations for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea Screening and Behavioral Counseling for STI Prevention
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The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently posted draft recommendation statements and evidence reviews on 1) screening for chlamydia and gonorrhea and 2) behavioral counseling interventions to prevent sexually transmitted infections. Both are available for review and public comment from April 29 through May 26, 2014.
The draft USPSTF statement recommends screening for chlamydia and gonorrhea in sexually active women age 24 years and younger and in older women who are at increased risk for infection. This is a B recommendation. This updated recommendation combines, reaffirms, and simplifies the USPSTF's previous recommendations. Previously, chlamydia and gonorrhea had different screening recommendations. Screening for chlamydia was recommended for sexually active women age 24 and younger and in older women who are at increased risk, while gonorrhea was recommended only for sexually active women (including pregnant women) who were at increased risk for infection.
The draft USPSTF statement recommends intensive behavioral counseling for all sexually active adolescents and adults at increased risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This is a B recommendation. This updated recommendation reaffirms that the evidence is adequate to recommend high-intensity behavioral counseling for persons at increased risk (including all sexually active adolescents), but recognizes that some interventions of lesser intensity are also effective. Hence, the change from a recommendation for high-intensity behavioral counseling to intensive behavioral counseling.
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NIHCM Fact Sheet on Increasing HPV Vaccination
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The National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation released a fact sheet that explores barriers to HPV vaccination and highlights strategies health plans can use to improve  uptake of the vaccines. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adolescent HPV vaccination is one of the top five public health priorities of 2014, and the President's Cancer Council has issued an urgent call to action to improve HPV vaccination rates. HPV vaccination has failed to keep pace with recommendations, despite the fact that the available vaccines are safe and effective at preventing devastating cancers and other HPV-related illnesses.
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Report on Preventing Pregnancy in Younger Teens
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Teen births in the US have declined over the last 20 years to the lowest level ever recorded, but still more than 86,000 teens ages 15 to 17 gave birth in 2012. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report on this issue and what can be done to  further prevent pregnancies in younger teens. Over the past 20 years, births to girls aged 15-19 dropped from 84.1 per 1,000 teens in 1991 to 29.4 per 1,000 in 2012. However, more than one-fourth of those born to teenage mothers were born to girls aged 15 to 17 in 2012. Becoming a teen mom at such a young age is associated with a variety of medical risks and emotional, social, and financial costs, including the likelihood that the mother will not finish high school or earn a GED.
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Retest Reminders Available from Bedsider
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Bedsider has collaborated with the California Department of Public Health STD Control Branch and the California Family Health Council to  expand the InTOUCH reminder system that was successfully piloted in California to a national scale. The "reminders portal" helps providers increase rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea retesting in their clinics. The reminders add to the online contraceptive support, tools and content that Bedsider already offers to young adults and providers. Providers can sign up for the Bedsider Provider Network free of charge, and have access to the secure reminders portal.
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| Webcast: How Positive Youth Development Offers Promise for Teen Health & Teen Pregnancy Prevention | |
May is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month. In observance, the HHS Office of Adolescent Health is hosting a live webcast on positive youth development. The webcast is being held on Wednesday, May  7th, 2014 between 2-3 p.m., ET. Evelyn Kappeler, Director of the Office of Adolescent Health, will moderate the discussion, which will include the research behind youth development programs, their value and success in curbing teen pregnancy, and what the future holds.
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PCSI Stories in STD Prevention
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In September 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded $6.2 million to six health departments (New York City, North Carolina, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Texas, and Washington, D.C.) for Program Collaboration and Service Integration (PCSI)  projects to plan, scale-up, and support the implementation of a syndemic approach to the prevention of HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, STDs, and TB. Four years later the awardees are showcasing their accomplishments and lessons learned. These PCSI Success Stories demonstrate how awardees applied program collaboration and service integration in their jurisdictions, and can help to inform your own work in this area.
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