The University of Northern Iowa College of Education - Summer 2008 - (Page 7) Iowa initiative to reduce unintended pregnancies A n $11.5 million research program geared to reduce unintended pregnancies in Iowa involves a faculty member from the School of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Services. Susan Roberts-Dobie, ’97, assistant professor of health promotion, will direct one of five new research projects aimed at increasing knowledge and use of pregnancy-planning services and longer-term contraceptive methods. Roberts-Dobie will direct the Speak UP Project. She explained, “The concept is to engage hair stylists in providing education and information about using more effective contraception and accessing reproductive health services, as hairstylists are already trusted allies of many women.” RobertsDobie said many women share a strong relationship with their hair stylist and the project hopes to build on that rapport. This model has previously been successfully used in a domestic violence education campaign across the country. The Speak UP Project is part of the Iowa Initiative to T Reduce Unintended Pregnancies, a new statewide program spearheaded by former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack. The fiveyear program also includes an educational component to increase awareness about the importance of preventing unintended pregnancies and a service component to increase women’s access to clinics and longer-term contraceptive methods. he research component is overseen by Mary Losch, assistant director of the UNI Center for Social and Behavioral Research and associate professor of psychology. Losch, who has been collecting data on unintended pregnancies in Iowa for 15 years, says that “currently about half of the pregnancies in Iowa are unintended – either mistimed or unwanted. We need to better understand how we can use community partners to increase referrals to services and care designed to reduce unintended pregnancies.” The “I’m pleased to be research will focus primarily part of this research on women ages 18 to 30, as data show this age group’s because my goal level of unintended pregnancy has always been to has remained high without improve the health of any downward movement. During this first year my community. This of the research project, is hands-on research Roberts-Dobie will contact that can affect change hair stylists in numerous and make people’s communities to determine their interest. Hair stylists lives better.” will then be trained how Susan Roberts-Dobie to talk to women about unintended pregnancies. “Hair stylists can successfully intervene where physicians and public health services have not been successful due to their deep ties to the community,” Roberts-Dobie says. Almost every county in Iowa will receive some level of intervention from one of the five projects. Rural Iowa counties will be targeted as well as counties with high African American and Hispanic populations to determine for which populations the interventions work best. Successful interventions could then be used in other parts of the country. Roberts-Dobie states, “I’m pleased to be part of this research because my goal has always been to improve the health of my community. This is hands-on research that can affect change and make people’s lives better.” The applied research investigations will also involve faculty from the University of Iowa and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Other projects involve working with pharmacists to provide more in-store education on contraceptives; two largescale social marketing projects using billboards, newspapers, the Internet and other media; and radio serial dramas specifically targeting Hispanic and African American women. of special education teachers program serves the needs of Iowa teachers by providing courses at all of the universities involved. Other UNI faculty members involved include Amy Petersen, assistant professor of special education, and Aricia Beckman, instructor and former special education teacher. Petersen coordinates the Strategist II portion of the grant, teaches courses, and organizes practical experiences for current teachers of children with autism and other severe disabilities. Beckman oversees teachers’ applications to the program, coordinates the coursework among universities, and supervises students’ practicum experiences. The need for fully certified special education teachers is due to a number of factors, Alper explained. First, as more children enter school with extensive learning difficulties, teachers need the expertise to effectively serve children with behavioral and learning challenges, working in collaboration with general education teachers. Second, the requirements of the No Child Left Behind legislation leave teachers little time for teaching the functional skills often needed for the demands of daily life, as well as academic skills. Lastly, a survey from the Council for Exceptional Children recently found that because of paperwork requirements, less time to teach, low pay, and perceived lack of support from some general educators, many special education teachers leave the field within five years. Excellence in Education—Spring/Summer 2008 7
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