David Katz (Chair), Jennifer Bretsch (Staff), Arthur Elster (AMA), Munish Khaneja, Nancy Sheehan, Peter Van Dyck (HRSA/MCHB), Eileen Yamada.

David Katz called the Committee to order at 7:07 a.m. He welcomed the Committee members and guests and led the introductions. Arthur Elster, MD, FASM, is the Director of the Unit on Medicine and Public Health at the American Medical Association. The unit includes AMA’s Child and Adolescent Health Program, which is also a member of the Partners in Program Planning for Adolescent Health (PIPPAH), supported by HRSA/MCHB. Dr. Elster is also an ACPM member. Peter C. Van Dyck, MD, MPH, is the Associate Administrator of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau at HRSA.

The Committee discussed a draft policy paper and the review process by the Committee. The paper titled, The Scope of Reproductive Health Care Benefits for Adolescents under the State Children's Health Insurance Program, was recently developed by a preventive medicine resident during a health policy rotation with ACPM. Several members noted that they did not have an opportunity to review the paper yet, but would provide their comments after the San Diego meeting. One member noted that the paper topic seems to be a clean, compact, and timely issue.

To facilitate the Committee’s review, it was suggested that a document with a series of thought questions be circulated with the draft policy papers so those Committee members could use it as a tool to guide their reviews. A document of this nature has already been created to assist ACPM’s Prevention Practice Committee (PPC) with their review of position statements and policy papers. Staff will modify the PPC document for use by the Adolescent Health Committee and will circulate it with the current draft policy paper. The Committee agreed that draft papers will also be reviewed by the PPC before submitting a paper to the Board of Regents.

In addition to the ACPM internal review process of policy papers, there was a brief discussion about tapping external peer reviewers. Art Elster noted that AMA staff has asked members of their Adolescent Health Coalition to comment on draft policy papers, and suggested that this Committee consider doing the same with member organizations of ACPM’s Coalition [once it is operational] or even tapping AMA’s Coalition members for reviewers. Several additional organizations were suggested as possible reviewers and those include the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and the AMA.

Marketing and outreach of completed policy papers was also a subject of discussion. It was suggested that ACPM consider issuing a press release, especially when the policy paper is provocative and makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the particular adolescent health issue. The press release could be from ACPM alone, or in conjunction with Coalition member organizations, and if appropriate would note the Coalition members support and/or review of the policy. Thus, comments and input on draft policy papers by external peer reviewers could help facilitate more successful marketing and outreach of the final policies.

David Katz summarized the Potential Extramural Projects (PEPs), a component of CDC’s Cooperative Agreement Funding Opportunities with AAMC, ATPM, and ASPH, that could provide an avenue for research-based collaboration among members of this Committee if there is interest. He highlighted a specific PEP, Spirituality as a Protective Factor Against Teen Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, that was circulated to the Committee prior to this meeting along with a draft LOI to respond to this PEP. He noted that pursuing this opportunity provides for additional collaboration among Committee members and he encouraged the members to review it and think about that possibility for the future. Dr. Katz requested that Committee members think about key collaborators and to notify him of suggestions.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:49 a.m.