From the President
Adolescent Health and Teen Pregnancy
By Phyllis Sloyer, President, AMCHP
Welcome to this issue of Pulse and its focus on adolescent health and teen pregnancy. As a society, we are continuously stimulated with pictures of healthy babies and gregarious toddlers that evoke mental pictures of motherhood and apple pie. Unfortunately, we pay much less attention to the health needs of adolescents and the impact that their health will have on future generations of children. One of the most significant markers of our success as a nation is the rate of teen pregnancy. For over a decade, beginning in 1991, we witnessed declines in teen births. Unfortunately, the improvements ceased and now the birth rates for teens are increasing. According to the CDC, the number of births for 15 to 19 year olds in 2006 rose by three percent from the previous year; the largest increase in a single year since 1989-1990. [read more]
From the CEO
The Importance of Adolescent Health
By Mike R. Fraser, PhD
If we think about where we may have the most impact as public health professionals — child and adolescent health should come to the top of our list. The things we do to assure that our children and teenagers are healthy will put them on a trajectory toward good health. Conversely, not paying attention to the specific health needs of children and adolescents will at best result in coincidental good health outcomes and at worst result in poor health for generations to come. Adolescent health is a particularly significant area for public health intervention. As our children mentally and physically become adults the steps we take to assure our teens have the information and community resources they need to make healthy decisions are vital. Why then, do we spend so little time thinking about the health needs of adolescents at this critical period in their development? [read more]
Features
National Stakeholders Meeting - AMCHP Work
By Lissa Pressfield, MHS
Program Manager, Adolescent Health, AMCHP
In January 2009, the National Stakeholders Collaborative (NSC), a partnership between the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP), National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD), Society of State Directors of Health, Physical Education & Recreation (Society), hosted the first-ever National Stakeholders Meeting Reconvene (NSM-R). State teams comprised of public health agency staff, education agency staff, and other partners — who previously participated in National Stakeholders Meetings — came together to take their collaborative efforts to the “next level.” [read more]
Evidence-Based Approaches to Teen Pregnancy, HIV and STI Prevention Work
By Tasha Toby
Senior Analyst, Adolescent Health, National Association of County and City Health Officials
Many working in the field of public health understand that the success of many public health programs and initiatives can be attributed to strong collaboration between key players from differing, but relevant, sectors. In many of the past discussions that have occurred between National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and AMCHP staff members regarding the implementation of evidence-based teen pregnancy and teen HIV/STI prevention program, the need to foster collaboration, specifically between local and state health departments, always seemed to be the dominant topic of the discussions. [read more]
Nebraska's Comprehensive Adolescent Health Systems Work
By Linda Henningsen
Adolescent Health Coordinator, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
For those of us in and connected to public health, providing for and reaching children and adolescents (and those who care for them) requires unique approaches. Through the development, implementation and impact of the national Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) initiative, Nebraska’s ECCS program, “Together for Kids and Families” (TFKF), provided the inspiration and supplied the innovative and unique model needed for effectively addressing the public health opportunities and challenges associated with adolescents. [read more]
Member to Member
Member states were asked the following question:
What do you think state MCH programs can do to address the recent rise in teen pregnancy? [read more]
Real Life Stories
The Time is Right! Youth are the Future
By Mallory Cyr
Youth Coordinator, Healthy & Ready to Work National Resource Center
How did I get here? How did I get to a point where people all over the country are hearing my voice? Every time my flight lands in Washington, DC I ask myself these questions. Each time I get an opportunity to give a presentation, attend a national conference or be part of an advisory council, I am in awe of being in the presence of people who have the power to make change happen and who ARE listening. [read more]
Supporting Young Families
By Janet Max
Director of Programs and Policy, Healthy Teen Network
Preventing teen pregnancy is something that we, as a nation, strive for. But regardless of our prevention efforts, a certain number of young people in the United States each year do become involved in a teen pregnancy, whether through failure to abstain from sexual activity or contraceptive non-use, misuse, or failure. While teen pregnancy prevention, both primary and subsequent, must remain a major focus we also must commit to providing equal opportunities to those young people who do become pregnant and who choose to become parents, as well as their children. [read more]