July 29, 2020 —Oakland, CA— Peer Health Exchange, a national non-profit organization working to advance health equity and improve health outcomes for young people, is honored to announce the publication of "Improving capacity at school-based health centers to offer adolescents counseling and access to comprehensive contraceptive services" in the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology.
Co-authored by Dr. Angela Glymph, Peer Health Exchange’s Vice President, Programs and Strategic Learning, the study noted that many pediatric providers serving adolescents are not trained to offer comprehensive contraceptive services, including intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implants, despite high safety and satisfaction among adolescents. It assessed an initiative to train providers at school-based health centers (SBHCs) to offer students the full range of contraceptive methods.
“Young people face many barriers when it comes to receiving comprehensive contraceptive services,” said Dr. Angela Glymph, Vice President, Programs and Strategic Learning. “Some of those barriers lie within the health centers they go to seek help and support. This study shows the importance of offering evidence-based training to pediatric providers to ensure that they are equipped to offer young people a full range of contraceptives so they are fully informed when choosing their method of choice.”
In 2017, 40% of young people aged 15-19 reported having had sexual intercourse, with 20% of students by ninth grade having had sexual intercourse compared to more than half of students (57%) by 12th grade. However, national survey data of contraceptive providers show that many providers hesitate to offer the IUD to adolescents due to providers’ outdated views on patient eligibility. Study outcomes included provider knowledge, counseling skills, and provision practices at follow-up. To read the full manuscript and learn more, please visit our website.
About Peer Health Exchange
Peer Health Exchange’s mission is to empower young people with the knowledge, skills, and resources to make healthy decisions. We do this by training college student volunteers to teach a skills-based health curriculum in under-resourced high schools across the country. To learn more visit www.peerhealthexchange.org
