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Mission
The mission of the Center of Excellence for Sexual Health (CESH) is to raise the level of national dialogue on human sexuality, sexual health, and well-being in a sustained, informed, honest, mature, and respectful way and to link it to actions that reflect scientific evidence and deeply held beliefs.
The first Center of Excellence for Sexual Health in the United States, The Center of Excellence for Sexual Health (CESH) in the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine seeks to strengthen public health through promotion of national public discussion of sexual health issues, provide forums and assistance to leaders of divergent viewpoints in building agreements on controversial issues of public health policy regarding sexual health, and provide education to improve the sexual health of the American people.
Themes
The four themes to guide the program development of the Center of Excellence for Sexual Health include:
- Bridge-Building: Bridge-building among leaders of diverse viewpoints for effective sexual health policy and services.
- Student Learning: Leadership in student learning regarding sexual health and its dimensions of public health.
- Community Education: Replicable models in health-care professions and institutions for improving nationwide public health education about sexual health.
- Disparity Reduction Initiatives: Services to improve equal access to national sexual health understanding and services and to reduce the disparities in health services for minority communities.
Location
The Center of Excellence for Sexual Health is located at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. Morehouse School of Medicine is a leader among the Historically Black Colleges and Universities in America. The Center of Excellence for Sexual Health can provide unique cultural leadership for the United States through its understanding of minority communities.
The Center of Excellence for Sexual Health receives guidance from the National Advisory Council on Sexual Health (NAC), a diverse group of eminent experts and community and national leaders, who engage in continuous, comprehensive advisory discussion forums regarding sexual health issues for the purpose of developing a national dialogue on human sexuality, sexual health and responsible sexual behavior, as well as effective initiatives in specific areas in the field of sexual health.
The NAC currently consists of 15 leaders from various medical, scientific and professional disciplines, as well as policy makers, community leaders, and youth representatives.
The Center of Excellence for Sexual Health's current programs and initiatives were developed in large part with input from the National Advisory Council. Potential elements of future initiatives in the following areas have also been suggested by NAC: sexual health and the Internet, a national sexual health research agenda, development of a common vocabulary around sexual health-related topics, a youth conference, improvements in medical practice, ABC + Hope contribution, prison initiative and a national publications program for showcasing diverse interpretive viewpoints on science in the service of affecting a robust national dialogue on sexual health in America.