Policy Recommendations
In August 2009 Prevention First Colorado released "Planning, Protection, Prevention Reducing Unintended Pregnancy in Colorado." Links to PDF versions of each recommendation can be found below.
Reason for the Research
Socially, the cost of Colorado’s unintended pregnancies can be measured in terms of reduced educational attainment and employment opportunities and increased levels of welfare dependence and child neglect and abuse. Medically, it has been demonstrated that women who experience unintended pregnancies also are less likely to seek and receive prenatal care; subsequently, the risk of maternal and infant mortality increases. Moreover, increased health-care costs related to unintended pregnancies, particularly among low-income women and those without access to comprehensive health insurance coverage, often are covered by state and local governments.
Policy Recommendations Based on Research
- Declare the reduction of unintended pregnancy a public health priority in Colorado; PPP-Rec.1.PublicHealthPriority.pdf
- Revise state statute regarding mandated, comprehensive planning for cities and counties to include health care and family planning care; PPP-Rec.2.Planning.pdf
- Streamline access to and use of family planning services provided through Medicaid; PPP-Rec.3.Medicaid.pdf
- Ensure all FDA-approved contraceptive drugs, devices and related outpatient services are covered by all insurance products offered in Colorado; PPP-Rec.4.Insurance.pdf
- Evaluate barriers to condom access in pharmacies and grocery stores throughout Colorado; PPP-Rec.5.Condoms.pdf
- Provide preventive family planning services through mobile health clinics that serve rural and small-town communities; PPP-Rec.6.MobileFamilyPlanning.pdf
- Allow advanced practice nurses with prescriptive authority to distribute and administer prescription contraceptives; PPP-Rec.7.AdvancedPracticesNurses.pdf
- Expand access to programs that have been proven to help pregnant and parenting teens finish high school; PPP-Rec.8.Teens.pdf
- Aggressively implement Colorado House Bill 07-1292; and PPP-Rec.9.SexEducation.pdf
- Provide Preventive Reproductive Health Care Services and Dispense Contraceptives On-Site through School-Based Health Centers that Deliver Health Care to Adolescents in Colorado PPP-Rec.10.SchoolBasedHealthCenters.pdf
- Develop social marketing and public education campaigns to increase contraceptive use and knowledge of the impacts of unintended pregnancy. PPP-Rec.11.SocialMarketingCampaign.pdf
Glossary of Terms PPP-Glossary.pdf