New chapters Welcome to our newest Chapter Leaders: Jane Fitch Charlotte, NC
[email protected] Aiyisha Smothers Marquita Jones New Orleans, LA
[email protected]
chapter leader
news APRIL 2013
REMINDER: ANNUAL PLANS are due If you have not yet submitted your annual plan for your chapter, now is the time! The annual plan is an outline of all events planned for a chapter for a year. The plan is due annually by March 15 and covers the period from April 1 to March 31. Annual plan templates are available on the NCCC website on the Chapter Leader Tools page, visible under “Chapters” menu once you log in. Your can choose either an annual or quarterly format. If you have any questions about the annual plan, please let us know and we can see what we can do to help. You can contact us at nccc@ ashastd.org.
recent and upcoming chapter events RECENT EVENTS • NCCC Texas Chapter (Fort Worth) Chapter Leader: Thania Balcazar On March 23, Chapter Leader Thania Balcazar hosted a Zumbathon to spread cervical cancer awareness and also to help raise funds for the new NCCC Texas (Fort Worth) Chapter. • NCCC Ohio Chapter (Sebring) Chapter Leader: Tina White Chapter Leader Tina White traveled to Wadsworth, Ohio on March 26 for a sit down discussion with Congressman Jim Renacci. They discussed cervical cancer and HPV Awareness, and Congressman Renacci’s knowledge on the subject, and how he can assist in our journey to promote awareness. • NCCC South Carolina Chapter (Charleston) Chapter Leader: Lauren Whiteside Lauren Whiteside was an exhibitor at the 1st Annual Campus-Wide Health Fair on April 1, hosted by the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s Department of Student Life and Student Nursing Association. UPCOMING EVENTS • NCCC Arizona Chapter (Southwest Regional) Chapter Leader: Shaundra Hall On Saturday, April 13th, Chapter Leader Shaundra Hall will host a yard sale with Chapter liaison Cindy Mortenson. Among the items for sale but will be NCCC tote bags and other NCCC materials. • NCCC Georgia Chapter (Metro Atlanta) Chapter Leaders: Ashley Altman and Bylinda Foster On April 18-19th, Chapter Leaders Ashley Altman and Bylinda Foster will host a yard sale. Donaed items will be sold to raise funds for the chapter.
Parents and HPV Vaccines Despite recommendations from healthcare providers that adolescents be vaccinated against HPV, a study published in the April issue of Pediatrics indicates mom and dad still have some worries and are less likely to have their kids vaccinated against the virus than they were a few years ago. HPV vaccines are available for males and females ages 9-26. Routine HPV vaccination is recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for all adolescents ages 11-12. ACIP also recommends all 11-12 year olds receive the Meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY), Tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap), and influenza vaccines. HPV vaccine rates run far behind others on the adolescent vaccine schedule: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that in 2011, just over half of females ages 13-17 had received at least one dose of an HPV vaccine, with only 35% having completed the three-dose series. Tdap, by comparison, had 78.2% uptake while the meningococcal vaccine had 70.5% coverage. With parents who were queried as part of the 2008–2010 National Immunization Survey of Teens, those who indicated a reluctance to have their kids receive the
MenACWY and Tdap vaccines most often cited that the vaccines aren’t needed or that the healthcare provider didn’t recommend them. These same reasons were often mentioned by parents who were hesitant with HPV vaccines, along with concerns about safety/side effects (mentioned by 16.4%, essentially triple from 2008) and a sense the HPV vaccine is unneeded due to their teens not being sexually active (17.4% of respondents). Overall, approximately 44% of parents said they do not intend to have their children vaccinated against HPV, up from 40% in 2008. HPV vaccines work best when given before the onset of sexual activity, so that protection is in place prior to HPV exposure. Also, after millions of doses have been delivered worldwide, it’s clear the vaccines have an excellent safety profile. So a key to increasing HPV vaccine uptake likely involves strong communication to parents about the value of the vaccines, the need to vaccinate at an early age, and the strong evidence that the vaccines are safe. Reference Darden P, Thompson D, Roberts J, Hale J, Pope C, Naifeh M, Jacobson R. Reasons for Not Vaccinating Adolescents: National Immunization Survey of Teens, 2008-2010. Pediatrics, 2013. 131 (4): accessed online March 20, 2013.
April is sti awareness month ASHA recognizes April each year as STI Awareness Month. Given a recent report on the number (and costs) of STIs in America each year, the theme for 2013’s observation is STIs by the Numbers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): • • • •
Each year in the U.S. there are 20 million new STI cases HPV alone accounts for 14 million (or 70%) of these new cases The medical costs for these new cases are a staggering $16 billion Adding the new cases each year with existing infection, there are an estimated 110 million total STIs among Americans
This is an important time in the field of sexual health and STIs. The coming months and years will see key provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) kick in that cover preventive health services, including access without a co-pay to Pap tests, HPV tests, contraception and testing/counseling for sexually transmitted infections. Chapter Leaders can help us get out the word. If you’ve yet to do so, please take a look at ASHA’s Facebook page and share our STI Awareness Month posts. If you’re on Twitter, follow ASHA and NCCC and feel free to retweet our material in April (and beyond).
