April is National STD Awareness Month

Maine CDC is joining the nation in recognizing April as Sexually Transmitted Disease Awareness Month. This year’s theme is Know the Facts and GYT: Get Yourself Tested.

STDs occur mostly among younger populations, but can affect anyone. According to US CDC, many people make false assumptions about how STD tests are performed, who should get tested, and the treatment of STDs. This may prevent people from seeking the testing and treatment they need.

In the U.S., there are approximately 20 million STDs diagnosed annually, with nearly half occurring in teenagers and young adults. For example, in 2014, Maine had 3,538 cases of Chlamydia reported, with 68 percent of the cases occurring in 15 to 24 year-olds. Gonorrhea accounted for 243 cases with 53 percent of the cases being diagnosed in 20 to 29 year-olds.

All STDs are preventable and can be treated. Most have no physical signs or symptoms, so the only way to know with certainty is to be tested. Left untreated, some STDs can have significant long-term health consequences, like being unable to have children or long-term pelvic pain for example.

For more information about where to get testing, treatment, or disease reporting in Maine, please visit http://www.mainepublichealth.gov/std 

New e-cigarette campaign

In the coming months, youth and young adults will see something they have already been seeing on TV, in magazines, and certainly on the internet: electronic cigarettes. This time, though, it will not be glamorous images and messages portrayed by an industry which has seen tremendous growth in the past few years.

In 2014, the Monitoring the Future Study showed more teens used e-cigarettes than traditional, tobacco cigarettes or any other tobacco product – the first time a U.S. national study showed that teen use of e-cigarettes surpassed use of tobacco cigarettes.

Maine CDC is getting ready to launch a new campaign which will educate youth and young adults about the vastly unregulated, untested e-cigarette industry and encourage them to question what they are NOT being told. 

Stay tuned!

Suicide Prevention Conference

The Maine Suicide Prevention Program will sponsor Beyond the Basics of Suicide Prevention 2015: Pathway to Prevention: Working Toward Zero Suicide in Maine on from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. May 7 at the Abromson Center at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.

This event serves as a best practices conference offering participants in-depth and progressive information and the latest research in the field of suicide and suicide prevention. It is designed for an adult audience who has attained basic training and knowledge in suicide and suicide prevention, and wishes to expand its knowledge and ability to engage in suicide prevention in Maine. 

The program includes the most up-to-date research on suicidology and evidence-based tools and provides participants with information to use in everyday practical applications. 

The target audience for this conference is primary care physicians, physician assistants, nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists, mental health professionals, alcohol and drug counselors, social workers, public safety professionals, military personnel, public health professionals, educators, families, and community members.

For more information and to register:http://msppconference2015.eventbrite.com