We are thrilled to be in San Francisco today at YTH Live 2013. Hundreds of sparky, smart people have gathered to hear and share the latest on innovations connecting youth, tech, and sexual health. This morning, Martin Downs will give a talk about Sexual Health Rankings. He’ll present new research prepared especially for the YTH Live audience, so don’t miss it. If you can’t be here in person, you can watch a live Webcast starting at 8:30 a.m. PST: http://oneworld.org/ythlive
And since we are in California, we’ll take this opportunity to highlight a couple facets of the state’s sexual health.
CALIFORNIA
Overall Rank: #26
INDICATOR: Percentage of women aged 15-44 living in a county without an abortion provider
California, rank: #2
California, value: 1%
Top state, value: 0%
Bottom state, value: 96%
These data are derived from a Guttmacher Institute analysis published in 2011. The researchers conducted a nationwide census of all facilities providing abortions. For many women, the need to travel long distances to a provider may be a barrier to obtaining an abortion.
INDICATOR: Percentage of women aged ≥25 years with high school diploma and higher education
California, rank: #50
California, value: 80.9%
Top state, value: 92.5%
Bottom state, value: 80.8%
For women, having a high school diploma or higher education is associated with:
- more intended births,
- increased use of reproductive health and contraceptive services,
- decreased likelihood of engaging in HIV risk-related behaviors in the past 12 months.
Data from a large representative study of American adults also show that men and women with a high school diploma or higher education are less likely to have problems related to sexual desire, orgasm, sexual pain, and sexual anxiety.