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L J Kolbe

Publications and source records attributed to L J Kolbe.

64 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
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Progress in efforts to prevent the spread of HIV infection among youth.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) that causes AIDS will continue to threaten public health for years to come. Despite some popular misperceptions, adolescents are at risk of infection. Twenty percent of persons reported with AIDS have been ages 20 through 29. Given the long incubation period between HIV infection and AIDS, some of these young adults probably were infected while they were teenagers. Young people must develop the skills they will need to avoid HIV infection and other related health problems. In 1987, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) launched a national program to help schools and other agencies that serve youth across the nation provide effective health education to prevent the spread of HIV. CDC supports and works closely with national health and education organizations, State and local education agencies, colleges and universities, and local health departments to establish HIV prevention policies and programs, training and demonstration centers, information development and dissemination activities. The impact of these efforts are assessed through applied surveillance and evaluation research. Through this system, CDC is attempting to institutionalize the means for continuously providing educational programs that will be effective in preventing HIV infection and other important health problems.

Adolescent↗
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Current CDC efforts to prevent and control human immunodeficiency virus infection and AIDS in the United States through information and education.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is estimated to have infected more than a million people in the United States and millions more in other countries. Even though there is no vaccine or effective treatment, HIV infection can be prevented through behavioral change. As the lead Public Health Service Agency for disease prevention, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has designed and implemented information and education activities with the ultimate goal of preventing HIV infection and AIDS in the United States. The target populations include the general public, school- and college-aged populations, persons infected or at increased risk of infection, minorities, and health workers. Because AIDS will be with us for a long time, CDC views educating the public as a long-term undertaking. The agency has initiated an intensive continuing national public information campaign, an informational brochure to be distributed to every U.S. household, a national AIDS information toll-free hotline, and a clearinghouse system that will maintain a comprehensive inventory of AIDS information resources and services. CDC also supports public information and education efforts by State and local health agencies. To reach school- and college-age youth, CDC, in consultation with governmental and national private sector organizations, developed guidelines for effective school health education to assist school health personnel in determining the scope and content of AIDS education. CDC also works with State and local education agencies to help carry out and evaluate educational efforts to prevent the spread of HIV among school- and college-age youth. The populations with the highest priority for AIDS information and education efforts are those who are at increased risk of acquiring or transmitting the AIDS virus because they use illicit intravenous drugs and share needles, engage in anal intercourse, have many sexual partners, practice prostitution, or engage in sex with those who practice these behaviors. Another high-priority population, because they can infect their offspring,is reproductive age women engaging in high-risk behavior and women infected with HIV who become pregnant. CDC programs targeted to these groups include community health education and risk reduction interventions, counseling and testing for HIV infection, AIDS community demonstration projects, perinatal AIDS prevention projects,and programs focused on preventing AIDS in minority populations. CDC is developing a variety of educational approaches for health workers in clinical settings because they are an important channel for providing accurate AIDS information, helping to assess risk, and counseling to actively reduce risk for the patient, sex partners of the patient, friends, and family members of the patient. CDC has conducted research and provided information and training on the use of HIV laboratory tests. CDC has also developed numerous scientific and technical guidelines and recommendations in consultation with practitioners, public health officials, and others and disseminated these through the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. In addition,CDC has provided information about the risk of HIV transmission in the workplace and about methods of prevention. CDC will continue to evaluate these activities and support research in education and related interventions that may be necessary to prevent infection by the HIV virus. By providing educational support for behavior changes that decrease HIV transmission, we can contribute to AIDS prevention in the 1990s.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
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Sexual behavior among U.S. high school students, 1990-1995.

CONTEXT: High rates of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV infection, among adolescents are major public health concerns that have created interest in trends in teenage sexual activity. METHODS: Nationally representative data from Youth Risk Behavior Surveys conducted in 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1995 are used to examine levels of sexual experience, age at first intercourse, current sexual activity and condom use at last intercourse among students in grades 9-12. RESULTS: The proportion of students who reported being sexually experienced remained at 53-54% from 1990 through 1995, while the percentage of sexually active students who used condoms at last intercourse rose from 46% to 54% between 1991 and 1995. Black students were more likely than white students to report being sexually experienced, being currently sexually active and having had four or more lifetime sexual partners; black students also reported a significantly younger age at first intercourse. Gender differences in sexual behavior were found more frequently among black students than among white or Hispanic students. CONCLUSIONS: Although levels of sexual experience for high school students in the United States have not risen during the 1990s, a very high percentage of students continue to be at risk for unintended pregnancy and STDs, including HIV infection.

Adolescent↗