Blog post 6

All group members were present at our meeting on November 21st. 

We discussed our group paper, and who would be responsible for each particular section of the paper that needs to be addressed. The group also discussed ways we can narrow down our approach to this topic, and we decided on only focusing on HPV and Chlamydia among adolescents and teens because that national rates of pregnancy are currently declining. 

Roxane is going to be researching how abstinence-only programs compare to comprehensive sex education programs with regard to delaying sexual experimentation, STI rates, and pregnancy among teens. Debra is going to be researching nationwide stats on chlamydia and HPV. Janet is looking into public programs that address and support STI and HPV and Vaccines. Alexandra is currently researching how Utah ranks nationally on HPV and Chlamydia, and stigma as well as cultural problems associated with these two diseases. Sarah is looking into stakeholders and advocates in Utah who support sex education for adolescents and teens. And Amanda is looking into the current curriculum being used in Utah, which we found is called "Healthy Relationships" and why it is concerning to us. 

Blog post 5

All group members were present when we met on 11/14.

Sarah and Debra continue to look up resources and information regarding sex education courses outside of Utah, paying close attention to how effective alternative courses are at STI/pregnancy prevention in teens.

 Amanda will work on scheduling a meeting with Kerry Jensen from Prevent Child Abuse, as she is familiar with the current sex education curriculum being used locally.  Once we are able to meet with her, our group may have a better understanding of what this curriculum looks like in practice and how it’s being received by school staff and students alike.

Roxy and Alex continue to research local STI/teen pregnancy rates in the area to help narrow down which school districts our group should focus on.

 Janet contacted Terry Haven from Voices for Utah Children to gather information about the statistics used in the Kids Count report.  She stated that the stats regarding teen pregnancy and Chlamydia infection rates were gathered from the Department of Health.  Any other information is gathered using the Youth Risk Behavior Survey.  She acknowledged that the information regarding teen sexual behavior is limited, but that the state legislature didn’t want to have the “sex questions” included on the survey.  All of the data in the Kids Count report is used by a variety of organizations, the media, the legislature and service providing agencies for grant writing purposes.

Blog Post 4

All group members were present when we met on Friday, Oct. 31st.

Amanda reported that she did speak wtih Cindy Taylor, the Education Coordinator of the Rape Recovery Center, who said that she is no longer teaching the 6th grade maturation classes.  She referred Amanda to Kerry Jensen from Prevent Child Abuse, who apparently is now teaching it.  She, Amanda and Deborah will meet with her next week to discss the curriculum.

Sarah is currently researching national websites, especially one in particular called, "Comprehensive Sex Ed: Research and Results", published by Advocates for Youth.  This publication outlines successful outcomes from various program saround the Country, as well as offering a plethora of teaching and information tools for parents.   http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/1487.

Roxane and Alexandra are continuing to research the districts with both the highest and lowest teen pregnancy rates in the valley.  The group plans on using this information to help us curtail our outreach efforts, as well as gain information from the more successful schools to include in our parent outreach.