Classroom Voices: Youth Perspectives to Direct School-based Sexual Health Education.

Sexual health education is a well-known, evidence-based intervention that can improve adolescent health outcomes, increase protective health behaviours, and decrease risky health behaviours. Providing sexual health education in school settings offers opportunities for discussion of critical health topics and can improve the school environment for all students. However, not all sexual health education is taught equitably across classroom environments. As part of a mixed-methods study to describe school-based sexual health education, we conducted focus groups and interviews with recently graduated high school students in New Mexico, a geographically and ethnically diverse state in the US Southwest. Thirty-one young people shared their experiences, explored the sexual health education content they had been taught, and offered recommendations to improve sexual health education. Three key themes were developed: young people wanted and needed sexual health education taught in school settings; the sexual health education currently taught in school is not helpful and sometimes harmful; and the individuals who teach sexual health education are critically important. These findings can inform and support school staff and administrators addressing barriers to school-based sexual health education delivery, particularly in schools within marginalised communities with limited resources. The results support including youth as stakeholders in the planning, delivery and evaluation of school-based sexual health education; and the development of sexual health education training for teachers, with the goal of improving health outcomes for all youth populations.

Use of a Community Engagement and Research Core model to enhance primary care provider recruitment: A case example.

Persistent barriers exist to engage rural providers in research and training. Provider shortages exacerbate these challenges, leading to a scarcity of time and limiting motivation to participate in research. We present application of an innovative engagement model to increase rural primary care provider participation in research. Using our Community Engagement and Research Core, we demonstrate that fundamental principles of training and expertise, attention to efficiency and multitasking, and commitment to community are important for addressing provider recruitment barriers. We encourage other Clinical and Translational Science Centers to provide similar services to their local investigators to enhance provider engagement in research.

Centering Group Treatment for Women With Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome: A Qualitative Analysis.

IMPORTANCE: Women with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (ICBPS) face challenging treatment and feelings of isolation. Centering models of group medical visits have been successful in other spheres but have not been explored in ICBPS therapy. OBJECTIVE: We sought to describe opinions of women with ICBPS regarding Centering visits, including advantages, experience, and barriers to participation and efficacy. STUDY DESIGN: Patients who attended Centering visits participated in a focus group and/or filled out written commentary in evaluations, and control patients were individually interviewed. We coded transcripts using NVivo software for emergent themes. RESULTS: We conducted 4 control patient individual interviews, had one focus group of Centering patients, and collected comments from 34 post-Centering surveys. Emergent themes of interest included motivations and barriers to joining, cost, leadership, connecting with others, diversity, learning, alternative treatments, and areas for improvement. Regardless of participation in Centering, patients noted the importance of self-care and sharing with other women with ICBPS, and they emphasized feelings of isolation in their disease and discouraging health care experiences. Women in Centering noted that the biggest advantages of Centering were learning from other women with ICBPS, the creation of a welcoming and safe space, and the feeling that Centering was more of a support group than a medical visit. Women noted that barriers to Centering included cost and logistical issues, such as time and format. CONCLUSIONS: Women with ICBPS treatment note that Centering group visits provide a sense of learning and community that opens them to a wider variety of options.