What's Happening

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | August 17, 2015

At a recent meeting with others working in the nonprofit world, I was telling colleagues about an Action Alert I’d just received. It was sent out by one of the many advocacy listservs to which I subscribe. The people at my lunchtime table all reeled in horror.

“You can’t do that!” they exclaimed. “That’s lobbying. You’re federally funded.”

Suzanne Schrag | August 13, 2015

John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight segment on Sex Education has certainly been getting some air play around the country, as well as here at the ETR offices. If you haven’t yet seen it, it’s well worth watching. (Note: Language may not be suitable for work—use your headphones just in case.)

Oliver points out the glaring inconsistencies in what young people in the United States are being—and not being—taught about sex. He offers up a very funny video at the end of the segment that would truly be a huge improvement to many of those that have been shown in sex ed classrooms across the U.S.

There’s plenty of bite, of course, in pointing out what’s not working, or what’s just plain wrong, about sexuality education in this country. But what is the best way to give kids the straight-up facts in a manner that will actually shape their choices and influence their behaviors?

By Kieren Jameson, MLIS | August 10, 2015

For most of my career, I've been a tech worker in nonprofits. I’ve worked mostly within majority-women workplaces. That means that I've seen more women in leadership and technology-related roles than is the norm in corporate America.

I think this is why, until the past few years, I’d completely missed the appalling lack of ethnic and gender diversity in STEM-related workplaces.

Once I opened my eyes and looked beyond my sheltered nonprofit world, the numbers were pretty clear. This is what they tell me: we have a serious diversity problem in tech. 

By Joan Singson | August 6 2015
Program Manager, ETR

“Even if you have reams of evidence on your side, remember: numbers numb, jargon jars, and nobody ever marched on Washington because of a pie chart. If you want to connect with your audience, tell them a story.”

            —Andy Goodman

A lot of different stakeholders play a role in sustaining effective programs. You need them to understand in straightforward terms what it is you do and exactly why that’s important. You need them to stand ready to be your program’s advocates and champions.

Infographics, icons and beautiful presentations of data are all popular ways to do this, but I think the most powerful way to inspire people is through a story. A darn good story.

What does it take to thrill the heart and chill the spine? Let’s take a look.

By Dan McCormick, MHA | August 3, 2015

This has been an exciting few days for ETR as an organization. We’ve officially teamed up with Select Media to become one organization. We’re looking forward to putting the resources of both organizations to work promoting healthy behaviors in communities across the nation.

Select Media has been a publisher and distributor of a number of the evidence-based programs on the list provided by the Office of Adolescent Health. Now, all of these resources will be available through ETR’s online store, along with the evidence-based programs ETR has been developing and distributing for more than three decades.

By Rebecca Shemesh | July 30, 2015
ETR Consultant Trainer

This activity can be easily adapted for use as an opener, energizer or closer. It gets participants up and moving, interacting with each other and rocking to your own special playlist. It’s a great way to build excitement at the beginning of a training day, help participants reinforce learning in the middle, or consolidate learning and intentions at the end. Highly adaptable and lots of fun.

By Brittany D. Chambers, MPH, CHES | July 28, 2015
Doctoral Student, University of North Carolina, Greensboro | 2014 Kirby Summer Intern, ETR

When you think about adolescent pregnancy, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Most people think about the negative issues.

“Dropping out of high school.”

“Depending on government assistance."

“Single-motherhood.”

“Promiscuity.”

By ETR | July 23, 2015

We’re excited to introduce three new designs in our popular condom holder series. If you distribute condoms through your clinic or program, you can now wrap them up in a packet that promotes a great health message.

By Gina Lepore MEd | July 20, 2015

Yes means Yes. Yes, I want you. Yes, I want this. Yes, I want to be here. Yes, I am consciously choosing this now. Yes, I respect your boundaries. Yes, I will ask if I am in doubt. More, please!

Last September, California became the first state to pass legislation that sets a new standard for sexual consent on college campuses receiving state funding for financial aid. This legislative act followed policy changes on consent at several universities across the country. Systems have continued to adopt affirmative consent standards, including the State University of New York (SUNY) system. 

Although considerable progress has been made in recent years in supporting survivors of assault, the same is not true when it comes to changing attitudes and beliefs about the abusive approach to sex that causes assault in the first place.

By Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | July 15, 2015
Senior Editor, ETR

Yesterday, I heard that the United Nations had met their goal to treat 15 million people with HIV before the end of 2015. Officials were pleased to have reached this point early. The report also mentioned drops in the number of new cases and reductions in worldwide deaths from HIV.

There’s actually all kinds of encouraging news about the HIV epidemic. More people are accessing treatment, people with HIV are living longer, cases among children are down by 58%, tuberculosis-related deaths among people with HIV are down, and investments in prevention and treatment are up.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says we are on our way to an AIDS-free generation, and we can end the epidemic by 2030.

Like many others in the health care and prevention education worlds, this kind of news feels personal to me. 

By Tamara Neff, MA | July 13, 2015

As technology is further integrated into our daily lives (and our very beings), so it has become an essential part of the learning experience. We see it from early childhood development on through emerging K-12 education standards. We find it in popular online higher education and professional development programs.

Technology continues to enhance and improve the quality and quantity of learning opportunities available to an ever-widening population of learners. This is true to such an extent, the “E” in E-learning is becoming redundant. Many of us in the field might assert that it already has done so.

By Laura Perkins, MLS | July 9, 2015
Project Editor, ETR

Laws on the legalization of marijuana in the U.S. are changing rapidly. Since 1996, 23 states and Washington, D.C. have legalized the use of marijuana to treat some medical conditions. A number of states have decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. And now Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon have legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults over 21. The public health implications within this changing landscape are only just beginning to emerge.

By Erin Cassidy-Eagle, PhD | July 6, 2015

It’s almost time for bed and you get that sinking feeling in your stomach. Will it be like last night? And the night before? And the three weeks before that?

Sound familiar? If it does, you are not alone. An estimated 50-70 million US adults have sleep disorders. Older adults are much more likely to complain about trouble sleeping. Poor sleep in older individuals is also a risk factor for a range of other concerns, including declining cognition, depression and greater functional impairment.

By Debra Christopher, MSM | June 30, 2015

OK, I admit it. I’ve been around for awhile. I taught health education in the classroom for four years early in my career. Then I made a shift, and for the past 25 years I’ve worked to support adult learners who deliver health education programs to youth.

The essence of my mission: create change (in adult instructional savvy) to create change (in youth behavior).

By Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | June 26, 2015

It has been a momentous morning. My wife and I took an early hike. We were out on the trail when we got the text from @HRC about the Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage. “Reply w/pics to show how you’re celebrating,” they asked.

We grinned. We cried. We took a selfie out there in our little patch of wilderness. And not surprisingly, we both began a survey of our lives, and this struggle, where we’ve been and this place we’ve come to now. Change is powerful stuff, for a person and for a nation.

By Michael Everett, MHS | June 24, 2015
CEO, Intimacy & Colour | Consultant, ETR Community Impact Solutions Project

We all know what it feels like to sit in the back of the room, praying we don’t get called on by an instructor. Or feel too afraid to ask a question despite the depths of our confusion on a given topic.

The culture of asking in this country is a complex one. On the one hand, as a greater society we believe in the power of help. Look at our public health policies, free HIV testing or charitable organizations. Even the values we learn in kindergarten—“Clean up the play area together”—promote helping.

On the other hand, we are not as hard wired to ask for help as we are to provide it. So this begs the question—what is our big “ask” problem?

By William Spatafora | June 22, 2015
MPH Student, Tulane University | 2015 Kirby Summer Intern, ETR

“Why? He’s a boy.”

These were the first  words out of my cousin’s mouth last month when I asked if her 12-year-old son had been vaccinated against HPV. “Isn’t the HPV vaccine given just to girls, to protect against cervical cancer?”

By Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | June 18, 2015

If your work involves talking to people about sexual health, you must be talking to them about STDs. Or STIs. Or both. Right?

As the great STD-STI terminology challenge continues, just about everyone has had to choose one term or the other. Well, everyone except for the people who use both interchangeably to mean the same thing. Or those folks who use each in distinct ways to mean different things.

I asked a few of my ETR colleagues to share their current thinking and preferred term for their work. Here’s what they had to say.