The History And Significance Of Planned Parenthood

Introduction

Planned Parenthood was founded on the idea “that women should have the information and care they need to live strong, healthy lives and fulfill their dreams - no ceilings, no limits”, thanks to Margaret Sanger (Parenthood P., n.d.-b, para.1). After the death of her mother, Sanger began her interest and studies of birth control, something that had been illegal in the United States at the time. On October 16, 1916 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, Sanger along with two other women, Ethel Byrne and Fania Mindell, opened the first-ever birth control clinic within the U.S. (Parenthood P., n.d.-b). Seven years later Sanger would then open the Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau and the American Birth Control League, eventually merging into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, INC or otherwise known as PPFA. Since then Planned Parenthood has been responsible for several advancements in women and reproductive health, including research that leads to the adoption of birth control within the U.S., that soon “changed the lives of women and families across the U.S. and around the world” (Parenthood P., n.d.-b, para.14).

In 1966, the website for Planned Parenthood was officially launched, which today is responsible for 76 million people to be able to reach the organization. With the Obama administration passing the Affordable Care Act and enforcing health insurances to cover STD testing and other preventative care services, this made it possible for American citizens to have access to the much needed sexual health services and knowledge. Today, Planned Parenthood has reached millions of Americans and strives to keep the public educated on sexual health and have accessibility to sexual health services. Our mission here at Planned Parenthood is “to provide comprehensive reproductive and complementary health care services in settings which preserve and protect the essential privacy and rights of each individual, to advocate public policies which guarantee these rights and ensure access to such services, to provide educational programs which enhance understanding of individual and societal implications of human sexuality, and to promote research and the advancement of technology in reproductive health care and encourage understanding of their inherent bioethical, behavioral, and social implications” (Parenthood P, 2020, para.1).

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Although Planned Parenthood strives to educate Americans about the importance of safe sex and inform them about sexual health issues, they offer many more services and programs. They offer a wide variety of preventative care options including HIV testing as well as STD/STI testing, treatment and vaccines (HPV). For women who would like a contraceptive option, they have several different options available and if they are not able to provide what they are looking for then they can advise them in the correct direction. They also provide pregnancy testing, and services, as well as men’s sexual health. LGBTQ is also another area of health that they are proud to cover. One large campaign that they are proud to participate in is the Get Yourself Tested (GYT) Campaign that many organizations accompany. This campaign focuses on getting community members to not be ashamed, put their bodies first, and get tested for STIs and HIV. For the past five years in “... April, each organization builds awareness through education; the encouragement of open communication between individuals and their partners, health care providers, and parents; and testing and treatment” (Parenthood P., n.d.-a, para.3).

Planned Parenthood is very broad with their target population. They are a come one, come all type of organization. Although, with that said, they are incredibly successful at helping each section of the population they serve. In this case, the target population is teenagers or individuals between the ages of 15-19. Planned Parenthood has many services specifically for teenagers and they even have their own web page advertising this (Parenthood P., n.d.-c). Planned Parenthood is also extremely successful in their guidance and aid with teens and in all of their efforts in general. This is obvious considering that, “Planned Parenthood Federation of America is the nation’s leading sexual and reproductive healthcare provider, and the nation’s largest provider of sex education” (Parenthood, P., n.d.-d, para.1). Any situation that an individual brings into Planned Parenthood they are sure to be able to get the job done.

Problem Statement

According to the World Health Organization (2019), “[l]ow- and middle-income countries rely on identifying consistent, easily recognizable signs and symptoms to guide treatment, without the use of laboratory tests” (para. 6). There are more than one million STIs contracted every day (World Health Organization, 2019). It is estimated that about half of the new cases involving STDs or STIs are reported by women ages 15-24 which is one in four sexually active females (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2019). Furthermore, the CDC stated that young females are at higher risk due to behavior, social, and cultural reasons (2019). Per Healthy People (2020a), the goal for sexually transmitted infections is to “[p]romote healthy sexual behaviors, strengthen community capacity, and increase access to quality services to prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and their complications” (para.1).

According to CDC in 2017, the United States reported a total of 1,127,651 female cases of Chlamydia trachomatis (687.4 cases per 100,000), 141.8 cases per 100,000 females of Gonorrhea, and 2.3 cases per 100,000 females of primary and secondary (P&S) Syphilis (CDC, 2017). In Texas Department of State Health Services [DSHS] reported that in 2017 there were 101,497 cases ( 714.3 per 100,000 females) of Chlamydia, 20,187 cases (141.7 per 100,000 females) of Gonorrhea,and 2,328 cases (16.3 per 100,000 females) of P&S syphilis. In Forth Worth city in 2018, there were 5,059 cases of Chlamydia, 1,742 cases of Gonorrhea, and 130 cases of P&S Syphilis (2018). The top two infections reported in 2017 in Tarrant County include chlamydia with 5,152 female cases and gonorrhea with 1,339 female cases. Black or African Americans reported with 1,920 cases of Chlamydia compared to White 1,178 cases. Ages 15-24 years-old reported the highest with 5,152 cases compared to 25-44 years-old with 2,640 cases (Tarrant County Department of Public Health, 2017). Fort Worth, Texas will be the primary location to be assessed for STIs among young, minority women.

Fort Worth, Texas is located in North Central Texas and is approximately 358 square miles. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Fort Worth city has an estimate of the population of 895,008 in 2018 (U. S. Census Bureau,2018). In 2017, the total population was 835,129 according to the U.S. Census Bureau, in addition, it is estimated that in Fort Worth city the population is made up of 49% males and 51% females. The population ages 15-19 years old is 59,732 making 7.2% out of the total population. The three highest races are White with 537,562 people (64.4% ), Black or African American with 156,610 people (18.8%), and Hispanic or Latino with 290,354 people (34.8%) ( U.S. Census Bureau, 2017). Fort Worth, Texas collected data based on the US Census in 2017 stated that the median family income in Fort Worth is $69, 973, compared to Texas $70,136, and the United States $73,891( Fort Worth Texas, n.d.). According to Data U.S.A in 2017, Fort Worth has higher poverty by 16.9% than the national been 13.1%, followed by females ages (25-34 years old) with the largest population living in poverty and then females (18-24 years-old). Due to these statistics, this program is aimed at young, minority women, aged 15-19 that live in Fort Worth, Texas.

In Fort Worth ISD, there are approximately 84,000 students in 82 elementary schools, 24 middle schools, and 6th-grade centers, 21 high schools and 16 other campuses” (Fort Worth ISD, 2019). This population was chosen because a survey (Texas Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data) mentioned in SIECUS state profiles in Texas, stated that “In 2017, 57.4% of female high school students and 47.4% of male high school students in Texas reported not using a condom during their last sexual intercourse, compared to 53.1% of female high school students and 38.7% of male high school students nationwide” (SIECUS, 2019, pg.6).

Healthy People 2020 has determined reproductive and sexual health as leading health indicators that need to be addressed. One of the objectives of Healthy People is to “ [r]educe the proportion of adolescents and young adults with Chlamydia trachomatis infections” (Healthy People, 2020b, para. 1). Within that objective, Healthy People (2020b) also wants to incorporate testing in those who attend family planning clinics. Healthy People emphasizes the importance of prevention and testing due to many young women with STIs not knowing signs and symptoms which could lead them to not seek medical care. Not diagnosing STIs early can cause complications in the reproductive system, cancer, and HIV infections (Healthy People, 2020a, para. 2).

References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2018). Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2017. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats17/2017-STD-Surveillance-Report_CDC-clearance-9.10.18.pdf
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, July 30). STDs in adolescents and young adults - 2018 sexually transmitted diseases surveillance. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats18/adolescents.htm
3. Data U.S.A. (2017). Fort Worth, TX. Retrieved from https://datausa.io/profile/geo/fort-worth-tx/
4. Fort Worth ISD. (2019). About Fort Worth ISD / About Fort Worth ISD. Retrieved from https://www.fwisd.org/about
5. Fort Worth Texas. (n.d.). Population. Retrieved from https://fortworthtexas.gov/about/population/
6. Healthy People. (2020a, February 16). Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/sexually-transmitted-diseases
7. Healthy People. (2020b, February 16). Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/sexually-transmitted-diseases/objectives
8. Parenthood, P. (2020). Mission. Retrieved from https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are/mission
9. Parenthood, P. (n.d.-a). GYT (Get Yourself Tested). Retrieved from https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-western-pennsylvania/patients/gyt-get-yourself-tested
10. Parenthood, P. (n.d.-b). The History & Impact of Planned Parenthood. Retrieved from https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are/our-history
11. Parenthood, P. (n.d.-c). Sexual Health Information For Teens: Sex Facts & Myths. Retrieved from https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/teens
12. Parenthood,P.(n.d.-d). Our impact. Retrieved from https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/our-impact
13. SIECUS. (2019, March). State profiles fiscal year 2018. Retrieved from https://siecus.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Texas-FY18-Final.pdf.
14. Tarrant County Department of Public Health. (2017). Communicable Diseases, Tarrant County,2017. [Data file]. Retrieved from https://www.tarrantcounty.com/content/dam/main/public-health/PH%20DOCUMENTS/Epi/Communicable%20Disease%20Reports/FINAL_2017_TC_Communicable_Disease_Report.pdf
15. Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). (2018). Texas 2017 STD Surveillance Report. Retrieved from https://www.dshs.texas.gov/hivstd/reports/STDSurveillanceReport.pdf
16. U.S. Census Bureau. (2017). American FactFinder - 2013- 2017 American community survey 5-year estimates. Retrieved from https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF
17. U. S. Census Bureau. (2018). American FactFinder- Fort Worth city, Texas. Retrieved from https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml?src=bkmk
18. World Health Organization. (2019, June 14). Sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sexually-transmitted-infections-(stis)