What's Happening

By Debra Christopher, MSM

If you deliver trainings or presentations, the tips in this ongoing column can help make your trainings more dynamic, engaging and effective. "Quotables" is an exercise you can use to introduce a topic, do team-building or invite participants to share something about their own perspectives or experiences.

By Matt McDowell

Quick: what do you think when you hear the words, “We really need to market that health program.” Or how about, “We could sure use some cutting-edge business tools to make this health program stronger.”

If you’re like a lot of people I’ve met in the worlds of public health, health care and nonprofits, you may be recoiling in horror—or at least shaking your head. Here’s what people often tell me about marketing and business tools.

By ETR

We like the ways videos and media help us see the world differently and think in new ways. Take a look at our favorite videos of the month. Los Angeles County Metro buses give health a chance. Bolthouse Farms offers an interactive musical website that makes healthy food simply glorious. And a guy known as "Menstrual Man" empowers women in rural India to change their lives. Watch and have fun.

By Yethzell Diaz | April 17, 2014

First, let me be clear about something. I am not a techie. At all. The first time I interacted with a computer was probably in seventh grade. Technology stuff was completely foreign to me. My family and friends didn’t know about it. And there wasn’t someone we could turn to for guidance.

I did, however, become a student at University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), majoring in sociology, and at one point I desperately needed to get into a popular class. A hundred students were competing for ten open spots. How was I going to swing it?

By Patricia A. Lauer, PhD

While there are numerous publications and guidance documents on effective training, the literature on effective delivery of technical assistance (TA) is sparse. To address this void, ETR’s Professional Development team recently conducted a focus group of ETR staffers who are experienced TA providers. We also searched the Internet for information on how organizations can provide technical assistance to clients that will result in positive outcomes.

By ETR

The Guttmacher Institute has a table-maker that offers data on contraceptive needs and services down to the county level. Find out the numbers for your county's publicly funded clinics, women in need of publicly funded services, clients served and more. State data shows up along with each county report you generate.

Check it out here.>> Scroll down for fact sheets, videos and research reports. 

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.