Adolescent Health

Prevent Teen Suicide

Mon, 18 Jul 2016 14:20:39 +0000

Prevent Teen Suicide

Need support now?

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide trained counselors are available 24/7:

Call 988 for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or
Text VT to 741741 for the Crisis Text Line.

For multilingual support:

Call 800-985-5990 or
Text TalkWithUs to 66746

vdhadmin Mon, 07/18/2016 - 10:20

Suicide and Youth in Vermont

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Vermont’s youth and young adults. There is often not a single cause of suicide. For many people, it results from multiple stressors. Learn the warning signs, and if you or someone you know may be at risk of suicide, get help immediately.

Many people who die by suicide show one or more warning signs, often through what they say or do. Here are some warning signs:

Alcohol or drug misuse
Mental illness such as depression or anxiety
Financial troubles
Problems at home, with peers, at school or in the workplace.

We need to work together to prevent suicide and support youth and young adults in crisis.

Help is Available

If you have a counselor, continue to work with them as usual or schedule additional sessions as needed. If you would like to connect with a counselor, there are services available.

Resource	Description
Facing Suicide VT	Access to suicide prevention, education, support, and advocacy resources.
Vermont 211	Live referral help to public and private state and community services. Contact: Call 2-1-1 or 1-866-652-4636
Vermont Care Partners	Find intake and crisis lines at an agency near you.
Vermont Suicide Prevention Center	For more information on youth suicide prevention and how to access Vermont resources.
Outright Vermont	For LGBTQ+ Youth Crisis Support
Vermont Department of Mental Health	Know what can put someone at risk of suicide, recognize the warning signs and reach out to get help before and during a crisis.

Create An Adolescent-Friendly Practice

Mon, 18 Jul 2016 14:20:39 +0000

Create An Adolescent-Friendly Practice

As children move toward adolescence and young adulthood, the office space once thought of as comforting and fun may seem geared towards little kids. Having a safe and welcoming place that feels like it was made for them helps adolescents feel comfortable becoming more involved in their healthcare. You can help reduce the barriers that may prevent youth from accessing health services by creating an adolescent-friendly practice.

vdhadmin Mon, 07/18/2016 - 10:20

Resources for Creating an Adolescent-Friendly Practice

Resource	Description
Bright Futures	National health promotion and prevention guidelines followed in Vermont which informs our periodicity schedule. Recommend annual well-care visits for adolescents.
Vermont Child Health Improvement Program- Adolescent Health / Youth Health Improvement Initiative (YHII)	The Youth Health Improvement Initiative is currently engaged in increasing adolescent rates of well care visits. YHII also works with Vermont Rays to engage youth in improving access and utilization of preventative care.
Adolescent and Young Adult Health	Information from Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs on current initiatives, resources for states, and best practices for adolescent health.
ToolKit: Youth-Centered Care	Strategies and resources to implement quality youth-centered care in your practice.
Adolescent Health Initiative	Trainings, videos, materials and models to implement youth friendly care.
Teens Visiting a Health Clinic	Tips from the CDC on creating a teen-friendly reproductive health visit.
Paving the Road to Good Health: Strategies for increasing Medicaid Adolescent Well-Care Visits	Guide to support states and their partners in increasing adolescent well-care visit rates. Providers can support these efforts by ensuring they are offering youth access to health care in an adolescent-friendly environment.

Engaging Youth in Care

Resource	Description
Getting to ‘Y’	Training for students where they learn to analyze Youth Risk Behavior Survey data and produce a Student Executive Summary which includes strengths, areas of concern, and a plan of action for their school. Learn how to host a community dialogue event to share their finding and lead discussions.
Youth Services Advisory Council	The Council promotes, advocates for, and monitors the continued evolution of service systems for young people, advocates for improved quality of and access to these services, organizes policy responses, and involves youth, parents and communities in designing these services.
Youth Engagement	A library of profiles of state public health youth advisory structures, supporting documents, reports, and tools from 17 state public health youth advisory structures.
Adolescent Health and Youth Engagement	Resources developed by NCEMCH on various adolescent health topics.

Adolescent Sexual Health

Mon, 18 Jul 2016 14:20:39 +0000

Adolescent Sexual Health

Adolescence is a time of major physical, emotional, and social transition. Healthy sexuality is an important part of adolescent development, contributing to helping young people develop safe and healthy routines, behaviors, and relationships that they can carry into their adult lives. Providing access to comprehensive sexuality education and sexual healthcare services empowers young people to lead healthy lives.

vdhadmin Mon, 07/18/2016 - 10:20

Sexual Health Education

Youth face many challenging decisions when it comes to sexual health and their future. Sexual health education provides youth with access to reliable information that will give them the skills to make informed decisions on their sexual health.

Vermont State PREP presently uses Making Proud Choices to provide evidence-based sexual and reproductive health education. Making Proud Choices: An Evidence-Based, Safer-Sex Approach to Teen Pregnancy and HIV/STD Prevention is an 8-module curriculum that provides adolescents with the knowledge, confidence and skills necessary to reduce their risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV and pregnancy by abstaining from sex or using birth control and condoms if they choose to have sex. The Vermont State PREP program has made approved changes to include modules on gender and sexual identity, and on consent.

Resources for Teens

Resource	Description
I Wanna Know	Find the facts, the support, the resources to answer your questions, referrals, and get access to in-depth information about sexual health, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), healthy relationships, and more.
Outright Vermont	Organization providing education and support to LGBTQ+ youth in Vermont.
Planned Parenthood~ Info for Teens	Info on sex, relationships, your body, and more.
Amaze for Teens	Real info in fun, animated videos that give you all the answers you actually want to know about sex, your body and relationships.
Power to Decide	High-quality, accurate information—backed by research—on sexual health and contraceptive methods so you can make informed decisions.
Family planning and birth control	Learn about family planning and birth control from the Vermont Department of Health.
Advocates for Youth	Advocates for Youth works alongside thousands of young people here in the U.S. and around the globe as they fight for sexual health, rights, and justice.

Resources for Parents and Caregivers

Resource	Description
Talking to Kids about Sex and Sexuality	Tips to talk with your child about sex and sexuality.
Amaze.org for Parents and Caregivers	Free resource to help you talk to your kids about everything from babies to bodies to gender to consent to relationships.
Askable Adults Toolkit	This toolkit helps adults become approachable and easy for children and youth to talk to about anything that is on their mind, including sexuality and gender.
Planned Parenthood Information for Parents	Resources and education based on subject and age of your child so you can support your child as they learn about their sexual health.
Family planning and birth control	Learn about family planning and birth control from the Vermont Department of Health.

Resources for Educators and Providers

Resource	Description
Agency of Education Sexual Health Page	Information on sexual health resources.
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England	Education, resources, and Planned Parenthood locations to support the needs of your patients.
Amaze.org for Educators	Range of programming options including digital games, quizzes, and videos based on science to support healthy decision making. Many also have lesson plans
Essential Topics in Sexual Health Education	Developed to address and support sex educators in schools and community settings while reflecting the reality of what teaching this subject often entails.
Tools for Educators	Range of programming options including digital games, quizzes, and videos based on science to support healthy decision making. Many also have lesson plans
Sexual Risk Behaviors	Learn more about sexual risk behaviors that can lead to HIV, STDs, and teen pregnancy.
Healthy Teen Network	Trainings, e-learning, resources, and more to support sex education.
Adolescent Health Care Resources for Teens (AAP)	Adolescent sexual health materials to distribute to patients or share on social media.