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Volume 1, Number 7 Autumn 2001 Maine Girls' Health Summit
& Action Plan The keynote address, "Creating Hardiness Zones for Adolescent Girls," was given by Lyn Mikel Brown, Ed.D., professor of Education at Colby College, author of Raising their Voices: The Politics of Girls' Anger and co-author of Meeting at the Crossraods: Women's Psychology and Girls' Development. In her speech, Lyn Brown looked at girls' health in terms of their hardiness and discussed what we need to do to create a culture in Maine so girls can thrive and grow into healthy women. This culture or hardiness zone would provide "women and girls healthier lives with less violence and alienation and more support for who they are and who they want to be." (Click here for the complete text of Lyn Brown's speech or visit www.hardywomenhealthygirls.org) A final editing of The Girls' Health Action Plan is now being done and publication is expected by the end of October. We will have more information about the Plan on our website and in our next newsletter. UPDATE: The Girls' Health Action Plan is here! Kick
the Habit: Call It Quits It's free and confidential. And it's there for you when you want to call it quits. The helpline is sponsored by the Bureau of Health and the Department of Human Services in partnership for A Tobacco Free-Maine. Gonorrhea Outbreak Since January 1, 2001, 95 cases of gonorrhea have been diagnosed in Maine. This compares to 54 cases during the same period in 2000. The Bureau of Health has now declared a gonorrhea outbreak in Maine. While some cases have been linked, most are not. Cases have been reported throughout the State. Of the 95 Maine cases this year, 42 are female and 53 are male. Forty-three percent of the female cases are in the 15-19 year old age group, which is a significant increase in the disease among adolescent women from last year. The Bureau of Health has had two reported gonorrhea-related pelvic inflammatory disease cases this year. Both resulted in lengthy hospitalizations for the young women, one of whom was under 19 years of age. Fifty-five percent of the male cases are among men who have sex with men (MSM). Fourteen percent of these individuals were co-infected with HIV. We encourage you to inform the young people you know and/or work with about the gonorrhea outbreak and look for appropriate opportunities to educate them about sexually transmitted disease (STD) transmission. Some specific messages might include the following:
For more information and for confidential STD testing and treatment referrals, contact the STD clinic in your local area: Bangor
STD Clinic 947- 0700 |
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