Finding the Sweet Spot

Have a look at this: I got this from Dave Pollards blog 'How to Save the World'

Project 10 to the 100th: Google is offering $10 million for the top ideas that help people help other people, in these categories:

Community: How can we help connect people, build communities and protect unique cultures?
Opportunity: How can we help people better provide for themselves and their families?
Energy: How can we help move the world toward safe, clean, inexpensive energy?
Environment: How can we help promote a cleaner and more sustainable global ecosystem?
Health: How can we help individuals lead longer, healthier lives?
Education: How can we help more people get more access to better education?
Shelter: How can we help ensure that everyone has a safe place to live?
Everything else: Sometimes the best ideas don't fit into any category at all.

You have until October 20th to enter. What's most interesting is that their evaluation criteria are very similar to the criteria that make for a good Natural Enterprise:

Reach: How many people would this idea affect?
Depth: How deeply are people impacted? How urgent is the need?
Attainability: Can this idea be implemented within a year or two?
Efficiency: How simple and cost-effective is your idea?
Longevity: How long will the idea's impact last?
So whether you win or not, if you believe in your idea, get a copy of Finding the Sweet Spot and realize your idea!

Sound like Primary Health care to me!!!!!!!!!!!

Alcohol+Sexual Health

Have a look at this Newsletter from the Alcohol Education Rehabilitation Foundation.

It has such topics in there as:

1. Alcohol and Pregnancy
2. Party Safe 2008
3. First Tase: How Indigenous Australians Learned about Grog
4. Recent Radio and TV Programs: On the Piss and Playing Up.

This is a pretty good and informative newsletter with direct links to the subject it talks about. Really good.

Reader request - Can you help?

Last week one of our blog readers sent me an email asking abouyt a particular program: I havent seen or heard of it. Maybe some of you can help. Here is the email I was sent.

"CHOICES, DECISIONS, OUTCOMES (CDO) Program
I’d like to know if anyone has any experience with this program which is run in secondary schools. I’m curious as to whether there is an underlying ‘anti abortion’ focus and whether the relationships part is inclusive of the diversity of relationships - heterosexual, homosexual etc. The website is http://www.cdo.net.au/site.htm. What are other worker’s experience and knowledge? "

Very interesting roundup of USA blogs

This is quite a facinating roundup of entries in a range of sexual health blogs in the united states leading up to the USA presidential election. Things like the republican runner for vice president 'Palin' not supporting public funding of rape kits because they contain emergency contraception.

Could this happen in Australia? Of course it could.

Go here to read about the range of issues

Physician advocacy essential for Canada's First Nations

Sometimes its good to take a wider look at what is happening all around the world. In this blog we often mention projects that are happening through family health international in developing countries. Rarely have we taken a look at what is happening in Canada even though it often is similar to Australia: Have a read of the teaser below and then go to the link.

"The Government of Canada recently apologized to our First Nations' people for its residential school policy, which effectively suppressed the linguistic, cultural and spiritual practices of their pupils, with the ultimate aim of assimilation. Federal underfunding coupled with harsh discipline, exacerbated by the presence of abusive staff in some schools, also served to demoralize students and compromise their resistance to disease. " Go here for more

CCC Chlamydia

Hi Everyone,

Sorry it has been a while since my last post, i've been quite busy in clinics at the moment.

Just wanted to let you know about a new project that will be beginning soon called the 7 C's of chlamydia;
THE 7 C’S OF CHLAMYDIA: A SIMPLE MEMORY TOOL FOR SCREENING AND MANAGEMENT OF CHLAMYDIA INFECTION.
A partnership between Sydney Sexual Health Centre, NSW STI Programs Unit and Australian Practice Nurses Association was successful in gaining a Nursing & Midwifery Innovation scholarship for the project to develop a simple memory tool for health professionals designed to assist in recall of the steps involved for screening and management of genital Chlamydia infection.

Chlamydia is the most commonly notified sexually transmitted infection in Australia and is most prevalent in people under 25 years of age. The infection is often asymptomatic and the sequelae of untreated infection can include pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), chronic pelvic or testicular pain, ectopic pregnancy and infertility.

The project aim is to develop, disseminate and evaluate a simple memory tool for health professionals designed to assist in recall of the steps involved for screening and management of genital Chlamydia infection.

Key message: It is easy to screen for and treat Chlamydia infection.

The project, due for completion in June 2009, will comprise engaging interactive online learning activities and be aimed at practice nurses, youth health nurses, women’s health, midwives, community health care workers and nurses new to the speciality of sexual health.

I look forward to seeing the finished product and hopefully being able to use it in my clinical setting for teaching and training.

Kellie

CHLAMYDIA

Just watched a great new dvd on Chlamydia produced by the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University.

The dvd was funny with youth actors, real conversations and short and to the point. Seeing as how Chlymida is SUCH a comm9on STI this is great timing. Go get one ( DVD NOT STI)

This is what the blub about it says.
" Chlamydia - the secret is out- is a new teaching resource to inform young people aged 16 - 20 about Chlamydia testing and to demystify the process of going to a health service to have the test carried out."

5000 copies of 'Chlamydia the secret is out' dvd and workbook are available free to secondary schools and VET settings via department of education in each state ajnd territory. For more information contact:
Jenny Walsh
Australian Research Centre in Sex,Health and Society
jennifer.walsh@latrobe.edu.au or 3 92855382

Scenario

In the SE&X course that I teach we often have online forum questions that we ask people to respond to: One such question goes like this.

One of your clients comes to see you, really excited as she now has somewhere to live. She has been without a place for several months. The house is owned by a young man who is living with 2 other young men. One of the conditions for her to move in is that she has sex with each of the men once a week. The young woman says she is fine with this.
What are you thinking?
What are you feeling?
What will you do?

Below is one of the responses from a person that is doing the course: I think this response is great and wanted to share it with you.

"What am I thinking?I would be concerned for her physical and psychological safety. I would be wondering if she has an abuse history. At the same time, being transient for a lengthy time is also risky and 'sex for favours' may not be overtly stated as an 'agreement' but may be the unspoken reality for young people-young women and men. "Survival creates strange bedfellows." I would be surprised if the young woman hadn't either been involved with this or been exposed to this, as she's 'fine with this'. I'd suspect that she's not completely fine with it but that its better than the alternatives. I would go through the various accomm options but realistically they are limited especially for those over 18. Under 18 the options are better but still restricted and there are waiting times. I would not be thinking of referring this young person for counselling for exploration of issues at this time. I would be mainly concerned about her immediate and longer term safety so I would be considering safe sex, (access to contraception & condoms), linking her with a youth health service, linking her with support. I think that I would be trying to work out a safety plan with the young person in the event that the situation becomes 'dangerous' (at least from her perspective) e.g making sure the y/p has emergency no.s for crisis support. I would want to try and remain in a support role for the y/p and would suggest counselling at a later stage. I find suggesting counselling too soon in the picture can result in it being rejected outright. While later its more likely to be considered. I think this is because in the early stage y/p sense they're being judged. "Counselling is for sick people I just need a place to live. I'm only doing this so I have a place. If you realised just how tough it is to survive you'd know why this is an ok option for me, its better than the streets. This isn't about me its about my situation." I would be respecting of the Y/p choices but would point out that the young men are using their power as 'home ful' to extort from the 'homeless'. I would try to link the y/p into services and would discuss mandatory notification requirements if the y/p was under age.What am I feeling?I'd be feeling sad and angry about the lack of accomm options available. Frustrated that I couldn't do more. I would be feeling extremely irate if the y/p was under age as the likelihood of FSA intervening is small due to resource issues and that is so wrong! Aust is signatory to the United Nations Rights Of the Child and yet so often young people are neglected and abandoned by the very services designed to assist them. I would be feeling good that the y/p person felt that she could talk to me as she hasn't got much support. I would be hoping that the young person felt that she could trust me to talk to again. It is always better to feel that only one person cares than to feel no-one does."

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How about you - what would you do???????