Thank you to our presenters, volunteers, planners, and supporters; we
could not have done it without you!!
What is the usefulness of the Legislative Plenary? 20% excellent; 39%
good; 6% fair; 28% no comment; 7% did not attend
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Opening Session
Many participants found Karen Hein's keynote speech informative and thought
provoking. Comments:
· "thought provoking" (4)
· "good" (3)
· "Excellent speaker and presentation" (3)
· "okay" (3)
· "motivating" (2)
· "interesting"
· "good content"
· "excellent call for reframing the issues"
· "great"
What did the audience think of the African Queens?
· "Fabulous" (12)
· "Great" (8)
· "Amazing" (5)
· "Awesome" (2)
· "Inspiring" (2)
· "motivating"
· "Superb performance of youths, very uplifting, the beat
was so energetic"
· "spectacular"
· "Beautiful and energetic"
Feedback regarding the Youth Panel:
· "Interesting and encouraging" (6)
· "impressive group" (5)
· "informative" (3)
· "fantastic" (3)
· "Great" (2)
· "Wonderful" (2)
· "Good panel, great stories"
· "good"
· "Nicely facilitated"
· "Insightful"
· "okay"
The Closing/Wrap up Plenary was:
· ... a very nice conclusion (for the conference)- pulling together
many themes (2)
· ... encouraging and inspirational
· ... Great
· ... Pleasant
· ... good
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Legislative Plenary
Evaluation comments indicate mixed feelings regarding the
legislative plenary. Only 39% of evaluators found it "good,"
and 28% did not comment. Feedback would also indicate that the Legislative
Plenary may have been too specifically presented to some but not all of
those representative of the diverse crowd of conference participants.
While a few comments would indicate a general dissatisfaction with the
presentation, many others thought highly of the talk. Some comments received:
· Charlotte and Allan were great (2)
· needed more concrete information on how to get involved
· "Many of the bills mentioned in passing weren't on the handouts.
Much too much "shop talk," ie. the use of a lot of acronyms
that many of us aren't familiar with - in general too little information,
too much "grand standing"."
· Too short- good information on new legislation
· one of my favorites. Great content and very inspiring.
· ... (A) call to youth involvement in decision-making. In limited
time it would have been helpful to discuss difficulties and ways to overcome:
ie. Creating consistency, dealing with educating youth to right degree
of background and timing issues. I also would have like to hear the ways
the state health plan is being used, or could be used.
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Special Interest Dinners
· (it was) useful (3)
· (it was) good for networking (2)
· (it was) very enjoyable
· great input from teens
· good connections and reconnections
· (it was) okay
· (it was) Mildly useful
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Conference Logistics
"How could Registration be improved?" An overwhelming percentage
of received evaluations indicated a smooth and well-organized conference.
Comments: · "It was perfect" (9) · "It worked
well" (4) · "zero problems" · "everything
(was) fine with me" Most reported problems are attributed to issues
of timing, and confusion with Asilomar's procedures.
A few listed requests were: · Allow more time before registration to settle belongings
in rooms (4) · Have registration be earlier and longer ·
Provide a clearer direction of Meal ticket procedures for off grounds
attendees (2) · Have more bodies to register · Have binders
available for all participants (2) · Have workshop descriptions
available earlier, and make them more available, and easier to find ·
Have more people working with special issues and to sign up for CEUs ·
Registration was "too long and confusing" · Send confirmation
letters earlier · Don't make people choose sessions prior to conference
· Provide more directional signs
To the question "What about registration worked well for you?" mostly positive feedback was returned:
Comments included: · "Registration was very quick and well
organized" (4) · "Everything" (3) · "AHWG
was ready for us" · "Pick up and go." · "Fast"
(2) · "Great" · "Not much!"
Many interesting topics were suggested as potential themes
or topics that would be of interest in future conferences.
Some of these were:
- Psychological medicine use amongst teens - future implications
- Getting parents reconnected in their teen's lives
- Relationship issues, marriage, etc.
- Anger management
- Teens and disabilities
- Merging research with program planning
- Expand mental health component
- Homeless youth
- Review of brochures, videos, etc. As clinicians we have
little time to preview all resources
- Self-mutilation and liability issues at school
- Physical activity, both theory and actual workshops and
opportunities
- More topics in medical issues
- Technology and teens-Technology as an outreach
too
Most suggestions for future conference logisitics centered on issues of timing. People wanted
more time to explore the Asilomar campus. Many indicated wanting more time to contemplate the beauty of the environment as they walked between
workshops. Feedback received dealt with the following requests:
· longer lunch
· longer breaks (2)
·to hang out at the beach (1)
· more frequent breaks that are shorter
Some issues arose regarding conference scheduling-- with a few people feeling either not
challenged enough, or too overwhelmed.
"What would you improve about format or timing of the conference?"
· Nothing (2)
· Have Longer sessions
· Start the conference with a general/plenary session to offer overview instead of breakout sessions
that are disorienting
· It was difficult to sit for 6 hours on Thursday
· Have the most popular workshops twice so that they're more available
· Have two day conference (2)
· Workshop tracks should be 2 sessions long
· Workshop tracks made it difficult to choose from too many interesting topics
· Earlier registration
· Make content more accessible for teens (not during APs)
· Maybe have the conference on a weekend
And yet again, some comments addressed logistics at Asilomar:
· Room directions;
· topography on maps confusing
· (have the next conference at a) "different site"
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The Binder
Most people found the binder helpful:
· yes (21) 47%
· no (3) 6%
· So-so (2) 4%
· "workshop descriptions were helpful"
What are recommendations for future binders?
· Have materials from all the sessions (4)
· More information about the
sessions (2)
· Have the presenter's outlines
· "I usually
end up throwing the binder out after some months"
· Have optional
materials and canvas bags
· have all presenters punch holes in
their materials so they can be inserted into the binders
· web
links pages
· contact information for all participants and presenters
from all workshops attended
· Make enough for everyone
·
More referral based information on where to get services
· Make
them smaller
· I usually end up throwing binder out; it is better
to offer info after sessions for those who want it.
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Feedback and Suggestions
Do you have any suggestions which might help the conference
run more smoothly in the future?
· "It went very smoothly (3)"
· "have better food"
· have "better equipment"
· "dinners should be seated by region for networking purposes"
· "earlier registration"
· "better 'signage' for conference rooms" (2)
· "a little more free time"
· "have the information about the workshops that was available
in binders available before the conference"
· "start workshops on time"
· "Have like 5 minutes more between activities"
What did you find most helpful in keeping things flowing?
· "The schedule was clear"
· "Very well run" (2)
· "Signs were helpful"
· "The staff of AHWG was great!"
Feedback regarding Asilomar as a conference location was mostly positive.
In general, many found the grounds beautiful and inspiring, excerpts include:
· "Beautiful" (11)
· "Asilomar is too long
of a drive"
· Asilomar exerts a "great energy…(a)
good place to rejuvenate."
· "Good food" (2)
·
"Beautiful location but cost/distance prohibitive for most of our
staff"
· "nice atmosphere; food bad"
· "great
beauty, lots of space, reasonable cost-but COLD!"
· Asilomar
is a bad place to have the conference
· "Everything is very
spread out so it's easy to get distracted" (3)
· "Environment
is soothing not conducive to dialog"
· "I was lost all
the time"
· "(Asilomar) is too spread out"
·
"Too far!"
Where should we have the 2004 Bay Area Adolescent
Health Conference?
· Asilomar (23)
· San Francisco (2)
·
Oakland
· maybe here
· wherever the first conference was
(South San Francisco)
· Alternate Bay Area vs. Away
· Coyote
Point · Presidio
· Costanoa (www.costanoa.com)
·
Marin Headlands · Mendicino
· Yosemite
· Seascape
in Santa Cruz
· Berkeley
· Sonoma County
Other Comments/Feedback
· Overall a great conference (5)
· Terrific opportunity to network (4)
· "I feel lucky to have been included!"(2)
· Enjoyed having teen participants there
· There should have been a more dynamic keynote speaker
· There was an in depth exploration of issues
· Thanks it was a great conference
· There should have been more entertainment, dancing, and singing,
instead of the keynote speakers
· food was really good (2)
· Run youth films at night
· "I especially noticed and appreciated the diversity of the
participants. Having youth as presenters and active participants was important."
· Classes started late and as a result ended late
· Include teens more in the conference
· This was a wonderful gathering of very knowledgeable people.
Thank You.
· "Outstanding job. You really engendered collegial atmosphere-
lots of sharing and networking - more than most conferences. Congrats
on a job well done!"
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The
Youth Lounge
The following questions were asked of youth participants who visited the
Youth Lounge. Youth answers are listed below each question:
What would a cool design be for a teen clinic?
· something using graffiti
art
· bean bags, bean bags, bean bags
· comfortable/safe
place designed by young people
· lots of rosemary available ·
having a gay/lesbian welcoming sign at the door. e.g. rainbow/gay flag
..."sexual diversity welcomed here ..."
What is "good health"
(to you)?
· balanced diet
· exercising
· positive
attitude
· being a good role model
· holistic health
·
well being; physically, mentally, financially
· addressing traumas
of individuals
· feeling wholly, completely and totally worthy
of love, respect and well-being!
· feeling strength in your convictions,
and confident in your aspirations and goals
· being able to step
outside of yourself without losing yourself If I were in the best health,
I'd be ...
· eating better foods and could get up a hill without
having to use my inhaler
· confident in the decisions I make on
a daily basis
· well rounded in my life
What's the most important thing that health care providers can do to make their offices and clinics
"youth friendly"?
· treat you like equals
· remember
college age youth aged 20-25
· train young people to advocate,
initiate and educate other young people! (peer based health ed)
·
programs are a truly effective way for youth to empower ourselves
·
have a young person working (paid) in office
· easy to read materials
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