What's Happening

By Beverly Iniguez-Conrique | May 1, 2018
Research Assistant, ETR

In 1994, two very important events happened in my life. First, one of the earliest papers on Social Dominance Theory was published. Second, I was born.

Social Dominance Theory holds that people develop a set of beliefs—“legitimizing myths”—that support their attitudes about social inequities.

By Debra C. Harris, PhD, MST | April 26, 2018
Senior Instructor, OHSU-PSU School of Public Health & Adjunct Instructor, Graduate School of Education

Come take a ride with me. We’ll climb into an old BMW and drive on up from Red Lodge, Montana, to the Beartooth Pass (elevation 10,947 feet). Our chauffeur will be Dr. Bill Kane, which is why we’ll be stopping along the way to look at the beautiful fall colors, listen to the birds, hear the wind, and maybe spot some deer. Bill needed to do these things. He was that kind of person.

By Vignetta Charles, PhD & Karin Coyle, PhD | April 24, 2018
CEO (VC) & Chief Science Officer (KC), ETR

At ETR, we advance health equity through science-based solutions. We’ve been doing it for 37 years. But it wasn’t until recently that we developed our own framework to explicitly and transparently ground our work in health equity. This more intentional approach to health equity has energized our mission-driven work.

By Shawn Moore, MBA | April 19, 2018
Senior Vice President for Product Management at ActiveHealth/ETR Board Member

Everyone wants a healthy workplace, right? In a healthy workplace, workers are more productive. Missions are supported. It’s a more pleasant environment for everybody.

So why are there so many challenges to establishing a healthy workplace? Especially workplaces like health organizations, service organizations and non-profits. What’s holding us back?

By BA Laris, MPH | April 17, 2018
Program Manager, ETR

In a recent training on Crisis De-Escalation, the simplest activity we did turned out to be the most effective at helping participants think about how to “take it down a notch.” The De-escalation Line Dance is a quick, fun and powerful activity that gets participants talking about the obvious and subtle messages we send—and receive—in crisis situations.

By Elizabeth McDade-Montez, PhD | April 12, 2018
Director, Professional Learning Systems, ETR

Worried about social media’s influence on youth? A lot of people are.

In the first part of this blog post, I talked about some of the reasons we worry. Here are 6 recommendations that can guide parents and those who work with youth in supporting healthy use of these new tools.

By BA Laris, MPH | April 10, 2018
Program Manager, ETR

The news and my social media feed keep screaming at me. FINANCIAL CRISIS! POLITICAL CRISIS! ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS! PERSONAL CRISIS!

It feels like everyone is facing a catastrophe. This barrage of uncertainty is highly distressing (especially for this “the glass is always half-full” ETRian).

By Elizabeth McDade-Montez, PhD | April 5, 2018
Senior Research Associate, ETR

From a fairly young age, today’s kids are growing up with all kinds of social media. Parents and professionals struggle to keep up with the latest trends and protect children from possible harm. As a media researcher and a parent, I'm also working to stay abreast of the latest technology and how it impacts children and adolescents.

But rather than looking at every new app as a focus of research, I'm interested in the larger issues related to social media use—things like why and how we use social media.

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | April 3, 2018
CEO, ETR

ETR is a national organization—one with global aspirations. You might not have guessed this if you’d peeked in on one of our all-staff meetings a few years back. These were held in a single conference room, with a minority of our team joining from two smaller rooms at “satellite offices,” along with a few team members joining from home offices.

No longer!

By BA Laris, MPH & Nic Carlisle, JD | March 29, 2018
Program Manager, ETR (BAL) & Executive Director, Southern AIDS Coalition (NC)

When you hear the term “HIV and AIDS advocacy,” what do you think of? In our work we have found there are typically two responses:

“Yes! This is how we get our voice heard!”

“Umm, well, I am glad people are working on these issues, but I don’t really know how that all actually works.”

By Karen Stradford Boyce, LCSW, & Madeline Travers, MPH | March 27, 2018
Consultant (KSB) & New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (MT)

LGBTQ youth face distinct health risks compared with their non-LGBTQ peers. In the last few years, the call to address the sexual health needs of LGBTQ youth has rung loud from both programs and research. At the same time, a rollback of LGBTQ-focused initiatives and programs at the federal level has created an unprecedented need for support for the LGBTQ community and its youth.

By Suzanne Schrag | March 22, 2018
Editor/Project Manager, ETR

Here’s a different take on a familiar saying: Those who can, do. Those who really can, teach! And those who teach health know the value of teaching advocacy skills.

Giving students practice in advocacy is a great way to build engagement, review key concepts and personalize what they’ve been learning about healthy behaviors. Advocacy also helps communities hear vital information about health-related issues from critical stakeholders—young people themselves!

By Xinran Cui Dhaliwal, MPH | March 20, 2018
Project Coordinator, ETR

Health promotion must take a multifaceted approach. It is the only path to success. This is one of my core beliefs.

It’s also something that resonated deeply for me at ETR’s recent All Staff Retreat—my first. When you meet everyone in this organization in one room at one time, you are struck by the fact that ETR staffers work in so many diverse areas of public health research and practice.

Cynthia A. Gómez, PhD | March 15, 2018
Professor Emerita in Health Education, Founding Director Health Equity Institute, San Francisco State University

The way I like to describe the concept of health equity is to say that it is the solution to the problem of health inequities. Health inequities are differences in health outcomes that are avoidable.

I think of health equity as a visionary goal where all people have equal opportunity, access, and resources to achieve the best health possible.

By ETR | March 14, 2018

Happy Pi Day! It’s March 14, the day when science geeks the world over revel in the stark beauty of mathematics. Pi is both one-of-a-kind (no other number like it) and part of the crowd (a member of the tribe of mathematical constants). It is irrational and transcendental. It is infinite in nature.

Pi Day resonates for ETRians.

By Sarah Axelson, MSW | March 18, 2018
Director of Training, ETR

When is the last time your organization held a staff retreat? Did it help you accomplish your organizational goals?

A few weeks ago, ETR held its annual staff retreat. I was genuinely inspired. The planners of this event offered some valuable lessons for any organization on how to design effective and engaging retreats.

By Mia Barrett, MEd | March 8, 2018
Research Associate, ETR

I spend a lot of time traveling for my work as a research coordinator. I’m in airports and on airplanes all the time. I board my plane, find my seat and listen to the flight attendant deliver the pre-flight safety speech. As a sexuality educator, I’d like to see us teach that sexual interactions should come with a similar safety briefing.

By Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | March 6, 2018
Senior Editor, ETR

The Kirby Summit is a one-of-a kind experience. This small, invitational convening gathers experts from across the nation. They meet over two days to talk about promoting adolescent health and reducing health risks.

Okay, you’ve probably heard about other events similar to this. Why is the Kirby Summit so special?