What's Happening

By Eddie Givens | June 22, 2021
Guest Writer, Community Member and Activist

Eddie Givens shares his reflections on the history of HIV Testing Day and the AIDS epidemic, highlighting the importance of HIV education, health equity, and ensuring accessible testing in every community.

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | June 3, 2021
Chief Executive Officer, ETR

Milestone birthdays that are associated with middle age can also be associated with a youthful time of awakening. We can say the same about ETR—we’re celebrating our 40th! We are entering our middle age with the wisdom that comes from four decades, while also awakening a new phase for us with the excitement and curiosity and rapid change of adolescence.

By Wendy Kaplan, MPH | May 19, 2021
Former ATOD Program Manager, ETR

One of the projects I work on at ETR is the Tobacco Education Clearinghouse of California (TECC). I have the pleasure of working with organizations throughout the state of California doing their part to end tobacco-related health disparities. One of the ways we do this is through the creation of educational materials that provide information to specific audiences on a wide range of topics.

By John Shields, PhD, MSW | May 14, 2021
Senior Research Scientist, ETR

How well are K-12 schools doing in implementing Title IX regulations? ETR’s K12T9 Initiative conducted an analysis of 100 randomly selected regular public school district websites from the 19,406 districts downloaded from the US Department of Education to research more into the availability of Title IX information on district websites -- and here is what we found.

By Melissa Perri, Sarah Flicker, Adrian Guta, and Marilou Gagnon | May 10, 2021
Social and Behavioural Health Sciences, Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto

Internationally, comprehensive sex-ed programs have garnered promising results. Ontario, Canada’s largest province, recently implemented a new, responsive and controversial provincial sex-ed curriculum. An interdisciplinary team of public health, sociology and education scholars collaborated to learn more about the implementation challenges faced by health and physical education teachers. We sought to gain feedback on how recent curricular changes have altered the ease and effectiveness of delivery and get educators’ opinions on recommendations for improving future sex-ed curricula changes. 

By Lauren Ranalli, MPH | May 5, 2021
Director of Marketing and Communications, ETR

When it comes to social media and mental health, it’s common to first think about the negative link between the two. However, social media can also provide a great benefit to adolescents and young adults, especially when it comes to connecting with friends and family or staying up to date on current events. Learn more about how educators, health care providers, and youth-serving professionals can support young people in having a healthy relationship with social media.

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | May 4, 2021
Chief Executive Officer, ETR

It was a lazy Sunday, and we were watching Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. My 10-year-old, like every other kid his age, is always looking to see themselves represented in the content we consume. He turned to me and asked, “Why aren’t there that many diverse people in this Star Wars movie?”

By Laura Perkins, MLS, and Suzanne Schrag, BA | April 14, 2021
Health Literacy Editor and Product Manager/Editor, ETR

For years, there’s been a debate in the public health community over whether to use the term "STD" or "STI" in patient education materials. Some leading authoritative organizations continue to use STD, but many organizations have switched to using STI, or to using both terms. We explore various perspectives on this topic from different sexual health educators around the country.

By Lauren Ranalli, MPH | March 22, 2021
Director of Marketing and Communications, ETR

Educators play a critical role in providing young people with accurate, inclusive information on sexually transmitted infections, or sexually transmitted diseases (STIs/STDs). In addition to educating teens and adolescents on the signs and symptoms of STIs/STDs, here are 5 points to make sure you cover in your health lessons. And read on for resources that can support your sexual health program!