TEXAS: Parents to Be Alerted About Sex Ed Course

Responding to concerns over content in a sex-education course, Grapevine-Colleyville school administrators have agreed to notify hundreds of middle-school parents before their children take the course. The district also moved to add more residents to the health education advisory committee that determines what material students will view in the course.
The commitments came after district officials struggled with how to ease the concerns of parents who have questioned whether the course is appropriate for sixth-graders. On Sept. 17, about 150 parents met with administrators at Cross Timbers Middle School; two similar meetings were held earlier this month. The advance notification will include a form parents can sign to opt their child out of the course.
Though the program is in its fourth year, school officials this year have made concerted efforts to invite parents to preview the curriculum. The abstinence-based program includes three components - physical safety, sexual health and positive choices - designed to help students make better choices. The course is part of the district's sex-education program for students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades.
In particular, the "Play it Safe" component has caused a stir among parents. Taught by counselors from the Women's Center of Tarrant County, it encourages students to avoid dangerous situations by seeking out trustworthy adults and setting personal boundaries. The counselors show a video in which a coach lures a teenage boy into a sexual encounter and a girl is raped by her boyfriend. The sex acts are not shown.
Some parents have said the video is inappropriate for sixth- graders and expressed concern it may cause their children to become less trusting of all adults. The program's materials will also be available in school libraries for parents to view, said Terry Dickson, the district's coordinator for science, health and physical education.

NEW YORK: Homeless Reduction Plan; Mayor Looks Beyond Shelters

Making what he described as a "dramatic shift" away from the emergency shelter mindset, Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday announced details of an initiative that is part of his five-year plan to end chronic homelessness in New York City. In addition, the city unveiled a new program to provide HIV testing for single men entering homeless shelters. The test provides results in one hour.
The housing plan creates six field offices with the goal of reducing homelessness in the neediest neighborhoods. A private agency will build 2,500 housing units for single people with special needs; this is part of a larger plan to build 12,000 new units in the coming 10 years.
The soon-to-be opened HomeBase Offices will offer casework services, short-term financial assistance, job training, child care and anti-eviction legal services. A $12 million allocation will fund the project in the fiscal 2005 budget. The city will open two offices in the Bronx and one each in East Harlem, Jamaica, Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant.

OKLAHOMA: AIDS Walk Tops $25,000

Almost 1,000 people raised more than $25,000 at this year's Oklahoma City AIDS Walk, held Sept. 19 at the Myriad Botanical Gardens. The total was nearly $10,000 above proceeds from last year's event, and the number of walkers increased by 400, said Danny Morton, chairperson of AIDS Walk. Morton said corporate partner teams doubled from last year. Since 1998, the AIDS Walk has raised $200,500 for the HIV/AIDS community in Oklahoma City.

GEORGIA: TB Diagnosed in Forsyth County 11th-Grader

Georgia Health Department officials have diagnosed an 11th- grader at Forsyth Central High School as having TB. The student has not attended school since Sept. 9, when he tested positive for TB after visiting a private physician. District Public Health Director Dr. Melody Stancil said it may take up to a month to determine if the student has an active form of TB. As a precaution, the state Department of Human Resources' public health division is offering TB testing to about 270 classmates who may have had prolonged contact with the student. The free testing is scheduled for today at the school. The tests will be read Monday. Stancil said this was the first instance of TB in a Forsyth County student.

UNITED STATES: Senate Includes Sudan Aid in $19.6 Billion Bill

Among the items approved by the Senate Thursday as part of next year's foreign aid bill, $2.4 billion will go to help fight AIDS in Africa and other poor countries - $220 million more than proposed by President Bush. Some of that money is also slated for TB and malaria control.

UNITED STATES: STD Care: Variation in Clinical Care Associated with Provider Sex, Patient Sex, Patients' Self-Reported Symptoms or High-Risk Behaviors

Though sexually transmitted diseases in the United States are commonly diagnosed by both private and public physicians, little is known about the decision processes that these providers employ when faced with patients who may or may not be infected. The researchers sought to address this gap by comparing physicians' responses to different patient vignettes to assess how variations in patients' presentations affect physicians' clinical behavior.
The researchers conducted a national survey of physicians in which they systematically varied reported symptoms, behavioral risk, partner STD and patient gender in 16 different vignettes. One vignette was randomly presented to each physician. Providers rated the likelihood of 12 clinical management actions they might take with the patient vignette presented.
Physician responses varied with high-risk behavior, self- reported symptoms, and report of an STD-infected partner. Female providers were more attentive to sexual health. All those surveyed were more likely to aggressively treat female patients in comparison to male patients. While the researchers observed that overall behavior was congruent with sound medical practice, they discussed several caveats.

WASHINGTON: Planned Parenthood Opens South Hill 'Express Clinic

Planned Parenthood of the Inland Northwest has opened an "express clinic" in Spokane's South Hill that offers birth control pills and limited STD testing. It does not perform abortions or vasectomies. The agency plans to open similar clinics based on an analysis of client ZIP codes - a trend among Planned Parenthood agencies nationwide. Planned Parenthood CEO C.J. Gribble said, "It's really about expanding access. No waiting, no appointment." Regular hours for the clinic, located at 2802 E. 30th St., Suite B, are Monday and Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.