Healthy Communication about STDs

1. Healthy
Communication
about STDs
Julia Bennett, MPH
Planned Parenthood Federation of America

2. High school
Middle school
Adult
Young adult
Elementary
school
43%
High
school
White
Hispanic
Black
Other/Unk
nown
64%
People
of
color
Planned Parenthood reaches 1.5
million people through education
and outreach each year

3. Reality: Teens are Online

4. Reality: Teens are Online

5. www.plannedparenthood.org

6. 6
• 737,000
conversations
and counting

7. Tools for Teens
Over 480,000 uses since launch (2013)

8. Spot On
Over 500,000 downloads since launch (2016)

9. Consent Videos
Over 400,000 views since launch (2015)

10. Social Media
10
Over 700,000 Followers
Over 180,000 Followers Over 145,000 Followers
Over 250,000 Followers

11. Existing education
is lacking
11

12. Sex Education Mandates
12
23 States +
DC
Mandate
No Mandate

13. 13
School-based sex education is not
meeting the needs of young people
❑In most states, fewer than half of high
schools and a quarter of middle schools
teach all CDC essential health topics
❑ These include: how to create and sustain healthy
and respectful relationships, How HIV and other
STDs are transmitted, Communication and
negotiation skills related to reducing risk for HIV,
other STDs, and pregnancy
❑In high school health classes, 25% don’t
include information on condom use.
Source: Zewditu Demissie, Nancy Brener, Tim McManus, et al. School Health Profiles 2014,
Characteristics of Health Programs Among Secondary Schools. Atlanta, 2015.

14. Access to sex education is
declining.
• There have been significant declines in formal
instruction about sex education topics between
2006-2010 and 2011-2013
• Higher declines among young women and
young people in rural areas.
• Parents/guardians are not filling the gaps.
14
Source: Lindberg, L.D. et al. Changes in Adolescents’ Receipt of Sex Education, 2006-2013.
J adolescent Health.2016; 58:621-627.

15. STD rates are rising, particularly among
young people and people of color.
15

16. Creating a new
resource.
16

17. What’s already out there?

18. Incorporate context and relationships
Skills based
Evidence informed
Diverse and inclusive
What can we add?

19. Unified Theory of Behavior
Guilamo-Ramos, V., Jaccard, J., Dittus, P., Gonzalez, B., & Bouris, A. (2008). A conceptual framework
for the analysis of risk and problem behaviors: The case of adolescent sexual behavior. Social Work
Research, 32(1), 29-45. doi: 10.1093/swr/32.1.29

20. • The second-largest social
networking site
• Popular search engine
• Most popular among
younger adults, black and
Latino folks

21. The videos are:
• How to Talk About Safer Sex
• How to Talk About STD Testing
• How to Tell Someone You Have an STD
p.ppfa.org/TalkingSTDs
21

22. Reach to date
Via YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram we’ve had over 175,000
views since launch on April 3, 2017.
22

23. 1 Hour Lesson Plan

24. 2 Hour Lesson Plan

25. • Videos can be found at
p.ppfa.org/TalkingSTDs
• Lesson plans can be found at
plannedparenthood.org/educators
Links

26. Thanks!
Julia Bennett, MPH
julia.bennett@ppfa.org
Manager of Education & Publications
Planned Parenthood Federation of America