What's Happening

By Suzanne Schrag | November 14, 2017

How do we give students the concepts and skills they need to choose healthy behaviors for a lifetime? From the 15 Characteristics of Effective Health Education Curricula identified by the CDC, we know that an effective program “provides functional health knowledge that directly contributes to health-promoting decisions and behaviors.” It also “builds competence and self-efficacy by addressing skills.” Let’s see some examples of how these two key components of a great health education program play out in Grade 2 of HealthSmart.

From an interview with Linda Kekelis, PhD | October 26, 2017
Principal, Linda Kekelis Consulting

We need girls in tech. We need women in tech. We need women and underrepresented minorities across all areas of STEM. There are good reasons for this, reasons that benefit society, industry, the economy and international competitiveness.

But for me, one of the most persuasive is simply that girls and women deserve the freedom and opportunity offered by access to STEM fields.

By Suzanne Schrag | November 7, 2017

It’s not enough to simply teach students information about health. As health educators, we must help them master key concepts and skills that promote health literacy and lifelong health. HealthSmart, ETR’s comprehensive K–12 health education program, targets Healthy Behavior Outcomes as its primary goal. This sets HealthSmart apart from a more traditional textbook health program.

By Suzanne Schrag | October 30, 2017

I’ve been working with HealthSmart, ETR’s comprehensive, K-12 health education program, since its inception. We’ve recently been traveling to different states to introduce schools, districts and DOEs to the HealthSmart program. Often we are presenting HealthSmart alongside more traditional textbook publishers.

HealthSmart is not a textbook program. In fact, it’s quite different from a textbook approach to health class. We’ve given a lot of thought to how we explain what may be a new way to think about health instruction for administrators and educators.

By Lori A. Rolleri, MSW, MPH | October 24, 2017
Principal, Lori Rolleri Consulting

Gender norms have a deep impact at all levels of our society and culture. In Part 1 of this post, I talked about some of the ways inequitable gender norms can negatively affect health behaviors and outcomes. In this post, I’d like to take a look at how we can use evidence-informed strategies to change that. How do we address harmful gender norms in curricula designed to prevent adolescent pregnancy and STIs?

By Katy Casselman, MPH Cand | October 18, 2017
Research Assistant, dfusion

Fall has begun. You know what that means: it’s flu season!

Are your students, clients and patients going to get their flu vaccine this year? There’s a good chance they won’t. In the 2015-16 season, the CDC reported that only 42% of adults, and 59% of children 6 months to 17 years, got their flu vaccine. Part of this reluctance may stem from the larger social movement and controversy within the public health and medical fields, vaccine hesitancy.

By Lori A. Rolleri, MSW, MPH | October 11, 2017
Principal, Lori Rolleri Consulting

Are you one of those people who likes to sit in a park and people-watch? Me too. I like to think about why people do what they do. I’m fortunate that I have a career that actually pays me to do this—although not just by sitting on a park bench!

My people-watching is the type that involves talking with people, reading professional journals and researching the reasons why people do or don’t engage in certain health behaviors.

By Lia Cassanego, MPH | October 5, 2017

Here’s an activity will energize and engage your group. But wait! That’s not all! It will also astound participants with the mysterious workings of our brains.

By Joan Singson | October 3, 2017
Director of Population Health, San Joaquin General Hospital

California is helping to pave the way! Adolescent sexual health education got a big boost when the California Healthy Youth Act (CHYA) was enacted in 2016. Across the nation, health educators and advocates for comprehensive sexuality education are looking at California’s legislation as a model that puts student knowledge, skills and well-being first.

By ETR | October 2, 2017

Many of us started out our work week first hearing the devastating news out of Las Vegas. Educators and others working with children and teens may understandably feel discouraged about having to explain, one more time, how unpredictable and violent the world can sometimes be.

By Lisa Edelman | September 28, 2017

We do great pamphlets here at ETR! I sincerely believe our health education pamphlets are the best you can find. Once in awhile, a title or series comes along that’s exciting for reasons other than the excellence of its content.

That’s the case for the new Spanish translations of our “What You Need to Know About…” series of pamphlets. 

By Michael Everett, MHS | September 25, 2017

As we gear up for National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, I have a message for you from my gay brothers. That’s right. Not to them, but from us to you. We need your help! Yes, you!

For the last 30+ years, HIV has been instrumental in drawing attention to the experiences of gay men in the United States

By Regina Firpo-Triplett, MPH, CNC, MCHES | September 21, 2017
Chief Executive Officer, dfusion

Back in the 1980’s, I worked in Los Angeles County providing sexual health education (called “family life education” at that time). Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” and George Michael’s “I Want Your Sex” played constantly on the radio, and HIV was a new and frightening sexually transmitted infection that was drastically changing how and where sexuality education was offered. 

By David Manuel Torres | September 18, 2017

I have always been really interested in technology. In elementary school, I looked forward to “computer lab” days where the class would spend an hour at the school’s small, modular classroom by the lunch area. We got to play computer games meant to develop our typing skills. After one of these computer lab days, the instructor pulled me aside and told me that she wanted me to help her install new mice on all the classroom computers in the school.

I was filled with pride. In the days following, I eagerly knocked on each classroom door and went in to unplug the old mechanical mice and install fancy new optical laser ones.

By Pamela M. Anderson, PhD | September 12, 2017

First published on the blog of yth.org on August 2, 2017.

“When young people are cyberbullied, why don’t they reach out to trusted adults for help?” This is a question a lot of youth health providers are asking.

Think about it: here we are, a nationwide community of caring, concerned parents/guardians and professionals. We’re teachers, health providers, counselors, outreach workers, researchers and more. We want to support young people and empower them to live healthy, positive and productive lives.

By Chris Connelly | September 7, 2017
Former Data Core Intern, ETR

Not many people would align my professional goals with those of a non-profit. I’m majoring in Economics and Politics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. After graduation, I plan to earn a Masters in Applied Economics and Finance. Then—law school. I want to use my knowledge of economics and law to work as a corporate attorney.

So why did someone like me choose ETR for an internship?

By Seow Ling Ong, MSW | September 5, 2017

Colorful charts. Gorgeous graphs. Incredible infographics. Yes, everybody loves data visualization, and we can’t enough of it. But if you’ve never worked with dataviz, how do you get started?

Here is my own story—the confession of how a self-professed “data-only” person who is not a graphic designer ended up venturing into the colorful world of dataviz.

By April Roeseler, BSN, MSPH | August 31, 2017
Branch Chief, California Tobacco Control Network

Are e-cigarettes really harmful to youth? Yes. Last year’s Surgeon General Report E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults confirms that this is a “major public health concern.” Younger brains are more susceptible to addiction, and e-cigarette use may open the door to other addictions, including conventional cigarettes and illicit drugs. Exposure to nicotine while young may interfere with brain development with resulting negative effects on cognition, memory and attention.