New Requirement for Annual Adolescent Health Screenings CAN Help Prevent Teen Pregnancies, Says Prevention Group

Topic is one of many issues to be addressed at Roundtable Discussion of Health Care Interventions to Reduce Teen Pregnancy

November 1, 1998 … In the continuing efforts to reduce pregnancies among Connecticut’s adolescents – which are often focused on school programs and family relationships -- the vital role of health care practitioners is often overlooked. Now, a new
requirement for annual health screenings for Connecticut adolescents who are covered under Medicaid managed care plans, and initiatives to increase physician awareness of opportunities to include effective preventive services as part of routine health care, may combine to achieve significant reductions in the number of teen pregnancies. 

These issues will be among many to be reviewed at a Roundtable Discussion of Health Care Interventions to Reduce Teen Pregnancy on November 10, 1998, from 1:00 to 5:00 PM at the Institute of Living in Hartford. The Roundtable is sponsored by the Hartford Action Plan on Infant Health, a partner in Breaking the Cycle, a 5-year campaign to reduce teen pregnancy in Hartford. Co-sponsors are the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Hartford Hospital and St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center. 

Although the number of births to teens in Hartford has declined over the past two years, 518 births to teens in 1997 – one in five births in Hartford – is still unacceptably high, say Breaking the Cycle officials. 

"Health providers can and should incorporate age-appropriate reproductive health care, education and counseling for adolescents and teens as part of routine primary health care," said Maureen Mullen, organizer of the Roundtable and a Project Manager for the Hartford Action Plan and Breaking the Cycle. "Providers often fail to recognize the contribution they can make and the great credibility they have," Mullen added. "No single approach can do it all, but there’s a synergistic effect when all the players in the community work together to break the cycle of teen pregnancy." 

Another important development which Breaking the Cycle plans to highlight at the Roundtable is the new HUSKY Plan, which makes it possible for all Hartford children and teens to have health insurance. This means adolescents will be more likely to receive preventive health care services, services which can address adolescent risk-taking behaviors. 

The Roundtable, which will be attended by area health care providers, funders and policymakers, will present information on today’s most promising approaches to designing and structuring preventive health care services to reduce teen pregnancy, and will serve as a platform for discussion and exchange of ideas on how these interventions can apply to Hartford youth. The Roundtable will also include presentations from two noted experts in the field of health care and adolescent medicine: 

Jonathan Klein, M.D., MPH, an adolescent medicine specialist at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, who will provide a national perspective on adolescent pregnancy and risk behaviors, and how preventive health services and improvements in access to health care can reduce these risks, based on his own research and experience from his practice. 

Joan Fine, M.D., an adolescent medicine specialist practicing with Medical West Associates in Springfield, , who will address adolescent pregnancy prevention in a managed care environment. Fine’s presentation will include outcomes and lessons learned from a pregnancy prevention intervention she developed and implemented in 1996. 

Also presenting at the Roundtable will be Mary Alice Lee, C.N.M., Ph.D., Policy Analyst for the Children’s Health Council, who will share results from the Council’s study of health care utilization by Connecticut and Hartford adolescents enrolled in Medicaid managed care plans in 1997. 

Breaking the Cycle will prepare a summary on the findings from the Roundtable, which will be distributed to participants and throughout the health care community. The report will be available after December 1. For more information about the Roundtable, or to receive a copy of the summary, contact Breaking the Cycle at (860) 236-4872.

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Our Mission ] [ Statistics ] [ Programs for Adults ] [ Just for Teens ] [ Public Awareness ] [ Support ]