WATCH OWCH
Office of Women’s and Children’s Health
150 N. 18th Avenue, Suite 320 Phoenix, AZ 85007-3242
Telephone: (602) 364-1400

Spring 2006

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month
The purpose of Sexual Assault
Awareness Month is to increase the
public's understanding of sexual violence in our society. This effort helps
communities support rape and sexual assault survivors, victims, their
families, and the individuals and
agencies that provide rape crisis
intervention and prevention services
throughout the year. It is also a time
to encourage the public to take steps
to address sexual violence. The
hope is that a month of intensified
awareness efforts combined with the
broad spectrum of sexual violence
prevention work throughout the year
will bring us closer to ending sexual
assault.
Rape or sexual assault can happen
to anyone, regardless of age, gender, race, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status. It is never the
survivor’s fault. It is about power
and control.

Take Back the Night
In the 1970s, women in England began organizing protests against violence called “Take Back the Night.”
These women-only protests were a
direct response to the violence they
encountered walking the streets after
sundown. As these activities became
more coordinated, they crossed the
Atlantic Ocean to the United States,
and in 1978, America’s first Take
Back the Night events were held in
San Francisco and New York City.
By the early 1980s, a great deal of
interest had developed in coordinating events to raise public awareness
of violence against women. October
was initially set a side for public
awareness of violence against
women issues. However, over the
course of time, domestic violence
awareness activities became Octo-

ber’s principle focus. People started
to look for a separate time to focus
attention on sexual assault issues.
By the late 1990s, many states began coordinating activities throughout the month of April on an active
and regular basis, promoting an idea
for a nationally recognized month for
sexual violence awareness activities.
As a result, Sexual Assault Awareness Month was first observed nationally in April 2001.
Why Teal?
During this same time frame (20002001), the Resource Sharing Project
and the National Sexual Violence
Resource Center polled state, territory, and tribal coalitions and found
they preferred the color teal for sexual assault awareness and prevention.
Please see Denim Day, page 4

Women’s Health Week: May 14-20
When women take even the simplest
steps to improve their health, the
results can be significant. The Governor's Office for Children, Youth and
Families, in collaboration with the
Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), has created the Arizona Women’s Health Week campaign to raise awareness about
women’s health issues and to foster
collaboration between health care
providers, state, local, and tribal
government, and social service organizations.
Arizona Women’s
Health Week is May 14-20. The
event is held in concert with a national effort by the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services to
raise awareness about manageable
steps women can take to improve
their health. For more information

about the national effort,
www.4woman.gov/whw/.

visit

In Arizona in 2005, six counties held
events, reaching over 1,300 women.
The events were hosted by hospitals, a county health department,
community health centers, a tribal
health agency, community service
agencies, and universities. Activities
included health expos and screenings, support groups, lectures, educational events, book discussions,
and information and referral services.
To learn more about Women's
Health Week and how your community can become involved, contact
Catherine Hannen by calling 602364-1474 or emailing her at

hannenc@azdhs.gov. For information about events for state employees and about local events visit the
ADHS web site at www.azdhs.gov
and click on the Women's Health
Week ribbon icon.

Inside this issue
Sexual Assault Awareness ..............1
Women’s Health Week.................... 1
Sensory Program............................. 2
Newborn Screening......................... 3
Firearms in Arizona........................ 4
New Office Chief.............................. 5
Community Health RFGA.............. 5
RMPHEC Summer Institute.......... 6
Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy..... 6
New Employees............................... 6

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Spring 2006

Sensory Program: The Silent Partner
In 1946, the Easter Seal Society
established the first hearingscreening program in Arizona. In
1951, the Arizona Department of
Health Services (ADHS) took over
this responsibility by establishing
and managing the Hearing Conservation Program. ADHS worked with
county health departments to have
children’s hearing screened, purchasing audiometers and loaning
them to counties that did not have
equipment to screen children. In
1971, the Arizona legislature mandated hearing screening for schoolaged children. The legislative mandate applies to all Arizona schools,
including pre-schools, private and
public schools, K-12, and charter
schools.

velop the Train the Trainer (T3)
Hearing Screening Program curriculum and to train hearing screening
trainers. T3 entails three layers of
training: master trainers train T3
trainers to train hearing screeners.
School nurses become T3 trainers,
train screeners, and conduct hearing
screening in schools.
In the 2004-2005 school year, there
were 3,588 T3 trained hearing
screeners.
Qualified screeners
checked over 574,000 students.
Out of the children screened, 25,319
received medical or audiological

follow-up. Without the hard work
Arizona school nurses do, over
25,000 children would not have received medical or audiological
treatment. As a result, in Arizona,
nearly 2,000 children were identified
for the first time as having a sensory
neural hearing loss.
We at ADHS wish to thank all of the
dedicated people, school nurses, the
U of A T3 Program, and the Arizona
Legislature that recognized the importance of the future of our children.

Today, the Hearing Conservation
Program is called the Sensory Program. It is managed in the Office of
Women’s and Children’s Health by
Program Manager Virginia James
and Administrative Assistant Denisa
Brown-Perkins.
A crucial piece of this program is the
role of the University of Arizona and
the school nurses. ADHS contracts
with the U of A Cooperative Extension in a collaborative effort to de-

Top center: Kristine Giles conducts hearing screenings on preschool students. (Courtesy of Trinity
Lutheran Church and School.
Bottom right: T3 Train-the-Trainer Institute for Hearing Screening presented by Master Trainer Lisa Thompson. (Courtesy of University of Arizona T3 Train-the-Trainer.)

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Spring 2006

Newborn Screening Expands
Arizona newborns will receive an
extra measure of protection as the
state newborn screening program
begins expansion of the newborn
screening panel for serious genetic
disorders. As well as expanding the
number of disorders identified by
bloodspot testing, the Arizona Department of Health Services will begin providing follow up services for
newborns and infants who do not
pass the hearing screen done at
birth.

threatening, genetically acquired
disorders can be identified in babies
who otherwise may seem perfectly
healthy at birth. Early treatment can
prevent the irreversible symptoms of
damage that, in the past, were the
first indicators of these disorders.

Expansion of the newborn screen is
primarily possible by the arrival of a
Tandem Mass Spectrometer (MS/
MS), a laboratory instrument able to
distinguish and measure a vast
number of analytes indicating possiThe bloodspot screen expansion, ble presence of disease. The Arifrom 8 to 28 disorders, begins in late zona State Laboratory is completing
April 2006, with additional disorders validation testing for many of the
added periodically over the next disorders that will be screened, and
year (see table). By July 2007, re- testing will continue for the next
sults will be reported for all 28 disor- year. Some disorders are identified
ders, including cystic fibrosis. The with other methodology but the MS/
twenty-eight disorders selected for MS offers a huge breakthrough in
the expansion are the same as newborn screening.
those recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, March of A critical piece of Arizona’s compreDimes, American College of Medical hensive newborn screening program
Genetics, and the Genetic Disease is still the collection of a satisfactory
Branch of the federal Maternal and specimen, and complete and accuChild Health Bureau. Arizonans will rate information on the specimen
benefit from the knowledge that card. Tests are done with small
treatable, disabling or life- samples of blood taken from the

baby’s heel between 24 and 72
hours of age or before the baby
leaves the hospital. A second newborn screen is collected at five to ten
days of age, or at the time of the first
doctor visit. Because there is no perfect point in time for optimum identification of all of the disorders in the
expanded panel, it is more important
than ever to ensure babies have two
newborn screens.
Newborn screening has long been
recognized as an essential, lifesaving, and effective preventive public health service. In the past few
years, almost one hundred babies
per year have received the help they
needed because their newborn
screen revealed possible presence
of a disorder.
For more information about newborn
screening, please visit our Website
at http://www.azdhs.gov/phs/owch/
newbrnscrn.htm or call Newborn
Screening at (602) 364-1409 or 1800-548-8381 (outside Maricopa
County).

The Newborn Screen Expansion
By May 2006
• Results will be reported for the currently screened disorders plus Citrullinemia,
Tyrosinemia, and Argininosuccinic acidemia
• Pilot testing for Fatty Acid Oxidation and Organic Acid disorders will begin
• The ADHS will provide follow-up services to encourage families of infants who
have not passed the newborn hearing screen to access appropriate screening,
evaluation, or intervention
• The newborn screening fee will increase from $20 per screen to $30 for the
first screen, and $40 for the second screen
By September 2006
• Results will be reported for 27 disorders
• Pilot testing for cystic fibrosis will begin
By July 2007
• Results will be reported for 28 disorders, including Cystic Fibrosis

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Spring 2006

Denim Day – April 26, 2006
(continued from page 1)

Sexual assault awareness activities
have expanded to include issues of
sexual violence against men and
men’s participation in ending sexual violence. Sexual Assault
Awareness Month is dedicated to
making a concerted effort to prevent sexual violence, to raise
awareness of it, and to
raise
awareness of its prevention
through special events (although
such activities may occur at any
time throughout the year). Recognizing Sexual Assault Awareness
Month each year highlights sexual
violence as a major public health
problem and reinforces the need
for prevention efforts.

cluded a greater focus on primary
prevention.
Denim Day

Wearing jeans during Sexual Assault Awareness Month is an international symbol of protest against
harmful attitudes about rape. In
1999, the Italian Supreme Court
overturned a rape conviction because the victim wore jeans. The
justices reasoned that the victim
must have helped her attacker remove her jeans, which they felt implied consent. Women of the Italian
legislature protested the decision by
wearing jeans. As news of the decision spread, so did the protest,
creating an annual Denim Day
where denim is worn. This year’s
Recently, Sexual Assault Aware- Denim Day is April 26.
ness Month campaigns have in-

Day to End Sexual Violence
Thursday, April 6
Take Back the Day
Monday, April 3
Take Back the Night
Wednesday, April 5
Denim Day
Wednesday, April 26

Firearms in Arizona
The most recent national comparison
available (2003) ranks Arizona 10th in
the nation for its rate of violencerelated firearm deaths. (Violence refers to suicides, homicides, and legal
intervention.)
In 2003, Arizona’s
violence-related firearm death rate of
14.7 per 100,000 was considerably
higher than the national rate of 9.9
per 100,000.
In 2004, 873 Arizona residents died
from the misuse of firearms. In addition to numerous deaths, many Arizona residents are severely injured
from firearms. There were 738 inpatient hospitalizations and 844 emergency department visits due to
firearm-related injuries.
Firearm-related death rates vary by
age and gender. Among age groups,
20-24 year olds had the highest
firearm-related death rate (32.2 per
100,000) and the highest firearm
homicide rate (18.4 per 100,000) in
2004. In contrast, adults over the age
of 85 had the highest firearm suicide
rate (24.5 per 100,000) accounting for
19 deaths. The 2004 firearm-related
mortality rate among males (26.3 per
100,000) was 7.1 times greater than

the rate of 3.7 per 100,000 among
females.

ries totaled more than $39 million in
Arizona during 2004.

Firearm-related death rates also differ
by race/ethnicity. African Americans
had the highest firearm-related death
rate (24.9 per 100,000) and the highest firearm homicide rate (18.8 per
100,000) among racial/ethnic groups
in Arizona during 2004. However,
White non-Hispanics had the highest
firearm suicide rate (10.6 per
100,000).

Research has shown that keeping a
gun locked and unloaded, storing
ammunition in separate location, and
locking ammunition are each associated with a protective effect in reducing firearm-related injuries to children
and teenagers in homes where guns
are stored. Results of the 2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Survey indicate
that firearms are present in 31.4 percent of households in Arizona and in
31.3 percent of households nationwide.

The number of self-inflicted and
assault-related firearm injuries varies
dramatically by severity. Among firearm self-inflicted injuries in 2004, 91.4
percent (n=498) were fatal; 5.7 percent (n=31) required hospitalizations;
and 2.9 percent (n=16) required visits
to the emergency room.
Among
assault-related firearm injuries in
2004, 43.0 percent (n=478) required
hospitalizations; 29.7 percent (n=331)
were fatal; and 27.3 percent (n=304)
required visits to the emergency
room.
Costs of non-fatal firearm-related injuries create an enormous financial
burden to society. Inpatient hospitalization charges for firearm-related inju-

A higher percentage of Arizonans reported that they kept loaded firearms
(9.0 percent in Arizona compared to
6.7 percent nationally). Arizonans
were also more likely to keep loaded
and unlocked firearms in or around
the house (5.9 percent of households
in Arizona compared to 4.0 percent
nationwide).
Among households with children under 18 years of age, a higher percentage of Arizonans reported that
they kept loaded firearms (7.0 percent
in Arizona compared to 5.5 percent
continued on next page...

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Spring 2006

New Office Chief
Sheila Sjolander is the new chief of the Office
of Women’s and Children’s Health. After 5
years as manager of the office’s Planning,
Education, and Partnership section, she has
moved up to fill the vacancy left by former
chief Jeanette Shea-Ramirez. (Jeanette, by
the way, is now the deputy assistant director
for Public Health Prevention Services.) After a
brief period as acting office chief, Sheila’s
promotion was made official in early January.
In other changes around the office, Lisa
Schamus assumed the role of section manager for Assessment and Evaluation. Joan
Agostinelli, the section’s former manager, is
now acting office chief of the Office for Children with Special Health Care Needs.
For a complete list of new employees since
our last issue, see page 6.

Community Health Services RFGA
The OWCH Community Health
Services Program will be releasing a
new Request for Grant Application
(RFGA) around July 2006. This
RFGA is funded by the Title V Maternal Child Health Block Grant. The
RFGA process will provide more
flexibility to the grant recipient regarding the services provided to the
various communities throughout the
state of Arizona. The scope of work
can be molded to better fit the needs
of the community and will have the
freedom of being more easily adjusted as community needs change.
All applications will be expected to
follow the Arizona Logic Model as a
measurable way of providing the
chosen health outcomes.

Historically, women’s outcomes for
this program have included reducing
the percentage of women who
smoke, increasing the proportion of
women who are at a healthy weight,
engage in regular physical activity,
and consume at least 5 fruits and
vegetables a day. Also included
were reducing the percentage of
women who report experiencing “a
lot” of stress, abuse alcohol or other
drugs and reducing women’s deaths
caused by motor vehicle accidents.
Children’s outcomes have included
reducing the rate of deaths to children caused by motor vehicle
crashes, reducing infant mortality
among Native Americans and/or African Americans, and increasing access to primary care for children

under the age of 14. It is the goal of
this RFGA to expand on the previously mentioned outcomes and improve the health and safety of
women and children in Arizona’s
communities.
After June 2006, you may be able to
find information about this RFGA at
the Arizona Department of Health
Services
website
at
www.azdhs.gov/procurement or by
calling the procurement office at
602-542-1040. The requirements of
the new RFGA, including outcomes
and timeframes, will be included in
the RFGA at the time of its release.
The expected start date for the new
grants awarded under the RFGA is
January 1, 2007.

Firearms in Arizona (contd.)
(continued from previous page)

nationally). Arizonans were also more
likely to keep loaded and unlocked
firearms in or around the house (2.7
percent of households in Arizona
compared to 2.3 percent nationwide).
Each year since 1997, the Brady
Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

has issued report cards for all 50
states. These report cards graded
each state on seven measures that
are thought to be effective in reducing
firearm injuries. In 2004, The Brady
Campaign gave Arizona a “D” because the state has no state law restricting assault weapons or rapid fire
ammunition magazines, does not re-

quire background checks at gun
shows, does not require child-safety
locks to be sold with guns, and does
not hold adults responsible for leaving
loaded guns around children. The
Brady Report noted that, on the positive side, Arizona does regulate the
sale and possession of guns for minors.

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Spring 2006

RMPHEC Summer Institute
The Rocky Mountain Public Health
Education Consortium is holding its
Summer Institute in Tucson from July
24-28, at the University of Arizona’s
Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of
Public Health. This week-long event
is an opportunity to educate yourself
about various maternal and child
health issues, and to network with

colleagues from other Rocky Mountain and Southwest states.
According to the RMPHEC’s website,
the Institute is for “all public health
practitioners who wish to improve
their core public health practice skills.”
Events scheduled include MCH Certificate Program Proseminars, Public

Health Preparedness for Mothers and
Children, Women’s Health Community Partnerships, and EvidenceBased Practice to Support Early
Childhood Development.
For more information, go to
http://services.tacc.utah.edu/
rmphec/summerinstitute2006/
index.html.

National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy: May 3
In 2004, an average of 39 Arizona
teens became pregnant every day.
Even though there have been significant declines in teen pregnancy and
birth rates since 1998, Arizona continues to have one of the highest
rates in the country. Many teens still
think it won’t happen to them. The
National Campaign to Prevent Teen
Pregnancy is sponsoring a National
Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy on
May 3, 2006. On that day, teens nationwide will be encouraged to take a
short
online
quiz
at

www.teenpregnancy.org
that will
challenge them to reflect on the
healthiest choices in a number of
sexual situations. The purpose of the
National Day is to educate teens on
the importance of avoiding teen pregnancy and other serious consequences of sexual activity. The Office
of Women’s and Children’s Health is
working with contracted agencies under the Abstinence Education Program and Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Community Programs to promote the
national day in Arizona. Activities

planned include a community breakfast and youth award presentation in
Prescott and exhibits at various
schools in the area. Exhibits and
events are also being planned in
other counties throughout the state.
For more information and supportive
materials for planning an event,
please contact the Office of Women’s
and Children’s Health at (602) 3641400, or go to
www.teenpregnancy.org.

New Employees Since Our Last Edition

Lanetha Stingley
Administrative Secretary
Newborn Screening

Christina Finan
Follow Up Specialist
Newborn Screening

Donna Martinez
Administrative Assistant
Newborn Screening

Anna Dominguez
Administrative Secretary
High Risk Perinatal Program

Sandy Howells
Program Manager
High Risk Perinatal Program

Jennifer Jung
Injury Epidemiologist
Assessment & Evaluation