What's Happening

By Jay M. Bernhardt, PhD, MPH | March 25, 2014

There's a revolution in the ways people communicate and it’s affecting every one of us. You’re participating in it right now by reading an article onscreen that probably came to you through email or a web search, rather than reading a printed product that arrived in a paper envelope. The use of new media has transformed our personal lives and the way we work, and it’s also changing the work of state and local health departments.

Communication is a critical foundation of the work that health departments perform every day. To be effective, they need to talk with and listen to their diverse communities and partners in order to engage their constituents on important health issues.

Traditional, or “old media,” still plays an important role in the work of most health departments. They may use press releases, news conferences, interviews, reports, posters and mailings to disseminate their information to various target audiences. But most departments also see that “new media,” including online and mobile resources and social networks, has become an essential part of effective public health.

By ETR | March 20, 2014

Take a look at some of our favorites among the videos and media that have crossed our desks this month. Bedsider offers some wonderful new videos that can help people get over their awkwardness and bring up the subject of contraception. Very funny. A video from amfAR provides a compelling rationale for needle exchange. And a powerful infographic gives us disturbing numbers about children's consumption of sugary treats. Watch!

By Anne Freiwald, MPH | March 18, 2014

I recently found myself at the 40th birthday party of a male friend. At the end of the evening, I was the only woman at the table, listening to male friends discuss online dating, sexual activities and preferences. They were comparing notes on how to meet new partners, including the use of some cool new dating apps. Most of these men were newly divorced or separated, and it was what some might call a racy conversation—each wanting to outdo the other.

The conversation was rich with the sorts of questions, assumptions and perceptions researchers like me get lost in. I was listening for themes and thinking about areas where I needed to gather additional information.

My inner researcher sat up and started asking myself questions. “What do STD rates look like among men in this age cohort?” “How likely is condom use in this population?” “How would they know if had a STD?” “Where would they get checked? Would they get checked?”

By Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | March 13, 2014

Here at ETR, we’re fascinated by brain science and its link to our mission. A number of our staff have impressive expertise in neuroscience. We decided it’s time to talk it up and share our knowledge and perspectives on the field. In coming months, look for brief posts, comments on the literature, links to tools and more.

By ETR | March 11, 2014

We love this free mobile app from the University of Oregon Health Center. Over 10,000 downloads so far! You get fun spinner wheels that let you put together just about every human sexual encounter imaginable. For every combination (“When my TOE touches a MOUTH”) you get info about STI risks, safer sex tips and suggestions for healthy communication (including some videos).

By Joseph A. Dake, PhD, MPH, FASHA | March 10, 2014

I recently went to a lecture by Salman Khan of Khan Academy to hear him talk about his vision of a “One World Schoolhouse.” I was familiar with Khan Academy—my sixth-grade son is using it to learn Java programming—but I was skeptical of this push toward online education.

I’d heard recently that some middle and high schools were considering the development of 100% online options to satisfy their health education requirements. As a faculty member who teaches future health educators, and as a person married to a national-award-winning high school health teacher, I saw many problems with this. I wanted to learn more about Khan’s approach and the way he sees the future of education.

By ETR | March 7, 2014

Watch a couple of the videos that have gotten us thinking this month. Egg Studios offers us a handy, humorous take on the teen brain upgrade, including the exciting new features of the latest version. The Fine Brothers give us an insightful look at what teens really think about Smartphones.

By Debra Christopher, MSM | February 26, 2014

I was recently on a business trip in New York City. While roaming the city one evening after dinner, I passed by a street vendor who was selling small canvas bags with colorful messages stamped on the sides. One message caught my eye, and it’s turned into a new mantra for my professional development work. The message: “Make it brief . . . and work it!”

This statement relates directly to what the science of learning tells us about how the human brain functions—specifically, how human memory systems operate. We know the human brain holds information in short-term memory for only about 18 seconds. If that information isn’t attached to something quite meaningful, or if there’s no time to organize the information and process its relevance, it leaves the brain as quickly as it entered. Without some type of emotional hook or cognitive engagement, the content simply cannot stick.

By Deb Levine, MA, & Jamia Wilson, MA | February 20, 2014

We are the president and executive director of YTH (Youth+Tech+Health), an organization committed to advancing the health of youth and young adults through technology, and we’ve got a pitch for you: if you work with young people, you can improve effectiveness by sharing leadership with them.

We mean sharing leadership in a substantive way—giving over the reins for a good part of the journey. Sound impractical, or impossible, or scary? It’s not. You can take that leap.

At YTH, we’ve recently implemented a model of intergenerational leadership ourselves. We fully expect this new leadership structure to expand our opportunities, build our potential, and shape the direction of our organization into the future.

By Elizabeth Schroeder, EdD, MSW | January 22, 2014

I’m the executive director for Answer, a national organization dedicated to providing and promoting unfettered access to sexuality education for young people and the adults who teach them.

There is so much misunderstanding today about what sexuality education is. Most people tend to think it only has to do with preventing pregnancy and infections. But when we refer to “sexuality education,” we’re talking far more holistically. This enables us to promote overall sexual health and education, while also ensuring that young people know how to prevent an unintended pregnancy and STDs.

We believe strongly that sexuality education should start early, meaning it should be basic at younger ages and build in complexity as a young person grows. It’s an egregious mistake when lessons on sexuality—whether at home or in school—don’t begin until the teen years.

By Pamela Anderson, PhD | January 15, 2014

Those of us at ETR who work in the area of sexual and reproductive health agree that healthy sexual development is an issue of human rights, and that coercion-free, violence-free relationships are essential to healthy sexuality. For over 30 years, we’ve pursued research that helps us better understand what promotes sexual health, as well as what interferes with it.

In recent years, our research has led us to bring more emphasis to the context in which sexual risk behaviors may occur among youth, particularly with respect to the importance of romantic relationships.

By ETR | January 13, 2014

Here are our picks for this month's videos and media - content that makes us look, think and learn. Watch the broccoli vs. kale smackdown. Learn more about Americans' involvement with video culture. Check out the amazing infographics produced by Information is Beautiful.

By Amy Peterson, MSc | January 9, 2014

Late last year, several ETR colleagues and I presented at the Healthy Teen Network’s annual conference in Savannah, Georgia. The theme was “Embracing Innovation: Combining Science with Creativity to Improve Adolescent Health.” About 30 participants joined ETR staffer Bruce Weiss and me as we discussed strategies for addressing unintended pregnancy and STIs among young people through the dual use of long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs) and condoms.

By Lisa Unti, MPH | November 20, 2013

Have you ever wondered if the work you do makes a difference? Beyond the paperwork and meetings, the mandates and requirements… What does making a difference look like?

Many of us have multiple roles as parents, mentors and health and education professionals. My own perspective as a mother and researcher working in the field of sexual and reproductive health and evaluation for over 20 years informs and shapes my work. The intersection of these multiple roles gives all of us extraordinary opportunities to make a difference. Here’s one that came to me recently.

By B.A. Laris, MPH | November 13, 2013

How often have you wished you had a good quote or interesting comment to help make a point in a report or proposal? Have you ever needed to test materials for comprehension or readability? Do you want to understand people’s reactions to your programs or services?

Focus groups are a great way to gather in-depth descriptive data that can illustrate nuances of opinions in a way surveys can’t … but is the data real?

By Maura Minsky | October 23, 2013

I'm the Co-founder and Executive Director of Scenarios USA, an educational nonprofit based in Brooklyn, New York. We use writing, the arts and film production to build confidence, leadership and advocacy skills among youth regarding sexual and reproductive health.

We believe that education is more powerful when studnts can actually see themselves in the content they're learning. Social context is the door we ask them to walk through, inviting them to look at race, class, gender, sexual orientation, access and ability, and examine how these things relate to their lives and their communities. These factors all play a role in decision making and the ways people use information.

By Jessica Markham | October 16, 2013

Here at ETR’s Tobacco Education Clearinghouse of California (TECC), we provide tobacco education and advocacy materials to educators and health care providers across the country. We also offer research assistance to programs in California.

I spend a lot of time reading information about tobacco. I catalog articles, reports and other tobacco-related materials, including infographics. When you spend this much time deep in a topic, you learn a lot. I’m especially astounded by the environmental impact of cigarette toxins. I’ve been interested in environmental issues for a long time, but didn’t realize just how harmful discarded cigarette butts actually are.

By John Shields, PhD, MSW | September 25, 2013

I’m the director of ETR’s portfolio of program evaluation projects with the San Francisco Unified School District’s Student, Family, and Community Support Department (SFUSD-SFCSD). ETR has been working in close partnership with SFUSD for over twenty years now—eleven during my tenure.

One of the most important components of our work with the SFUSD has been our bi-annual administration and analysis of the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). The YRBS provides high-quality data on the health risk behavior of SFUSD’s middle and high school students. In partnership with SFUSD, we’ve taken steps to use the power of the YRBS to address the critical health and wellness needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.