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What Men Want to Know About Sex and Birth Control
Want a booklet that empowers men to learn more about birth control? What Men Want to Know About Sex and Birth Control is a great resource. This booklet is easy to read and gives information for men about 16 types of birth control. Mostmen know about condoms, but it's good to know about other types of birth control too. That way a man can be as supportive as he can be when it comes to the method chosen by his partner.
Written from a male point of view, this booklet can help a man feel more comfortable talking with is partner about:
- How to decide on the best method of birth control.
- How to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases.
- How to use birth control correctly, every time.
This colorful and appealing booklet is available in English and Spanish. Published by California Family Health Council, Inc. this booklet is available at CFHC Health Ed.
Domestic Violence Hotline in Multiple Languages
1-800-978-3600
If you practice in Southern California, you may find this hotline a useful one to share with your clients who need to find a safe way out of their abusive environments. This toll-free service routes Southern California victims of domestic violence directly to trained shelter personnel in Los Angeles County.
The hotline operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Callers can get help in eleven languages -- English, Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Khmer, Japanese, Thai and Armenian.
Give Your Teen Clients the Gift of Health this Holiday Season
Do your teenage clients know about STDs? Do they know that 1 in every 4 sexually active teens gets an STD? And are they aware that half of all new HIV infections are in young people under 25? This holiday season, make sure your teen clients don’t get any unwanted “gifts!”
Here are some ways you can help:
- Remind your teen clients that not having sex is the only way to be 100% certain they won’t get an STD.
- If they are sexually active, they should only have sex with one person who only has sex with them.
- Give all teen clients free condoms and foam.
- Remind them to get tested regularly. Many STDs have no noticeable symptoms.
- Let them know about www.teensource.org, a teen-friendly health website.
For easy-to-read materials on STDs for your teen clients, click here to visit the CFHC webstore. Check out the booklet called STDs: What You Need to Know. It has many helpful hints on preventing STDs and talking with sexual partners.
Introducing Linguistic and Cultural Competency: A Toolkit for Family PACT Providers
The California Department of Public Health, Office of Family Planning, is providing an online version of the Linguistic and Cultural Competency Toolkit. Though developed specifically for Family PACT providers, other health care professionals may find it useful as well.
The Toolkit includes an easy-to-use staff survey, suggested ways to develop a strategic plan to improve linguistic and cultural competency, and dozens of helpful resources.
By administering the survey and analyzing its results, you will be able to assess how well prepared you are in meeting the linguistic and cultural needs of the clients you serve. The Linguistic and Cultural Competency Toolkit is available for downloading on www.familypact.org/providers/cultural-competency.
Preconception Care Resources
Want to find the latest on Preconception Health Care? CFHC recently did an extensive literature review of the most recent information out there on Preconception Care, locating several helpful websites on the topic. Click here to download the Preconception Literature Review and Website Resource List.
Your Role in Preventing Suicide
Did you know that suicide is the third-leading cause of death for young people ages 10 to 24? Even teens who seem fine on the surface may be considering suicide. Most people won’t tell you that they are thinking of harming themselves. Instead, they often describe their concerns in terms of physical and mental symptoms. Ask them questions like:
- Have you felt depressed lately? Does it seem like you want to sleep a lot? Have you lost interest in things you normally enjoy doing?
- Do you use alcohol or other drugs? Do you feel that your drug or alcohol use hampers your life or your relationships in any way?
- Have you felt like withdrawing from friends or family?
- Some kids really struggle in trying to figure how whether they are gay or straight. Is this something you’re dealing with?
- Are you dealing with an unplanned pregnancy?
- Do you feel yourself getting angry a lot? Have you been getting into fights lately?
The fact is that depression and suicidal feelings can be treated. Sometimes all it takes is one trusted adult making a connection with that teen. Show them that you want to know how they are feeling and that you won’t judge them. Make sure they know that there are many adults who care – their parents, teachers, aunts or uncles, school counselors or even hotline counselors.
Let all of your clients, especially teens, know about the free National Girls and Boys Town hotline at 1-800-448-3000.
Click here to download free posters and wallet cards for your waiting area and exam rooms.
Help Families Talk During "Let's Talk" Month
Did you know that October is “Let’s Talk” Month? This month is also known as “National Family Sexuality Education Month.” Each year, over 50 national organizations celebrate this month with campaigns to help families talk about sex.
During October, encourage your patients to talk! Parents and teens can use this month as an excuse to start conversation. They could say: “I heard that October is 'Let’s Talk' Month. It’s all about helping parents and teens talk about sex. There’s even a website called 'TalkWithYourKids.org'. Have you heard about it?”
October is Health Literacy Awareness Month
California Family Health Council is celebrating Health Literacy Awareness Month by making two evaluation tools available to health care providers coming to www.healthed.org. You know it's important to evaluate the health education materials you use with your health care clients. But where can you start?
Most patients like concise, easy-to-read, and attractive health education materials. And most people read comfortably at the 5th grade level or lower, especially when it comes to health care information. It's important to check the health education materials you plan to use with your clients for reading level. Click here for the Fry Graph and Instructions for evaluating the reading level of your document.
Once you've found out that the material is easy enough for most of your clients to read, then take some time thinking about other issues. Is it culturally appealing to your population? Is the print size big enough to read easily? Is there plenty of white space to draw the reader into the document? Use CFHC's easy-to-use Checklist for Evaluating Health Education Materials to help guide your decision-making process.
By the way, all the materials in CFHC's Online Database has already been evaluated by a professional health educator. Don't miss this great online resource to help you find the best client education materials available. Click here to access the Online Database.
Free Info on Breast Cancer during October
In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, encourage all your female clients to screen for breast cancer. This includes young women, too. Over 10,000 women under the age of 40 are diagnosed with breast cancer every year.
During October, California Family Health Council is making available a free copy of “We’re Taking Care of Our Lives.” This pamphlet, which we developed for Susan G. Komen Foundation, includes step-by-step instructions on breast self-exam for young women. Your clients can email resources@cfhc.org to get a free copy.
Here are some other ways to get involved:
- Teach young clients to do self-breast exam once a month.
- Remind them to come in once a year for a clinical breast exam.
- Tell your clients to start getting mammograms at age 40 (or age 35 if there’s a family history of cancer).
- Keep teen-friendly materials about breast care in your waiting area and exam rooms.
For more information on National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, click here to visit the official website.
Alcohol & Other Drugs Lead to Risky Sex
Everyone knows that abusing alcohol and other drugs is bad for adults and teens. Car crashes involving alcohol are the number one killer of teens in this country. But, do your clients know that using alcohol and other drugs can lead to risky sex? Teens who use alcohol and other drugs are more likely to make decisions about sex that aren’t safe.
• They are more likely to put themselves in a dangerous situation.
• They are more likely to have unplanned sex.
• They are more likely to have sex without birth control.
• They are more likely to have sex without condoms. Teens who use alcohol and other drugs have higher rates of HIV and other STDs.
Ask all your young clients about their alcohol and other drug use. Provide information in your waiting area on drug use & sex. Provide referrals to these helpful hotlines:
• 1-800-448-3000 (the Girls and Boys Town National Hotline)
• 1-800-NCA-CALL (National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence Hopeline)
