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ETR Blog

Check out what our people and partners are researching, thinking, reading, writing, watching and doing! (Note: The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of ETR as an agency.)


Don't Be Tricked by These Treats: Make Smart Choices About Edible Marijuana
October 25, 2018

Don't Be Tricked by These Treats: Make Smart Choices About Edible Marijuana

By Laura Perkins, MLS | October 25, 2018
Editor, ETR

With cannabis legalized for recreational use in some places, people have questions about all the new products available, especially edibles. If marijuana is legal, it’s safe to use, right? How much of an edible can you eat? ETR has new materials to help people understand how to make smarter decisions. See our fact card here, and our poster here.

By Laura Perkins, MLS
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Tags: ATOD, Marijuana, ETR products
Kirby Summit IV: Scaffolding for Adolescent Relationships
October 23, 2018

Kirby Summit IV: Scaffolding for Adolescent Relationships

By Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | October 23, 2018
Senior Editor, ETR

ETR has now hosted four Kirby Summits. These convenings bring together a small group of brilliant people with a shared commitment to promoting adolescent health and well being.

The key to the Summit’s uniqueness? While each one of the invited participants brings impressive expertise, as a group they come from different disciplines and perspectives.

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Tags: Romantic relationships, Developmental relationships, Adolescent health, Adolescent development, Sexual and reproductive health, Kirby summit
40 Years of Sexuality Education: What's Changed?
October 16, 2018

40 Years of Sexuality Education: What's Changed?

By Clint Bruess, EdD, CHES, and Elizabeth Schroeder, EdD, MSW | October 16, 2018
Dean Emeritus, University of Alabama at Birmingham (CB) and Sexuality Educator, Trainer and Consultant, Elizabeth Schroeder Consulting (ES)

We’ve just finished writing a new edition of our book on sexuality education, which has been in print for almost 40 years. That’s a long time! A lot of people ask us, “What’s changed in sex ed over so many years?” The easy answer is, a lot has changed—and yet an astonishing amount has stayed the same. 

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Tags: K12, Sexual and reproductive health, Sex education
Kirby Summit IV: Supporting Healthy Adolescent Relationships
October 11, 2018

Kirby Summit IV: Supporting Healthy Adolescent Relationships

By Pamela Anderson, PhD | October 11, 2018
Senior Research Associate, ETR

The Kirby Summit is one of the highlights of ETR’s year. Today, we embark on the fourth occurrence of this remarkable convening.

While we know a lot about adolescent development from our own professional perspective, people with deep expertise from other perspectives know things we do not. When we bring these different groups together, amazing things can happen. This is what the Kirby Summit is about.

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Tags: Kirby summit, Romantic relationships, Adolescent development
Equity in STEM: It Takes More Than Individual Determination
October 9, 2018

Equity in STEM: It Takes More Than Individual Determination

By Louise Ann Lyon, PhD | October 9, 2018
Senior Research Associate, ETR

The mainstream culture in the U.S. values independence. As a nation, we esteem individual actions and view them as paths to success. “Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” is an admirable trait.

However, that focus is not the full picture. 

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Tags: Health Equity Framework, STEM equity, STEM education, Equity in Tech
Atima, Honduras: Transformative Health Education
October 4, 2018

Atima, Honduras: Transformative Health Education

By Jody Gan, MPH, CHES | October 4, 2018
Instructor, Department of Health Studies, American University

Three years ago, I became the first health educator to join a volunteer brigade providing medical and public health services to Honduras. For two decades, the Organization for Community Health Outreach (OCHO), based in Baltimore, Maryland, has sent a 40-person medical team to Atima, in the province of Santa Barbara. This is a mountain community of about 16,000 people in one of the most underserved and remote areas of the country.

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Tags: Evidence-based interventions, International health, Adolescents, Volunteer, Pregnancy prevention, Sexual and reproductive health
#LetsTalkMonth: Join In for Impact
October 3, 2018

#LetsTalkMonth: Join In for Impact

By Jamie Barnett, MBA, CISSP | October 3, 2018
Parent Volunteer, Palo Alto Parents 4 Sex Ed

October is #LetsTalkMonth. This campaign is dedicated to frank conversations between young people and the adults they trust about sexual health. Thousands of parents, educators, administrators, social workers and students across the nation are joining in.

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Tags: Sexual and reproductive health, Parents, Teens, Sex education
#LetsTalkMonth Just Got a Whole Lot More Important
October 2, 2018

#LetsTalkMonth Just Got a Whole Lot More Important

By Jamie Barnett, MBA, CISSP | October 2, 2018
Parent Volunteer, Palo Alto Parents 4 Sex Ed

October is #LetsTalkMonth. I’ll be tackling some great topics with my kids—healthy relationships, equity, inclusion, ethics, domestic abuse, technology. We’ll also be talking about #MeToo. (Full disclosure: I have these talks with my kids pretty much all year long.)

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Tags: Sexual and reproductive health, Teens, Parents, Sex education
Losing the Phobia: HIV PrEP is Bridging the Serodivide
September 27, 2018

Losing the Phobia: HIV PrEP is Bridging the Serodivide

By Ifeoma Udoh, PhD | September 27, 2018
Senior Research Associate, ETR

Access to PrEP is changing minds and behaviors. As an HIV prevention option, PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV) has provided individuals who may be at risk for HIV an important tool in the way they conceptualize choices about sex partners.

The practice of serosorting—selecting a sexual partner based on HIV status—has often been seen as either stigmatizing or divisive. However, PrEP is changing this practice among both older and younger men who have sex with men (MSM). I contributed to a just-published paper that demonstrates this in some persuasive ways.

By Ifeoma Udoh, PhD
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Tags: Equity, Stigma, PrEP, HIV prevention, HIV
Perseverance in Sexual & Reproductive Health: Pioneers Led Us Here
September 25, 2018

Perseverance in Sexual & Reproductive Health: Pioneers Led Us Here

By Debra Christopher, MSM | September 25, 2018
Ambassador for Health and Learning, ETR

Last month, I stayed in the tiny village of Bennington, VT. I happened upon the tiny, cozy village bookstore and, of course, wandered in. (Stay with me. It is worth it.)

I picked up a book titled Scratchings, written by the "Scribble Sisters." 

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Tags: Inspiration, Sexual and reproductive health
If It's September, This Must Be Teamwork
September 19, 2018

If It's September, This Must Be Teamwork

By John Henry Ledwith | September 19, 2018
National Sales Manager, ETR

Hello, September! Like many of you, I am part of a team that has been getting local classrooms ready for the new school year. The hum and clatter and movement of all of that effort has left me thinking a lot about teamwork this week.

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Tags: School health education, Health education, Teamwork, K12, HealthSmart
K12T9: Responding to the K12 #MeToo Crisis
September 17, 2018

K12T9: Responding to the K12 #MeToo Crisis

By John Shields, PhD, MSW | September 17, 2018
Senior Research Scientist and Director, K12T9 Initiative, ETR

We need the #MeToo movement. Widespread attention to sexual and gender-based harassment is long overdue. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been affected in some meaningful way by this national conversation.

Here at ETR, we celebrate this opportunity for education, enlightenment and change. 

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Tags: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence prevention, Violence prevention, School health, K12, Title IX, K12T9
Currently Reading: The FiveThirtyEight Blog Looks at Sex Ed
September 13, 2018

Currently Reading: The FiveThirtyEight Blog Looks at Sex Ed

By Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | September 13, 2018
Senior Editor, ETR

I love science. I like the wonky part of research, and I really like seeing the practical applications. That’s why I was so pleased to see the FiveThirtyEight blog offer a series on the science of sex ed. These folks know their numbers!

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Tags: Sex education, Evidence-based interventions, Sexual and reproductive health
Remote Workers Engage! 6 Ways to Stay Connected
September 10, 2018

Remote Workers Engage! 6 Ways to Stay Connected

By Tracy Wright, MAEd | September 10, 2018
Project Director, ETR

Trees, mountains, sky. That’s what I see from the window of my home in Golden, Colorado. I love it. Being able to live and work here is one of the splendid benefits of being a remote worker.

By Tracy Wright, MAEd
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Tags: Distributed workforce, Workplace wellness
Sex Ed for People with Developmental Disabilities: "Nothing About Us Without Us"
September 4, 2018

Sex Ed for People with Developmental Disabilities: "Nothing About Us Without Us"

By Katherine McLaughlin, MEd | September 4, 2018
Founder and Director of Training, Elevatus Training

I remember the day Karen Topper asked me the question. “Can we create a sexuality education curriculum where people with developmental disabilities are the teachers? Can we have them be actively involved in creating this curriculum?”

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Tags: School health education, Teens, Sex education, Sexual and reproductive health
ETR's Health Equity Framework in Practice: HealthSmart
August 31, 2018

ETR's Health Equity Framework in Practice: HealthSmart

By Suzanne Schrag | August 31, 2018
Editor/Product Manager, ETR

JJ is 11 years old and on the way to school. JJ usually stops at the bodega to buy a candy bar for a snack. But today is different. This week JJ is learning in school about increasing your heart rate through physical activity to stay healthy. So, instead of stopping at the bodega, JJ runs around the block three times. JJ shows up to school a little sweaty but excited and energized.

By Suzanne Schrag
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Tags: School health education, Health education, Health Equity Framework, Health equity, K12, HealthSmart
ETR: A Family Business
August 28, 2018

ETR: A Family Business

By Shawn Del Carlo | August 28, 2018
Warehouse Senior Supervisor, ETR

ETR is a non-profit. In some ways, we’re also a sort of family business. I’ve worked here for 21 years, and during that time, we’ve hired lots of employees’ kids, nieces, nephews and friends.

Sometimes people come for temp jobs, and sometimes they’re hired in standard positions. This has been good. I think it’s built a closer sense of connection among staff.

By Shawn Del Carlo
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Tags: Healthy organization, Families, Workplace wellness, ETR staff
Sexuality Education, Seventh Edition: Now That's a Powerful Book!
August 23, 2018

Sexuality Education, Seventh Edition: Now That's a Powerful Book!

By ETR | August 23, 2018
 

Most books, even textbooks, don’t make it to a seventh edition. This one did. What’s so special about ETR’s new offering, Sexuality Education: Theory and Practice?

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Tags: Sex education, Sexual and reproductive health
Finding Stories for Inspiration: They Are In Our Lives
August 21, 2018

Finding Stories for Inspiration: They Are In Our Lives

By John Henry Ledwith | August 21, 2018
National Sales Manager, ETR

I heard a story last night that’s had me thinking about inspiration. I was at a performance of the John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band. The amazing Herb Pedersen told us about how he came to write one of the finest and most popular bluegrass songs ever, “Wait a Minute.”

By John Henry Ledwith
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Tags: Physical education, K12, Inspiration, School health education
California Tobacco Control Program: An Outstanding Partner Shares an Exciting Opportunity
August 16, 2018

California Tobacco Control Program: An Outstanding Partner Shares an Exciting Opportunity

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | August 16, 2018
CEO, ETR

ETR is privileged to work with outstanding partners. In fact, one of the best things about working here is the opportunity to collaborate with people and programs whose mission, like ours, is to make a genuine difference.

Today the California Tobacco Control Program (CTCP) is particularly on our minds. 

By Vignetta Charles, PhD
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Tags: Tribal communities, Tribal nations, Health equity, Tobacco prevention

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