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Advocates Call Attention To Rising Teen Pregnancies In Foster Care Programs
Advocates are stepping up efforts to address the high pregnancy rate among teens in foster care programs, Time reports. Although teen pregnancy rates are rising nationwide after years of declines, the numbers in the foster care system are "truly epidemic," according to Time. A University of Chicago study showed that almost half of girls who have spent time in the foster system had been pregnant at least once before age 19, and almost one-fourth had multiple pregnancies in their teens. However, the problem has traditionally received scant attention from children"s health advocates. Last week, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy announced a new campaign to address pregnancy prevention for foster care teens. The groups plan to push the Obama administration to consider the issue as it develops strategies to prevent unintended pregnancies. Planned Parenthood is recruiting and training thousands of peer educators -- including many who are in foster care themselves -- to engage teens in medically accurate discussions about sex. A report released this week by the National Campaign shows that nearly half of the 500,000 children in foster care had sex for the first time before age 16, compared with 30% of all teens. Teens in foster care also were more likely to have had forced sex and less likely to have used contraception.National Campaign Senior Policy Director Andrea Kane said, "Foster parents already go through trainings -- the delivery system exists." She added, "[W]e have people who can teach them how to do this. We just need to put the two together." According to Time, foster parents might assume that children were taught about reproductive health while living with another family. Social workers might also be reluctant to discuss sex with foster children. Advocates say that intended pregnancy also should be addressed as part of prevention efforts. University of Chicago researcher Amy Dworsky said, "For some foster youth, having a child is a way to create a family that they don"t have, or to fill an emotional void" (Sullivan, Time, 7/22).
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MEDEC Commends The Ontario Government's Decision To Make PET Scans More Accessible To Patients In The Province
MEDEC - Canada"s Medical Technology Companies - applauds the Ontario Government for its recent decision to add Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Technology to the services covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) thereby ensuring that Ontarians have access to PET technology.
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Schering-Plough Announces U.S. Filing Of Mometasone Furoate/Formoterol Fumarate Combination For The Maintenance Treatment Of Asthma
Schering-Plough announced that a New Drug Application (NDA) for a fixed-dose combination of mometasone furoate and formoterol fumarate has been filed in the United States and accepted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Schering-Plough is seeking marketing approval from the FDA of the mometasone furoate/formoterol fumarate combination for the maintenance treatment of asthma in patients 12 years of age and older.
Public Health

Advertising From Interest Groups Ramps Up As Lawmakers Return To Congress To Work On Health Reform

Advertisements from interest groups on health reform have increased in recent days, as the congressional session resumes next week and lawmakers continue to work on reform legislation, the New York Times reports. Spots from Health Care for America Now advocate coverage for all U.S. residents and a public health insurance option. One of the group"s ads is airing in Maine and urges viewers to contact Sens. Olympia Snowe (R) and Susan Collins (R) to express support for the public insurance option. The group has spent $200,000 on ads in the last month, according to spokesperson Jacki Schechner. Business Forward -- a new coalition that includes AT&T, Microsoft and IBM -- is running ads to encourage business executives to work with the Obama administration and congressional lawmakers in "reforming health care" (Pear, New York Times, 5/28). Also, Healthy Economy Now has an ad campaign to support reform efforts (Dann, CongressDaily, 5/27).Conservatives for Patients" Rights, a group founded by former Hospital Corporation of America CEO Richard Scott, has been airing a 30-minute video on cable networks showing British and Canadian doctors and patients who are not satisfied with their respective countries" health systems. The group is spending $1.2 million on the video and a campaign of short TV spots and earlier this year spent $2.5 million on similar ads, according to spokesperson Keith Appell. The Americans for Prosperity Foundation has spent $800,000 on television ads in eight states. In its spot, a woman from Canada describes her experience with the Canadian health system and how she ended up receiving treatment in the U.S. According to the Times, similar campaigns "helped sink President Clinton"s plan for universal coverage 15 years ago" (New York Times, 5/28). Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. © 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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