Inspiration for Emerging Questions: Dr. Douglas Kirby
Emerging Questions is an ETR initiative inspired by Dr. Douglas Kirby’s legacy of curiosity and passion for helping young people achieve their best possible health and happiness.
For over four decades, Dr. Kirby researched the risk and protective factors that influence young people’s health, explored possible theories of behavior change, and designed and/or evaluated dozens of adolescent health interventions. His insatiable curiosity about understanding “the reasons why” young people engage in certain behavior was fundamental in his approach to developing effective interventions and strategies.
I think that Doug took on answering big questions for two reasons. First, he was a skilled researcher with an insatiable sense of curiosity. And second, he wanted to find answers that he could share with people on the ground that were doing the important work for people in need. Much of what Doug accomplished in the last two decades of his career made adolescent reproductive health research understandable and usable by thousands of practitioners, researchers and policymakers.
-Lori Rolleri, Consultant and Colleague
Along with his ETR colleagues, Dr. Kirby created dozens of practitioner-friendly research reports, program development tools and other resources. that continue to support thousands of program developers, evaluators and policy makers in the United States and across the globe. One of these resources is Emerging Answers 2007, a powerful report that synthesized the available research on adolescent behaviors, influencing factors and existing interventions. Emerging Answers provided accessible ways to understand and apply the research – that is why it is still commonly read and cited today.
Dr. Kirby passed away on December 22, 2012, while mountain climbing (another of his passions) in Ecuador. His untimely death created a noticeable tear in the fabric of our field. Since his death, his colleagues have been working on multiple efforts to sustain his legacy.
ETR, Dr. Kirby’s home for 20 years, is a national non-profit passionate about our mission to improve health and increase opportunities for youth, families and communities. Inspired by Doug’s seminal work on Emerging Answers, ETR launched the Emerging Questions online platform – ten years after the release of Emerging Answers 2007 – as a way to continuously foster curiosity and connect adolescent health professionals with the science of what works. We invite others to engage with us as we continue Doug’s deep and thoughtful tradition of exploring the questions that will get us closer to achieving equitable health outcomes and opportunities for young people.
The Legacy of Doug Kirby’s Emerging Answers
In 1996, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (now Power to Decide) asked, "What should people do in their community to reduce teen pregnancy?" In response to this question, Douglas Kirby, PhD published No Easy Answers: Research findings on programs to reduce teen pregnancy (1997). The research synthesis was the National Campaign's most requested research publication, a testament both to the quality of the work and to the intense interest among program developers and political leaders alike in finding out "what works." Doug’s approach to understanding and applying the research laid a foundation of how we can systematically and fairly explore programs to support young people. This was a new and exciting way to review, understand and apply research findings in the field of adolescent sexual and reproductive health.
Emerging Answers 2007 was the third in a series of reports (along with No Easy Answers (1997) and Emerging Answers (2001)) which evaluated what types of programs work in reducing teen pregnancies and STDs in communities. Doug’s legacy continues to inspire, shape and inform the field today. With over 150 scientific articles, book chapters and monographs, Doug’s work continues to be widely cited.
Doug further refined this approach with the 2001 sequel publication entitled Emerging Answers: Research findings on programs to reduce teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, an updated review the research to prevent teen pregnancy. The review expanded the previous work by examining the current statistics on teen pregnancy, childbearing, and sexually transmitted diseases. It also identified and summarized the important risk and protective factors associated with teen sexual behavior. It discussed how to assess evaluation research and then reviewed numerous evaluations of specific programs designed to reduce sexual risk-taking, teen pregnancy, and HIV and other STDs. It concluded with recommendations about program implementation and evaluation. As Doug stated in the preface, “Of course, it is still very challenging to design or operate programs that actually reduce adolescent sexual risk-taking and pregnancy over prolonged periods of time. However, we now know it is possible, and we have clearer guidelines for how to do it.”
In 2007, Emerging Answers was updated to reflect all of the new and advanced research measuring program impact on adolescent sexual behavior. Doug again advanced the field with his thoughtful review, reflection, synthesis and practical ways to apply research findings. The common characteristics of effective programs was expanded to include the development, content, and implementation of these programs. Doug emphasized that no one program can eliminate sexual-risk taking. His work encouraged professionals working with youth to think broadly about the complex problem of teen pregnancy. They should continue to explore many ways to address the various causes of teen pregnancy. They should replicate those programs that have the best evidence for success, build their efforts around the common elements of successful programs, and continue to explore, develop, and evaluate innovative and promising approaches. This publication has been cited by over 1700 other publications according to ERIC, Institute of Education Sciences.
To actively support professionals in this process, Doug developed the Tool to Assess the Characteristics of Effective Sex and STD/HIV Education Programs. This is a tool to help people working with youth in communities and professional settings to select, improve, develop and implement effective pregnancy and STD prevention programs based on the 17 characteristics of effective programs that emerged from his research synthesis.
Emerging Questions is the next iteration of Doug’s seminal work. We are building off the lessons we have learned over the past 20 years, and encouraging professionals and community members who are interested in advancing research, understanding research implications, and applying research-based solutions to complex health and education outcomes.
Other Projects Honoring Dr. Kirby’s Legacy
The Kirby Summit: To honor ETR scientist Dr. Douglas B. Kirby for his lifetime contributions to the field, ETR and our partners launched an annual, invited summit in 2016 – known as the Kirby Summit – to foster collective dialogue on current research, promising interventions, and the role of policy to promote the sexual and reproductive health of young people.
Sex Education Special Issue: The international peer-reviewed journal Sex Education published a special issue in memory of the late Dr. Douglas Kirby of ETR and his legacy. The special issue focuses on papers that address evidence, advocacy and policies for comprehensive sexuality education; principles of effective sexuality education programs; curriculum development and promoting healthy sexual relationships among young people.
