Ohio: Family Physicians Deciding How to Handle CDC's HIV Guidelines

Adolescents are seen as a key target of CDC's new HIV testing recommendations, since young people tend to be secretive about their sexual activity and may not use contraceptives. "This is a health matter, not a sexual matter," said Dr. Arthur Lavin, a Beachwood pediatrician who plans to begin offering universal HIV testing in January. Up until now, he has administered 10 or fewer tests per year.

In an additional local effort to fight HIV and STDs among young people, the Cleveland school system next month will launch expanded sex education curricula. The program starts in kindergarten, where children will receive simple instruction about personal space and inappropriate touching, and runs through high school, where students will get frank information about abstinence and contraception.

"It's time for us to do something," Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said in announcing the new curricula. Twenty percent of new AIDS cases in the city last year were people in their 20s. Students, Jackson said, must be "equipped with the knowledge" to make healthy decisions.

Still, there are financial challenges to the new effort. The new sex education program's first year is being supported by a $1.2 million grant from Cuyahoga County. It is unclear how the program will be funded in future years.

Back to other news for October 26, 2006