Is birth control preventive care?

With too-high teen pregnancy and abortion rates in this country, activists are hoping the recent passage of a health care reform law is an opportunity for millions of women to gain access to free or low-cost birth control. Under the new law, preventive services — like immunizations, cancer screenings and other wellness checkups — must be offered to consumers as part of their insurance policy, at no additional out-of-pocket charge, starting in September 2010.

Currently, contraception is not "preventive care" as recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), but why shouldn't it be? As if she could anticipate the debate, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) sponsored an amendment that would broaden the care available for women: "with respect to women, such additional preventive care and screenings not described in paragraph (1) as provided for in comprehensive guidelines." Though the amendment doesn't mention birth control specifically, Mikulski spokeswoman Rachel MacKnight has said, "From her perspective, that includes everything from heart disease screening and diabetes screening to mammograms to birth control."

In parallel to the new legislation, Planned Parenthood for one is using this year's 50th anniversary of the Pill as an agent for public action.

"2010 marks the 50th anniversary of The Pill. Today, though we've come a long way, countless women lack reliable access to The Pill. In the coming months, federal officials will consider measures that will dramatically increase access," the organization noted.

Share your story: http://www.thepillispersonal.org/

Have a fiesta today, not a baby

Every day, more than 2,000 teen girls in the United States get pregnant. In fact, 3 in 10 girls will become pregnant by age 20.

To combat this disturbing trend, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy is honoring the ninth annual National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy TODAY, May 5, 2010. "The purpose of the National Day is to focus the attention of teens on the importance of avoiding too-early pregnancy and parenthood," according to the National Campaign. The campaign features an interactive online quiz for teens to work through awkward social situations.

This year's events come at a particularly important time in the context of teenage risk. After consistent and steady declines beginning in the early 1990s, the nation's teen pregnancy rate rose 3% in 2006, according to recent data from the Guttmacher Institute.

"Clearly a renewed focus on preventing teen pregnancy is needed," said Sarah Brown, Chief Executive Officer of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, organizer of the National Day. "We hope that— in some modest way— participating in the National Day will help teens think carefully about sex and contraception, the possibility of pregnancy, and the lifelong challenges of being a parent."

For more information:
Take the quiz
National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy

Oh wait, we almost forgot...

We know what you're thinking, "Websites are all well and good, but what about when I'm on the move? When is there going to be an iPhone app to find HIV/STD testing locations?"

Well, fear not. As we announced last month, GayCities and ISIS have partnered to provide access to listings in 95 U.S. cities. What we forgot to mention is that GayCities also has an iPhone app, and those nearby clinic locations now show up there, as well. Over 175,000 people have downloaded the app in the year of its existence, so now all those users have access to the nearest testing locations. What are you waiting for?

Where are the most popular spots? "SF, NYC, Chicago, LA, Dallas, Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale--all the major gay enclaves--get great traffic. But we also have loyal followings in many smaller places, such a Nashville, Cleveland, and El Paso," according to Chris Bull, GayCities.com's co-founder & editorial director.

For more information: GayCities on your iPhone

Friends with Even More Benefits?

The term "Friend with Benefits" has been around for years, but is it more common than ever? And why are public health experts concerned?

According to a new study by a University of Iowa professor, published last month in the journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, these types of hookups or casual relationships lead away from monogamy and toward more STDs. The concern is that that people who have nonromantic, or casual, relationships tend to have several partners at one time -- "concurrency," in sexual behavior lingo -- in contrast to those in romantic relationships, who tend to be more monogamous.

This may seem obvious, but in the context of less education about contraception and more avenues to hook up, either with friends or casual acquaintances, the behavior is even more dangerous. Funding for sex ed in schools has been slashed in favor of abstinence, but young people are connecting on Facebook and elsewhere, more than ever. We think we're invincible, and the friends we've known since middle school are clean, aren't they?

Since we can't battle hormones and technology, let's just start talking about communicating our needs and protecting ourselves. "We encourage people be aware of the potential for sexual concurrency and take appropriate precautions to avoid sexually transmitted infections," the study said.

For more information: http://www.uiowa.edu/~soc/news/Professor76.html

Unwrap Your Art

Got some artistic bent and a passion for safe sex?
Are you under 25 and live in California?

The California Family Health Council has officially launched their 2010 Condom Cover Art Contest! Send in your best designs by July 1 and have a shot at winning $500.. PLUS your design could be one of six that will grace the wrappers of condoms sent out to your local clinics. So young people in your neighborhood can appreciate your art and be safe in the process..

Click here for more information and entry forms: www.teensource.org

ISIS and GayCities.com Join Forces to Reverse HIV/STD Trends

It's not news that men who have sex with men (MSM) are at high risk for HIV and other STDs. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), released at last week's National STD Prevention Conference in Atlanta, simply underscores this point. What is news is the technology and the collaborations created to fight this trend.

In response to the new data, ISIS has partnered with GayCities.com to provide referrals to free and low-cost HIV and STD testing in 95 U.S. cities. On GayCities.com, users can already find reviews of gay bars, restaurants, hotels and events, in locations from Seattle to Jacksonville. With the addition of community organizations that provide HIV and STD testing, gay men and other MSM can now "take charge of their health in a trusted place online where they already spend a lot of time," according to Deb Levine, ISIS' Executive Director.

The data released by CDC indicate that rates of HIV infection among gay men and other MSM are more than 44 times higher than rates among heterosexual men and more than 40 times higher than women. Rates of syphilis, an STD that can facilitate HIV infection and if left untreated, may lead to sight loss and severe damage to the nervous system, are reported to be more than 46 times higher among gay men and other MSM than among heterosexual men and more than 71 times higher than among women.

"This new data is a clarion call to deal with the persistent neglect of the health of gay and bisexual men across the country," said William Smith, Executive Director of the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD). ISIS' partnership with GayCities.com is another cutting edge way to increase access to services for those who need it most.

About ISIS
ISIS Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization based in Oakland, CA whose mission is to use technology, new media and mobile for sexual health promotion and disease prevention. ISIS’ award-winning projects include SexINFO and Hookup text messaging campaigns, inSPOT, an STD ecard partner notification service, and Sex::Tech, an annual conference focusing on sexual health, technology and youth. www.isis-inc.org

About GayCities.com
GayCities is the most comprehensive, user-friendly online travel guide for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Designed to bring useful, up-to-date information on gay bars, clubs, hotels, restaurants, and beaches to the masses, GayCities is community-driven, with thousands of listings and reviews, so that users can find out what travelers really think about a destination. GayCities currently provides in-depth reviews and information on destinations for 160 cities worldwide. For more information, please visit www.gaycities.com.

The Politics of Sex Ed

Abstinence only. True love waits. Teen pregnancy on the rise.

The news has been filled with catchphrases and headlines, but what's the truth?

Here's a start. A recent Guttmacher Institute study found that, for the first time in over a decade, teen pregnancy rates rose in 2006 (the most recent data available). According to the report, "this decline started to stall out in the early 2000s, at the same time that sex education programs aimed exclusively at promoting abstinence—and prohibited by law from discussing the benefits of contraception—became increasingly widespread and teens’ use of contraceptives declined."

So are we seeing the results of a decade of neglect and moralizing, or simply a blip in the statistics?

"It is too soon to tell whether the increase in the teen pregnancy rate between 2005 and 2006 is a short term fluctuation, a more lasting stabilization or the beginning of a significant new trend, any of which would be of great concern," says Lawrence Finer, Guttmacher’s director of domestic research. “Either way, it is clearly time to redouble our efforts to make sure our young people have the information, interpersonal skills and health services they need to prevent unwanted pregnancies and to become sexually healthy adults.

On the same day the Guttmacher report was released, an even more surprising study (at least to feminist activists) showed a program that advocated abstinence seemed to be more effective in helping teens delay their first sexual experience.

The Guttmacher Institute studied the study that's been getting the most press. Just as we thought, the programs that best convince teens to wait to have sex don't moralize or tell them to wait until marriage. But only until they're ready and can make a healthy informed decision.

Or maybe it's just a political gambit. With all the moralizing of the Republicans in Congress, is it just a game to get votes? When Arlen Specter became a Democrat last May he stopped asking for funding for abstinence programs in his state, according to a Politico.com article. And some activists would bring up the hypocrisy of unfaithful legislators telling young people to maintain the sanctity of marriage.

Behind the hype, one thing is clear: It's time for science and common sense to prevail. Contraception works when used correctly and reliably. Condoms are the best protection against STDs. Teenagers should be able to make decisions about their own lives with all the best tools at their disposal. So let's leave the moralizing to religious leaders, and the rest of us can get back to work.

For more information:
http://www.guttmacher.org/

Social Marketing 101

Everybody's talking about Facebook and Twitter, and you want to get in on the action.. But your agency has no marketing department and only a few spare dollars to spend on this type of campaign.

Never fear.. Two California organizations, one with federal funding behind it, are here to help. "In an effort to increase primary prevention to prevent STD transmission and unintended pregnancies, the California Family Health Council (CFHC) Infertility Prevention Project and the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center (CA PTC) have teamed up to create a web-based Youth Social Marketing Toolkit (YSMT). The toolkit provides an overview of how agencies with limited financial resources can develop a social marketing campaign that reaches out to youth and young adults."

Answering such questions as: "What is social marketing?" and "What do you want to say?" with case studies and samples, the Toolkit aims to bring the idea and promise of social marketing in line with efforts on the ground.

The writers of this toolkit are careful not to sell social marketing as the cure for all ills. You still need to follow the core concepts of successful marketing even in the new media environment. "Social marketing is not always a success. If the attitudes and behavior changes you are encouraging are still not perceived as beneficial, acceptable and attainable by the priority population, it may not be worthwhile to develop a social marketing campaign at this time. In this situation, it is better to introduce a behavior change recommendation by developing connections with community and agreeing on a unified goal before planning a social marketing campaign."

For more information: Youth Social Marketing Toolkit

Dipping a Toe in the River

While visions of walls of paper files have portrayed health care providers as the last relic in the old school, a group of public health professionals has rallied around the cause of emerging technologies. The National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) this week released its final "Guidelines for Internet-Based STD and HIV Prevention," covering a wide range of technologies from banner ads to video games and mobile phones.

From the latest addition, Guidelines for Health Communications: "While the various websites and communication platforms covered in this document are popular and in wide use today, it is important to acknowledge that trends and technologies will certainly change. The arrival of new, currently unknown, technologies can be expected as can the use of these new media by our target populations. As such, it is important that public health professionals stay aware of, even track, how our target populations are using the various technologies and continually strive to meet them where they are. At a minimum, a periodic assessment of how your target audiences use electronic media is suggested."

The guidelines also include resources for further reading and tools for building and evaluating an Internet campaign, just to give an example.

For more information: Guidelines for Internet-Based STD and HIV Prevention

New Law Pits Internet Against Women's Rights

Women in Oklahoma, beware, the Web is being used against you..

Update: As part of the legal challenge against the bill, the start of enforcement has been postponed until December 4, so that the judge could "look further into the case." Stay tuned...

Instead of using technology to increase access to care, broaden the range of options for care and unite consumers in pursuit of care, Oklahoma legislators are hoping to bring the state back to the time of the Salem witch trials or Nathaniel Hawthorne, take your pick.

As of November 1, you'll have another, higher hurdle to jump to get an abortion in your state. Starting on that date, you'll be asked more than 30 personal questions about yourself, including your race, marital status, age, medical history and reasons for getting an abortion. If it wasn't enough that only 4% of Oklahoma counties even have an abortion provider, those practitioners will have to submit that personal information to the state Health Department, which will then post the answers on a public website. No, it won't include your name and other "identifying information," but I'm sure that's small comfort to women from small towns, especially those of a racial or ethnic minority, God forbid.

Pro-choice groups have filed a lawsuit contending the bill tackles more than one subject at once, a violation of the Oklahoma constitution, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 30. In case you were dubious, this procedural gambit has worked before, in the case of a bill requiring women to get a graphic description of an ultrasound before being allowed to get an abortion.

For more information:
See the text of the bill here -- It's HR 1595

Center for Reproductive Rights case information

GetSTDtested.com sponsors webisode: The 'O' Mission

Is Indya going to get tested using getSTDtested.com?? So far I've just watched the first four webisodes of a new series called The 'O' Mission, which aims to normalize sexual health conversations between peers and lead viewers back to sponsor getSTDtested.com to follow suit.

The 'O' Mission recruited real, accomplished musicians to play the band and has gone on a film tour starting with Columbia College Chicago in May of this year. This marketing tactic, unique and obviously expensive, will be interesting to follow. I couldn't find the videos on Youtube yet, but it would be nice if the story was easier to share with friends. Also interesting is that The 'O' Mission mentions getSTDtested.com at every 'commercial,' yet, getSTDtested.com doesn't highlight the connection. Perhaps a smart move to bring in a certain audience, with out alienating everyone else who might not connect as well to Indya and the 'O' Mission crew.

A Reuters article about the webisodes and the getSTDtested.com connection highlights the fact that this is a resource heavy campaign, but it could make a larger dent with better engagement of networks and sharing tools. Maybe that's coming.

Is Indya STD prevention's new darling?? Stay tuned.

PEP for HIV Exposure? A New Widget's Maiden Voyage

Post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP for short, is a course of anti-retroviral drugs that can reduce the risk of HIV sero-conversion after an exposure if taken in a timely manner. The guidelines for administering PEP have changed over time, and for doctors deciding when to go for it hasn't always been clear.

Now there's a widget to help!

The New York Times reported today about the release of a new tool to 200 emergency room doctors in New York State. The tool "walks users through a screening process to determine whether they are candidates for treatment, provides specific information about the 28-day course of antiretroviral drugs, and even links to consent forms in 22 languages, including Creole, Laotian and Yoruba."

The tool can be easily updated by the health department with changes in recommendations and statistics so that the doctors can always have the latest to go on. And with the critical window for PEP at less than 72 hours, its time that decision making is made easier. I'd be happy to see an evaluation of this trial period, and if successful, expansion to others states. Perhaps there are other health care decision making models that can be digitized. We'll see.

2009 School Wellness Conference

The California School Boards Association, the California Department of Education and the California Department of Public Health will bring together a diverse group of school community leaders who play a role in creating sustainable healthy school environments. The 2009 School Wellness Conference, in Anaheim California, October 6th - 7th, will build on the inaugural conference that focused on best practices and resources; statewide success stories and model program workshops; improved access to healthy foods and physical activity opportunities; sample district policies that promote health on school campuses; and strategies to help schools succeed in implementing and evaluating their local school wellness policies. The 2009 School Wellness Conference will:

* Address critical health issues and their link to student academic achievement;
* Focus on school governance and leadership.
* Bring together school and community leaders to share collaborative and coordinated school health approaches; and
* Address health disparities and support a cultural shift toward healthier students.

The conference registration fee is $275. On September 19, the conference registration rate will increase to $350. For more information or to register for the conference, go to http://swc.csba.org/.

The new School Wellness Conference room rate is $110 single/double, $130 triple, $150 quad plus applicable taxes. Call Marriott reservations directly at (800) 228-9290. Reference the School Wellness Conference to receive this special rate.

Join us on October 5 for the pre-conference event, Finding common ground: Collaborating to prevent childhood obesity which will explore the foundations of collaboration among schools, cities and others. Specifically, it will address strategies for collaboration around nutrition, physical activity, joint-use of indoor and outdoor recreational facilities, as well as safe routes to school with four interactive sessions and group discussions that speak to overcoming key barriers to collaboration. Attendees will be given resources and materials, such as toolkits and resource guides, as well as sample guiding principles for collaboration, joint-use agreements, school board policies and a checklist for starting a collaborative.

The pre-conference session will be offered at no charge on a first come basis to those who register for the conference. To register for the School Wellness Conference and pre-conference, visit http://swc.csba.org.

Get Live, Stay Live Was A Huge Success!

The first ever Get Live, Stay Live Health & Arts Showcase was a resounding success. Over 300 youth and their parents came down to the Bayview Opera House on Saturday, July 25th, to check out performances from DJ Truth, Bread Me Out Family, RoachGigz, Young Bari, San Quinn and many more local artists. Ten percent of the attendees were tested on-site, and 150 visited a clinic prior to the event to pick up an access card for free admission! Our host Marcus tore the house down with safer sex messages, while SFDPH’s YUTHE Team, BMagic, No More Funerals, 3rd Street Clinic, New Generations Health Clinic and other organizations helped hold it down.

Visit www.getlivestaylive.org frequently for pictures and updates. We are beyond privileged and proud to have hosted an event like this for youth in the Bayview while collaborating with our partner organizations. A huge thank you to everyone that made Get Live, Stay Live possible! We can’t wait for the next Get Live, Stay Live event slated for October 2009! Hope to see you there.

Shame shame - STD defamation website makes it personal

When a person gets diagnosed with an STD, its courtesy to contact current and former partners and let them know. This way they can take care of themselves too and everyone is happier. If it sounds scary there are systems in place to help you, like the STD division of your local public health department or inSPOT.org. These systems have been built with yours and your partners' privacy in mind.

So...I wasn't too happy this morning when I saw this article thud into my inbox. Put out by Citizen-Times.com, the article titled "Web site lists people with STDs -- Whether they have them or not," made me super grumpy. The site professes to be an international list of people with STDs. And anyone can post an addition to the site, regardless of truth. And yes, there is a list of names, complete with city, state, age and gender.

But, slow down a second. What if it is true? Isn't that person owed the same courtesy they just showed their partner by telling them in confidence? Don't we want to be reinforcing the habit of privately sharing this information with those who need to know because their health depends on it? Can't the response simply be, "Thank you for telling me. I'll get tested."

So what can we do here? Public humiliation is obviously going to dig us deeper in the wrong direction.

1. If you are sexually active make testing regularly part of your routine. Go with a friend if that helps. Get online and tap into the HIVtest.org database that includes both STD and HIV testing resources nationally. In San Francisco, STDtest.org provides a private, cheap way to test, with results securely accessed online by a unique identifier.

2. Share your results with your partner(s) and inquire about theirs. Build trust and sleep easier. Need help figuring out what to say? That's normal. Here's a guide.

3. Learn about the STDs and how they are transmitted, treated and prevented. Inspot.org has easily digestible information as does SF City Clinic.

Global Youth Demand Action

Where were you 15 years ago? Maybe you were already working or looking for work, maybe you were in college or grade school, maybe you weren't even born yet.

But officials from 179 countries got together in Cairo, Egypt, in the fall of 1994 and promised to change the world in 20 years. The result of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) was a ambitious plan that would, among other benefits, give universal access to services and information to improve the sexual and reproductive health of everyone by 2015.

Fast forward to today, with just over five years to go, and we have a lot of work to do.

Using technology that was just a glimmer in some developers' eyes 15 years ago, young people around the world are taking their sexual health and their future in their own hands. Earlier this month, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) launched the 15andCounting campaign on social networking platforms MXit, Facebook and Twitter - urging young people around the world to call their governments to task and demand action.

According to the campaign, "too many governments have failed to make good on their promises. This failure puts the lives and health of tens-of-millions of young people at risk." To put this in context, those born in 1994 form part of the largest group of young people the world has ever seen – some 1.5 billion. With these numbers, as I'm sure we all know, their health and wellbeing affects all of us.

Toward this end, the campaign offers a petition that will be presented to the United Nations to demand governments act now to "fulfill their promise to provide better access to sexual and reproductive health services for all young people."

More than 25,000 people from around the world have signed it so far, mostly young people. The campaign has a goal of "hundreds of thousands of signatures representing every country on the planet."

From their website: "We are asking all governments around the world to prioritise [sic] young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, including comprehensive sex education and information and youth friendly health services."

For more information, check out these links:

15andcounting
Join 15andcounting on Facebook
Follow 15andcounting on Twitter

Job Open at ISIS

Hey folks, ISIS is looking for a Director of Finance and Administration. See job description below. If you're qualified, we'd love to have you on board.

The Director of Finance and Administration will oversee all administrative and grant-related functions in the Organization. This position is located in downtown Oakland and reports directly to the Executive Director. ISIS offers a casual and pleasant work environment and generous benefits.

Responsibilities Include:

· Creating and managing short- and long-term budgets; financial planning, annual projected budgets and generating budget reports

· Preparing financial reports and working with accountant on taxes and audits

· Working with Executive Director to develop organization-wide policies, procedures and systems

• Working with Executive Director to set long-term strategic goals and align development efforts with overall goals; supporting Executive Director in all financial efforts, including grants, contracts, and donations.

· Work with Board of Directors on budget and strategic planning projects

· Managing development; overseeing work in grants, contracts and donations

· Ensuring compliance with all aspects, including reporting and invoicing requirements, of grants/contracts. Keeping current on changes to reporting requirements of all funding sources.

· Supervising human resources and finance

· Working with bookkeeper to ensure that invoices are completed accurately and on time and to correctly align income and expenses with the appropriate funding sources.

· Managing payroll and employee benefits, including 403(b)

· Identifying and working with vendors responsible for office equipment and supplies, IT, phones, etc. Negotiating contracts with vendors.

· Managing relationships with all office-related vendors including the landlord and office supply companies.

· Maintaining office supply inventory.

Qualifications and Requirements Include:

• 10+ years of senior level administration, finance, grant, and program management experience
• Bachelor's Degree in finance, business or non-profit administration, MBA preferred
• Solid short- and long-term budget planning experience
• Strong strategic thinking and planning skills
• Solid leadership and staff and vendor management experience
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Outstanding organizational skills
• Strong time- and project-management skills. Must be able to meet multiple deadlines with strict and tight timetables.
• Ability to work both independently and with limited supervision.
• Flexible and hard-working
• Strong analytical skills.
• Excellent communication skills, including strong business writing skills.
• Outstanding computer skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and donor database systems.
• Comfortable with sexual health content.

Please submit your resume and cover letter with compensation requirements to: jobs@isis-inc.org

No phone calls, faxes, or in-person applications please.

Local candidates only.

ISIS-Inc. is an equal opportunity employer.

<3 Sex::Tech Doodles

Lloyd Dangle, the illustrator behind the packaging for Airborne and the San Francisco Bay Guardian weekly comic strip Troubletown, rocked Sex::Tech with caricatures and artistic interpretations of our speakers and their sessions.

We suggest you watch the video of the sessions here, then compare our speakers' likenesses to the doodles here. And and and, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and that Sex::Tech presentations are available to download!

Sex::Tech 2009 Media Buffet

Sex::Tech 2009 was beyond superfragilisticexpiali- awesome! Really, it was and we have the video and photos to prove it. Head over to ISIS’ YouTube Channel and Flickr to get a taste of Buckworld One’s edgy, high energy performance.



You can also see what Dean Eckles from Nokia Research Innovate Design Experience Animate (IDEA) Team and Kevin Bertram of Distributive Networks said during the 2nd day keynote!

The presentations of our Sex::Tech attendees are also available for download here. We hope you enjoy all these tasty media morsels and REALLY hope you’ll come out for the next Sex::Tech! Don’t forget to add us on Twitter!

Sex::Tech 2009 was a roarin' success

Hello y'all!

We rocked the JW Marriott for two full days (Sunday/Monday, March 22nd/23rd) with the Sex::Tech 2009 Focus on Youth conference.

More than 400 attendees enjoyed an array of speakers from Rutgers, NYU, University of Colorado, UCLA, and that was just the researchers!

The "un-conference" was a huge success -- with about 15 different folks signing up to host informal one-hour discussions with their peers on the spot!

And talk about an opening plenary! BuckWorld One took it to a whole new level -- the street-cred dancers from Riverside County brought the attendees to their feet. The passion and professionalism they showed in their dance -- which spoke on themes of racism, misogyny, street violence, oppression and a lot of other social ills -- were really amazing. The crew left everyone invigorated for the rest of the conference.

You can check out Sex::Tech (click) for a sampling of what we all experienced and what you should make sure you get a chance to experience next year.

Blessings,