Addressing Sexual Health in Florida Youth: Improving Communication, Collaboration, and Consensus Building Among Providers

The purpose of this article is to describe (a) the Finding Common Ground Summits conducted in Florida during 2005-2006 with the objective of improving communication, collaboration, and consensus building among organizations interested in reducing sexual health risk behaviors among youth; (b) the attitudes of Summit participants; and (c) the impact of this exploratory initiative. The 196 participants, invited to participate by the Florida Department of Education, included individuals working in both school and community human sexuality education and promotion programs. Participants completed an initial survey just before the one-day Summits identifying attitudes and beliefs toward sexuality education. They were sent a Web survey approximately 6 months after the Summit to assess outcomes (n = 64). Frequencies and MANOVAs were conducted to assess differences on the attitude scale items between those identifying as supporters of abstinence-only, abstinence-based, and comprehensive sexuality education. The majority of participants believed sexuality education should be taught, gained an understanding of providers with varying philosophies, and wanted to continue collaborative efforts. This initial pilot project was successful in improving communication, collaboration, and consensus building among sexuality education providers, although future efforts are needed and encouraged as risky sexual behaviors among youth remain high.