MINNESOTA
DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH
DID YOU
KNOW?
Adolescent Heath E News
J U L Y
•
Mental health promotion and the
internet (page 1)
•
Dating violence
and STI risk (page
1)
•
Young adults expectations for love
and marriage (page
2)
•
Why at-risk kids
engage in high-risk
behavior (page 2)
•
Adolescent arrestees
and STI
testing and
treatment
(page 2)
•
Making
Proud
Choices
Training (page 3)
•
It’s that Easy Training (page 3)
•
An Update on
Minnesota’s Sexual
Violence Prevention Plan (page 3)
•
See last page for
details on how to
sign up for this
newsletter
2 0 0 9
Addressing Mental Health Issues via Internet?
A
recent article in
this month’s Journal
of Adolescent Health highlights
an innovative program out of
Australia that uses the internet
to reach young people who may
have mental health concerns. The program,
called Reach Out
(www.reachout.com.au),
has five basic elements:
“(1) evidence-based fact
sheets on youth-related
and mental health issues
created in partnership
with professional organizations, clinic experts, and
young people; (2) an online
community forum moderated
by trained peer moderators and
staff supervised; (3) Reach Out
Central
(www.reachoutcentral.com.au),
an online “serious” game that
provides the opportunity to
practice life skills in a virtual
setting using real-life scenarios;
(4) links with social networking
sites (e.g., Facebook); and (5)
podcasts covering mental health
topics that can be played on
demand.”
The authors, one of whom will
be in the Twin Cities at this
year’s Summer Institute in Adolescent Health in July (Jonathan
Nicholas), conclude that despite
the great need in the United
States for greater mental health
promoting services, there is
nothing comparable to Reach
Out. They state, “Reach Out
could provide invaluable new
support to American youth, as
well as complement and
strengthen existing youth services.”
Burns JM, Durkin LA, Nicholas J.
Mental health of young people in
the United States: What role can
the internet play in reducing stigma
and promoting help seeking? Journal of Adolescent Health 2009;
45 :95-97.
Addressing Fear of Dating Violence Crucial to HIV Prevention
A
study published in
the American Journal of Public Health (“Effects of
fear of abuse and possible STI
acquisition on the sexual behavior of young African American
women”, June 2009) examined
the effects of fear of abuse on
condom knowledge and use for
young African American
women. They assessed 715
young women “for fear of abuse
because of negotiating condom
use, knowledge of STIs, and
several sexual risk behaviors.”
The authors concluded that
“most HIV prevention interventions focus on increasing knowledge about the transmission of
STIs. However, other contextual factors such as fear of
abuse because of negotiating
condom use may heighten the
risk of HIV infection. Our findings highlight the need for combining dating violence prevention activities with STI and HIV
prevention programs targeting
young African American
Women.”
Raiford JL, DiClemente RJ, Wingood GM. Effects of fear of
abuse and possible STI acquisition on the sexual behavior of
young African American
women. American Journal of Public Health. 2009;99:1067-1071.
PAGE
2
Research
Times Have Changed, But
Young Adults Still Have High
Expectations for Love and Marriage
From Child Trends, July 9, 2009
“Adolescents
need to be
surrounded by safe
places, challenging
experiences and
caring people to
develop in healthy
ways.”
-Minnesota’s
Adolescent Health
Action Plan
“Despite the recent increases in nonmarital childbearing and cohabitation,
most young adults in the U.S. have
positive views of marriage and wish
to marry someday, according to a
new Child Trends brief. The brief,
Young Adult Attitudes about Relationships and Marriage: Times May
Have Changed, But Expectations
Remain High, also finds that young
adults value love, fidelity, and commitment in their relationships, and
have positive attitudes about cohabitation..
Child Trends researchers analyzed
data on 12,000 young adults between
the ages of 20 and 24 from the Na-
tional Longitudinal Study of
Adolescent Health. Among
the findings:
be married "now," but 84 percent think it is important to be
married someday.
About three-quarters of 20- to
24-year olds are in romantic
relationships. 21 percent are
married, 20 percent are unmarried but living together,
and 35 percent are in a romantic relationship, but not
living with their partner.
More than three-fourths of
young adults believe that love,
fidelity, and making a lifelong
commitment are very important
to a successful relationship, while
less than one-fourth consider
money of overriding importance.
83 percent of unmarried 20to 24-year olds think it is important or very important to
be married someday, and 70
percent believe that there is a
good or certain chance that
they will be married within the
next ten years.
Among cohabiting young
adults, less than half want to
57 percent of young adults agree
that it is all right for unmarried
couples to live together (cohabit)
even if marriage is not being
considered; 24 percent disagree,
and 19 percent are neutral on
the issue.”
http://www.childtrends.org//Files/
Child_Trends2009_07_08_RB_YoungAdultAtt
itudes.pdf
More Research
Why at-risk kids engage in
high-risk behavior
From Minnesota Public Radio
“A new study by the University
of Minnesota shows that kids
who believe they are going to
die young often engage in the
very behavior that can lead to
an early death.
That runs counter to the conventional belief that teens take
risks because they see themselves as invincible.
The study says 15
percent of adolescents
believe it's highly likely
that they will die before age 35.
‘That's more than one
in seven youth in this
country who look into
the future, and don't
see a long and winding road
ADOLESCENT
HEATH
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NEWS
ahead of them,’ said Dr. Iris
Borowsky, lead author of the
U of M study.”
http://
minnesota.publicradio.org/
display/web/2009/06/26/
teendeaths/
Testing for STDS among
Juvenile Arrestees
A recent article from the
American Journal of Public
Health (“Detecting, preventing,
and treating sexually transmitted diseases among adolescent
arrestees: An unmet public
health need”, June 2009) highlighted the importance of
screening juveniles in the juvenile justice system. It featured a
program in Florida that increased collaboration between
the public health and juvenile
justice systems in order to
provide STD testing to new
arrestees. While adolescent
offenders often get screened
once they are detained, or
incarcerated, many adolescent
offenders are released back
into the community relatively
shortly after arrest. This program tested them upon arrest,
and connected them with
treatment or prevention services upon release. The authors stated, “with integrated
linkages to treatment and prevention after release, this
model could greatly reduce the
STD burden in this underserved, high-risk population.”
Belenko S, Dembo Rc, Rollie
M, Child K, Salvatore C. Detecting, preventing, and treating sexually transmitted diseases among adolescent arrestees: An unmet public health
need. American Journal of Public
Health . 2009; 99: 1032-1041)
PAGE
3
Conferences/Trainings
There’s still space available!!
Making Proud Choices!
Training of Educators
July 20–21: 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
July 22 : 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Minnesota Department of
Education
1500 Highway 36 West, Roseville
$175 MOAPPP Member/$210
Non-member
“As young
people navigate
the changes of
adolescence, it is
critical that they
receive the
guidance,
support and
encouragement
that fosters
healthy
development.”
-Minnesota’s
Adolescent Health
Action Plan
Making Proud Choices! is an 8module curriculum for use by
school districts, faith communities and community organizations that provides adolescents
with the knowledge, confidence and skills to reduce
their risk of STI/HIV and pregnancy. This curriculum, designed for youth ages 11-13,
emphasizes waiting to have sex
or using condoms if young
people choose to have sex. In
addition to the 2 ½ days of
highly interactive training, each
participant receives a copy of
the Making Proud Choices!
curriculum, an activity set and
video clips. For more information and to register, see the
flyer and event registration
form (http://www.moappp.org/
Documents/events/2009/
MPCRegistrationFlyer.pdf).
Questions? Contact Jill Farris
at 651-644-1447 x18 or
[email protected].
It's That Easy: The Caring
Adult's Guide to Raising
Sexually Healthy Children
August 4-5, 2009
18, you are in a unique position to
support them in their critical role
as sexuality educators for their
children. However, sexuality is not
always easy to discuss. Come learn
tools and techniques to engage
parents/caregivers in developmentally appropriate approaches to
raising sexually healthy children.
Participants receive the It's That
Easy manual, a comprehensive guide
designed to help you work with
parents in your community.
For more information, see the flyer
and registration form (PDF). Questions? Contact Jocelyn Broyles at
651-644-1447 x19,
[email protected]. Scholarships
are available.
8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Worthington Travelodge
2015 Humiston Avenue, Worthington
If you work with parents/
caregivers of children birth to
Opportunities
Moving Beyond Imagination:
An Update on Minnesota’s
Sexual Violence Prevention
Plan
You've seen the theme: Imagine
our lives without sexual violence
or exploitation
Many of us in Minnesota share
that vision and hope. In August
2007, supporters from across the
state created the framework
for the statewide plan to
prevent sexual violence. Since
then, many of us have served
on Action Teams, the Sexual
Violence Prevention Network, and other initiatives to
give "legs" to the
plan. Minnesota's work is
pioneering, and we
ADOLESCENT
HEATH
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NEWS
are considered a national leader.
Please help us grow more friends
of the sexual violence prevention
movement by attending our August 10 meeting of all the Action
Teams, Retreat and Launch participants, and others who are committed to prevention. Help us
move closer to our vision!
A Day of Renewing/Recharging/
Reaffirming
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.—Lunch included
Monday, August 10, 2009
New Brighton Family Service
Center
803 Old Hwy 8 NW
Intersection of I-35W and I-694
Participate in a result-driven activity to share your thoughts about
framing sexual violence prevention
for policy makers, youth, and
other varied audiences.
Learn about special initiatives
including Minnesota Champions,
Clean Hotels, and the State Summit planned for December.
Meet the many diverse people and
communities that have come together to make Minnesota a state
that does not tolerate sexual
violence.
Has it been a while since you have
been involved? We need to hear
from you! Come, and bring someone you know or work with, to
join our list of Champions! Feel
free to forward this e-mail.
Please RSVP by Wednesday, August 5 for this free event to Doug
Palmer, [email protected],
651-201-5484.
PAGE
4
Grants
Youth of Color Initiative
RFP
Advocates for Youth is pleased
to announce an exciting opportunity for communitybased, minority, youth-serving
organizations and institutions.
“Investment in
health during
adolescence has
long-term
benefits.”
-Minnesota’s
Adolescent
Health Action
Plan
Through the Youth of Color
Initiative, your organization
may receive strategic capacity
building assistance, including
publications and materials;
written and electronic correspondence; telephone consultations; on-site training; and
seed grants in the amount of
$8,000 to implement HIV/STI
and teen pregnancy prevention
projects, made possible
through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Adolescent
and School Health. Services
offered through this initiative
are tailored to fit the needs of
your organization.
Please see the attached materials for more information
about this opportunity, including eligibility and criteria for
selection. The application
form and/or proposal are due
by August 14, 2009, 5:00 p.m.
EDT. Please e-mail, mail or fax
applications to Urooj Arshad,
Program Manager, Youth of
Color Initiative, Advocates for
Youth, 2000 M Street, NW,
Suite 750, Washington, DC
20036. Fax: (202) 4191448. E-mail:
[email protected]
Phone: (202) 419-3420
ADOLESCENT
HEATH
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NEWS
Female Adolescent Health
U.S. Department of Health &
Human Services Deadline: July
27, 2009 The purpose of this
program is to increase HIV/
STD prevention knowledge
and reduce the risk of contracting HIV/STD among girls
between the ages of 9-17 who
are considered at-risk for
juvenile delinquency using
multi-level interventions and
approaches. The program will
focus on the intersection between sexually risky and juvenile delinquent behaviors.
Info: http://apply07.grants.gov/
apply/UpdateOffer?id=12799
The Celebrating Communities of Color Program
Community (Twin Cities
metro area (Anoka, Carver,
Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey,
Scott, and Washington counties))
General Mills Foundation
Deadline: July 15, 2009
The Celebrating Communities
of Color program will award
$10,000 grants to fifty nonprofit organizations in the
Minnesota Twin Cities sevencounty metro area serving
communities of color. Funding
is focused mainly on four areas: Youth Nutrition and Fitness - supporting innovative
programs that help improve
youth nutrition and fitness
behaviors; Education - supporting efforts that emphasize
student academic achievement,
particularly at the K-12 level;
Arts and Culture - supporting
organizations that provide
innovative performing arts and
cultural programs as evidenced
through innovation, program
quality, and contribution to
their community; and Social
Services - supporting programs
that strengthen families and
promote a safe, nurturing
environment for children and
youth.
Info: http://
www.generalmills.com/
corporate/commitment/
communities_color.aspx
Obesity
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Deadline: July 29, 2009
Active Living Research is a
national program of RWJF that
supports research to identify
promising policy and environmental strategies for increasing
physical activity, decreasing
sedentary behaviors and preventing obesity among children
and adolescents. Special emphasis will be on strategies
with the potential to reach
racial/ethnic populations and
children living in lower-income
communities who are at highest risk for obesity.
Info: http://www.rwjf.org/
applications/solicited/cfp.jsp?
ID=20804
A Vision for Healthy Adolescence:
Our responsibility as the community of Minnesota
Minnesota Department of Health
Jennifer O’Brien
Adolescent Health Coordinator
Minnesota Department of Health
P.O. Box 64882
is to support and guide Minnesota youth in the
healthy development of being, belonging and becoming. This requires a focus on wholeness and
wellness, and seeing Minnesota youth as “at
promise” rather than “at risk”.
St Paul, MN 55164-0882
Phone: 651-201-3627
Fax: 651-201-3590
E-mail: [email protected]
For more information on Minnesota’s Adolescent Health Action Plan, contact Jennifer
O’Brien or go to the Adolescent Health Gate-
http://www.health.state.mn.us/youth/
If you want to subscribe to
this newsletter, please email
[email protected]
or go to the following website: http://
www.health.state.mn.us/
youth/newsletters.html
For copies of any of the articles featured in this newsletter, please contact
MDH’s Barr Library. The
Barr Library has a quality
collection of public health
books, journals, and videos.
The library provides lending, reference, interlibrary
loan, and other services to
Minnesota Department of
Health staff, local tribal,
way page.
county, or city public health
professionals, school health
practitioners, and employees of both the Minnesota
Board of Nursing and the
Minnesota Department of
Human Services. The Barr
Library also provides interlibrary loan services to the
Minnesota Department of
Agriculture:
[email protected]
or 651-201-5090