Update teen knowledge with Internet resources
Reaching teens with up-to-date information is an important part of providing family planning and sexually transmitted disease (STD) counseling. Consider these web sites:
ETR Associates’ Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention. Web: www.etr.org/recapp.The Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (ReCAPP) is operated by ETR Associates, a private nonprofit health education promotion organization based in Santa Cruz, CA. It provides practical tools to effectively reduce sexual risk-taking behaviors. Health educators can find up-to-date, evaluated material to use with teen audiences. A searchable library allows educators to search for a wide variety of materials: A search for "contraceptives" and "fact sheets" turned up links to six web resources. The "Skills for Educators" section covers topics such as "Abstinence education: What are my options?" and "Teaching youth about emergency contraception."
National Coalition for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Youth’s OutProud. Web: www.outproud.org.The web site for OutProud is operated by the San Rafael, CA-based National Coalition for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, & Transgender Youth. It offers these teens advocacy, information, resources and support. Click on "Online Brochures" to read brochures such as "Be Yourself: Questions And Answers For Gay, Lesbian And Bisexual Youth," which can be reproduced by acknowledging its source: Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Inc. The site also offers a good listing of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender web links.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s "Teenwire." Web: www.teenwire.com.While Teenwire has appeared in previous CTU web listings, clinicians will want to take note of the "Classroom Activity for Educators" section, which includes teaching modules for use with adolescents. For example, the "Six Big Lies about Sex" module is aimed at teaching teens about the common lies partners tell each other about sex, and it emphasizes that honesty and communication are fundamental elements of healthy romantic and sexual relationships. The module includes a pre- and post-test. To access the section, click on "Parents and Health Professionals," then "Click Here for Activities for Educators." Other modules in the archive include "Birth Control" and "The Truth about Infections."
Indiana University Center for Adolescent Studies’ Adolescence Directory On-Line. Web: education.indiana.edu/cas/adol/adol.html.The Adolescence Directory On-Line (ADOL) is operated by the Center for Adolescent Studies at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. It is an electronic guide to information on adolescent issues. Health practitioners and educators as well as teens and their parents, can find Internet resources at this site. Click on "Counselor Resources" to review a wide variety of web sites that deal with issues such as addiction and suicide.
Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center’s Adolescent AIDS Program. Web: www.adolescentaids.org.This web site serves as a local and national resource for those living with HIV/AIDS; adolescents who are at-risk for HIV infection; health care providers who treat adolescents living with or at-risk for HIV infection; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning adolescents, their families, and caregivers. Check its resource center for a national listing of youth-friendly HIV counseling, testing, and care services in the United States.
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) Families Are Talking. Web: www.familiesaretalking.org.The New York City-based SIECUS’ web site is part of its Family Project to help parents and caregivers to communicate with their children about sexuality-related issues. Click on "Innovative Approaches," then "Online Database of Innovative Approaches and Examples from the Field," to review information on effective programs designed to enhance sexuality communication.
The National Adolescent Health Information Center. Web: nahic.ucsf.edu.This web site serves as the portal for the National Adolescent Health Information Center, established in 1993 with funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Maternal and Child Health Bureau and based within the University of California, San Francisco’s Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, and Institute for Health Policy Studies. It provides a national resource for adolescent health information and research. Take a look at some of its compilations. Click on "Adolescent Health Data," then "Briefs & Fact Sheets" to download such fact sheets as Reproductive Health and Substance Use.
Reaching teens with up-to-date information is an important part of providing family planning and sexually transmitted disease (STD) counseling. Consider these web sites:You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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