Innovative Approaches to Addressing Reproductive Health Disparities Among Urban Youth: Promising Models from the Urban Initiative for Reproductive Health

The Urban Initiative for Reproductive Health is a multi-year initiative, led by the National Institute for Reproductive Health, to create and promote policy solutions to address the reproductive health challenges facing cities today. The Urban Initiative convenes and supports local elected and public health officials and advocates' efforts to reduce reproductive health disparities at the city and county level. Through the Urban Initiative, we have identified innovative and promising models from cities across the US that are serving marginalized youth in urban areas where ethnic and racial health disparities result in some of the worst outcomes related to teen pregnancy and STI infections, including HIV. The Urban Initiative sees work in urban areas, particularly best practices for addressing the needs of young men and women of color and low-income and immigrant women and teens, as a social justice issue and a reproductive justice imperative. This panel will highlight innovative models led by Departments of Health in collaboration with advocates from New York City, Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles. From innovative programs for in-home, school based and street outreach STI screening to initiatives to increase access to contraception in the most underserved urban neighborhoods, these cities are taking the lead in improving the health of adolescents through innovative, targeted outreach efforts to ensure youth overcome barriers to receiving services posed by some of the systemic social justice challenges facing urban areas including poverty, racism, lack of affordable housing and adequate public transportation and environmental pollutants.