The National Initiative to Improve Adolescent Health by the Year 2010, also known as "NIIAH 2010" is an ongoing national effort jointly initiated by two federal agencies: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Adolescent and School Health (CDC/DASH) and the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau/Office of Adolescent Health (HRSA/MCHB/OAH). CityMatCH is one of the newest members of this critical partnership.

This collaborative effort seeks to improve the health, safety, and well-being of adolescents and young adults (ages 10-24). National organizations and academic institutions have come together to form a group of working partners who maintain and further the National Initiative.

NIIAH's goals mirror those of the PIPPAH Partnership which supports CityMatCH adolescent health promotion and capacity-building efforts. These include elevating national, state, and community focus and commitment to the health, safety, and well-being of adolescents, young adults (ages 10-24) and their families; increasing access to quality health care, including comprehensive general health, oral health, mental health, and substance abuse prevention and treatment services; improving health and safety outcomes in the six content areas defined by the 21 critical adolescent health objectives of Healthy People 2010, which represent the most serious health issues among young people; and eliminating health disparities among adolescents and young adults, and for these age groups compared to other age groups. Read more about NIIAH at the National Adolescent Health Information Center.

21 Critical Health Objectives for Adolescents and Young Adults were derived from in Healthy People 2010. These objectives are clustered around six areas and look at individual health outcomes and behaviors which pose the greatest threats to adolescents:

• Mortality
• Unintentional Injury
• Violence
• Mental Health & Substance Abuse
• Reproductive Health
• Chronic Disease

As part of our series on adolescent health disparities, this twelve-page edition of CityLights examines data on adolescent reproductive health, including sexual activity, use of birth control, and births to teens. We discuss differences between large urban areas and the nation as a whole, as well as urban and national racial disparities. While national data and a few city-specific illustrative examples are included in the article, detailed city and county tables are found on the CityMatCH web site http://www.citymatch.org/citylights.php We also direct the reader to the data sources, where additional information can be found.

This twelve-page issue offers an overview of the "21 Critical Health Objectives for Adolescents and Young Adults" and distinguishes the various national and federal organizations responsible for their development. Selected adolescent health approaches such as Positive Youth Development, a philosophical approach to adolescent health, are described. The "Youth Development Institute" created by the Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion, a CityMatCH member health department, is featured, as is an updated report from the National Adolescent Health Information Center (NAHIC), and a discussion on the "Partners in Programming Planning for Adolescent Health" (PIPPAH) "Snapshots" of four PIPPAH Partner organizations actively involved in elevating and promoting adolescent health, safety and well being round out the issue.

This sixteen-page issue focuses on current research being performed around adolescent health disparities. Readers may better understand of basic data on mortality, and selected risky behaviors that may contribute to death. The report spotlights a review of selected county and city-level data on adolescent health disparities and an introduction to a new six-level Urban-Rural Classification Scheme for counties, developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).