Wednesday, March 12, 2025
3/12/2025
Teen pregnancy and STI transmission have the potential to alter the health trajectories of young people and their children. Pregnant teens have increased risk of maternal morbidity and compromised mental health. Unintended, unwanted, and mistimed pregnancies are associated with a significantly increased risk of preterm birth and low birth weight. The health consequences of STIs—which are associated with compromised mental health, substance use, increased risk of HIV infection, and adverse birth and pregnancy outcomes—threaten the future for many young people who may have low levels of knowledge about STIs or low perceived risk. These health concerns are complex and require a comprehensive approach that accounts for the entrenched social and economic disadvantage found in many of Baltimore City’s communities. Under the umbrella of the B’more for Healthy Babies (BHB) initiative, a successful citywide collaborative to reduce infant mortality, we will leverage existing citywide and community-level partnerships and tackle the determinants associated with high rates of teen pregnancy and STIs. Baltimore City has an estimated population of 602,495, 5.9% of which are 15-19 years old. About 63% of residents are African American and 5% are Latinx. With a long history of discriminatory housing, economic, and employment policies, the city remains largely segregated by race and ethnicity, perpetuating social, economic, and health disparities. The City’s teen birth rate has consistently declined over the last 10 years but remains 1.7 times higher than the national rate and twice as high as Maryland’s (29.8, 17.4, and 14.1 respectively; 2018). Disparities in teen birth rates are highest between Hispanic and White teens. Baltimore City youth have the highest rates of STIs of all age groups. A total of 2,240 adolescents tested positive for chlamydia and 644 for gonorrhea. The UChoose Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (UChoose) will address four areas: 1) STI testing linkage through implementing a systematic and large-scale STI testing linkage within our evidence-based programs (EBPs), Making Proud Choices and CHAT; 2) Engagement of disconnected and chronically absent youth through targeted communities to reach disconnected youth who are not in school and not employed as well as academically disengaged youth who are chronically absent from school, both of which are at particularly high risk for STIs and teen pregnancy, and which are hard-to-reach through current school-based programs; 3) Parent/Caregiver engagement providing support to parents/caregivers with Families Talking Together, an EBP that builds their self-efficacy in talking with their children about sex; 4) Latinx inclusivity focusing on enhancing the accessibility of EBP programs to Hispanic/Latinx youth in our target populations and parents through bilingual implementation and culturally-sensitive adaptations. All programming will include a strong digital presence of information and social support. Baltimore City Health Department’s UChoose Program is a community-based project partnering with the Baltimore City Public School System, Johns Hopkins University, Healthy Teen Network, Mayor’s Office of Employment Development, Planned Parenthood of MD, Behavioral Health Systems Baltimore, Housing Authority of Baltimore City, and the Enoch Pratt Free Library.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).