Youth in Context: Preparing for Lifelong Health and Wellness With Lessons Learned in Opening a High School Based Health Clinic

high-impact advocacy intervention, which spreads the word about LARC and its availability. Methods: This initiative is an advocacy project partnering community pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) with local family planning, teen pregnancy prevention, and PYD organizations. We additionally work with the New York State Family Planning Benefit Programwith Presumptive Eligibility (FPBP), which is a Medicaid product offering free and confidential same-day family planning services, including LARC for adolescents. Our multifaceted community-based intervention focuses on raising awareness about LARC and FPBP among adults who work with youth. Our community presentations empower the adults with whom youth have established, trusting relationships (health teachers, pediatricians, recreation center leaders, counselors, etc.) to talk about the most effective pregnancy prevention methods and how to obtain them. Results: We have created a coalition of local agencies aligned in increasing LARC use among Rochester’s sexually active youth, and attracted interest from local government about the utility of LARC for preventing intergenerational poverty.We have helped to form a group of health educators focused on community education for LARC. Between August 2014 and August 2015, we have presented to over 300 adults who work with youth in 25 sites, including five primary care pediatrics offices; these 300 adults interact with thousands of teens each year. We facilitated an increase in the number of Rochester clinics offering FPBP. Additionally, we see evidence of increased demand for LARC training among pediatric health care providers, and have facilitated a project to train pediatrics residents within the URMC system in LARC insertion. Conclusions: This advocacy program connects local PYD groups and pediatric health care providers with existing infrastructure providing free, confidential, same-day contraceptive services. For other communities with FPBP programs, this project provides a model for mobilizing PYD and family planning agencies around a common goal of teen pregnancy prevention, and focuses that energy on the winnable battle of increasing teen LARC use. Sources of Support: