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Interagency Youth Working Group

© 2003 Sean Hawkey, Courtesy of Photoshare© 2001 Jim Stipe/Lutheran World Relief, Courtesy of Photoshare© 2001 Jennifer Knox/CCP, Courtesy of Photoshare© 2006 Jane Koehler/CCP, Courtesy of Photoshare© 2005 Esther Braud, Courtesy of Photoshare

Resources on Youth Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS

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Pharmacy poster, © 2002 Alfredo L. Fort, Courtesy of Photoshare Youth-friendly Pharmacies Email to a friend

 

Recommended Resources

Tools

Reports and Briefs

Case Studies

 

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Studies have demonstrated that young people perceive pharmacies to be important sources of contraceptive information and products. Pharmacists and staff can provide greater access to reproductive health care — both in geographic areas where health care resources are inadequate and for populations such as adolescents, who are reluctant or unable to seek the care from clinics or physicians. One U.S. study showed that the most common reasons adolescents used the pharmacy were convenience, lack of knowledge about alternatives, and anonymity.

Other research has demonstrated that youth often view staff from public health care facilities as unwelcoming and judgmental. Youth indicated that they do not like public services because of embarrassment, lack of privacy, and the more limited operating hours as compared to the private sector.

Although adolescents prefer to access contraception through pharmacies, many pharmacists lack training on reproductive health counseling, interpersonal communication with youth, and other related topics. In response to this service delivery gap, the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), through its RxGen Project, developed a comprehensive training curriculum for pharmacists and pharmacy staff. The PATH training modules have been used in a number of countries and continue to be adapted by other organizations to meet local needs. Other resources are listed below.

Recommended Resources
 
Tools

Youth-Friendly Pharmacy Program Implementation Kit CD-ROM
The comprehensive kit includes the only training curriculum for pharmacy personnel available. Available online in five segments, it provides tools for all aspects of developing and implementing a project working with pharmacies on youth reproductive health issues (PATH, 2004).

Youth-friendly Pharmacy Program Implementation Kit. Guidelines and Tools for Implementing a Youth-friendly Reproductive Health Pharmacy Program (multiple PDFs)
This kit provides guidelines, ideas, and prototype materials for designing and implementing a pharmacy capacity-strengthening project. (PATH, 2003)

Reports and Briefs

Creating Youth-Friendly Pharmacies — YouthLens No. 17 (PDF, 146 KB)
This four-page brief describes projects in which pharmacists and other pharmacy staff were trained to provide youth with information and services related to contraceptive methods and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. (Family Health International/YouthNet, 2005)

Increasing Access to Reproductive Health Services through Pharmacists — Outlook, Vol. 21, No. 2 (PDF, 293 KB)
This issue of Outlook looks at the role pharmacists and pharmacy staff play in providing health care services, particularly those related to reproductive health. The issue addresses a number of topics related to this theme, including building pharmacist capacity, and pharmacists' work with youth. (PATH, 2004)

Youth Friendly Pharmacies and Partnerships: the CMS-CELSAM Experience (PDF, 239 KB)
The Commercial Market Strategies project (CMS) developed a network of youth-friendly pharmacies to provide reproductive health information and contraceptives to youth in Guanajuato, Mexico. This report documents the staged process in which the network was developed, discusses its impact and replication, and highlights lessons learned from the experience. (PSP-One, 2005)

Case Studies

"New Generation" Models for Asia's Youth: Strengthening Networks and Building Capacity (PDF, 1 MB)
Case studies from Thailand and Cambodia discuss how to engage young people in programming, get support from adult stakeholders, and strengthen partnerships/networks, particularly in the private sector with pharmacies. (PATH, 2003)

Disclaimer: The information provided on this web site is not official U.S. Government information and does not represent the views or positions of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Government or The Johns Hopkins University.