Events

Advancing the Prevention of Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders in Adolescence: A Science to Service Symposium 

June 5, 2012 - Washington, DC

Materials: Agenda, Presenter Bios, Description of the Adolescent Health Working Group, and Institute of Medicine Report Briefs: A Focus on Cost and Benefits and Report Brief for Policymakers

Slides: Marc Atkins, Ph.D., University of Illinois-Chicago; Karen Blase, Ph.D., University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill; J. David Hawkins, Ph.D., University of Washington; Lisa Sanbonmatsu, Ph.D., National Bureau of Economic Research; and Richard Spoth, Ph.D., Iowa State University. (Please also see Supporting Papers)

On June 5, 2012, the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Adolescent Health Working Group hosted a forum: Advancing the Prevention of Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders in Adolescence: A Science to Service Symposium (Symposium). Approximately 65 Federal staff were in attendance, primarily from agencies within HHS, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Justice, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Education.

The 2010 Senate Appropriations Committee encouraged OAH and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to coordinate efforts to implement the recommendations of the 2009 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders in Young People: Progress and Possibilities. Specifically, the Committee asked OAH to: (1) support the design and prioritization of evidence-based prevention and promotion programs that address mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders; and (2) support research and evaluations in areas where the evidence-base is lacking or needs improvement.

The objectives of the one-day Symposium were threefold:

1) To increase awareness among federal staff and leadership of cutting edge prevention research;
2) To highlight effective translation and implementation strategies; and
3) To promote opportunities for collaboration among research and service agencies and staff.

At the Symposium, attendees were welcomed by Evelyn Kappeler, Acting Director, OAH; Wanda Jones, Ph.D., Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health; and Larke Nahme Huang, Ph.D., Senior Advisor, Children Youth and Families, in the Administrator's Office of Policy Planning and Innovation at SAMHSA.

Five researchers presented on three panels (implementation, prevention infrastructure, and emerging strategies in prevention) that were designed around the framework of the IOM report’s recommendations. Karen Blase, Ph.D., University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill, and Marc Atkins, Ph.D., University of Illinois—Chicago, spoke to implementation; Lisa Sanbonmatsu, Ph.D., National Bureau of Economic Research, spoke to emerging strategies in prevention; and Richard Spoth, Ph.D., Iowa State University and David Hawkins, Ph.D., University of Washington, spoke to prevention infrastructure. Members of the Adolescent Health Working Group moderated the panels and facilitated discussions between presenters and audience members on the implications of presenters’ work for Federal planning and policy initiatives. The Symposium concluded with a Roundtable discussion moderated by Trina Anglin, M.D., Ph.D., from Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Joining the presenters for the Roundtable were Kristin Anderson Moore, Ph.D., Child Trends, and Nadia Sexton, Ph.D., Casey Family Programs.

The Symposium was developed by the Mental Health Subcommittee of the Adolescent Health Working Group which, in addition to OAH and SAMHSA, includes representatives from the following agencies:

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
  • Department of Justice;
  • Food and Drug Administration;
  • Health Resources and Services Administration;
  • HHS Center for Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships;
  • National Institute of Mental Health;
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse; and
  • Regional Health Administrators.

OAH is producing a brief on the outcomes of the Symposium which will include attendee suggestions for how to more efficiently move effective prevention research into practice, as well as discussion regarding the IOM report recommendations that were addressed.  

Supporting papers: Policy Research Brief: Implementation Opportunities and Challenges for Prevention and Promotion Initiatives; Primary Prevention in Behavioral Health: Investing in our Nation’s Future; New Models for Mental Health Promotion in High Poverty Communities: Drilling Deeper in Urban Schools (Atkins's References); Implementation: The Missing Link Between Research and Practice; Mobilizing Communities for Implementing Evidence-Based Youth Violence Prevention Programming; Financing Evidence-Based Programs and Practices:
Changing Systems to Support Effective Service
; Toward the Integration of Education and Mental Health in Schools; Expanding the Toolkit or Changing the Paradigm: Are We Ready for a Public Health Approach to Mental Health? 

Let’s Hear about the Boys: Engaging Adolescent Males in Teen Pregnancy Prevention

May 8, 2012 - Washington, DC

Agenda
Transcript

In recognition of National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) hosted the Adolescent Males in Teen Pregnancy PreventionIn recognition of National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) hosted the Adolescent Males in Teen Pregnancy Prevention.”  Joining OAH as co-hosts of the second annual Teen Pregnancy Prevention Federal event on May 8, 2012, “Let’s Hear about the Boys: Engaging event were the Administration for Children Youth and Families; the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the Office of Population Affairs; and the Office on Women’s Health.  Speakers showcased the positive news related to recent declines in overall teen pregnancy rates, and highlighted the importance of increasing the engagement of adolescent males in teen pregnancy prevention efforts.   

In recognition of National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) hosted the Adolescent Males in Teen Pregnancy PreventionActing Director of OAH, Evelyn Kappeler, moderated the event, with closing remarks provided by the Honorable Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and opening remarks to set the stage provided by Dr. Howard Koh, Assistant Secretary for Health, HHS  and Commissioner Bryan Samuels of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families, HHS. Featured speakers included Andrew Levack of Engender Health, who gave an insightful keynote speech on the pressures on adolescent males and offered ideas for what can be done, not only to engage teen boys more meaningfully in preventing teen pregnancy, but also to better support their growth and healthy development.  Remarks were also made by Catherine Watson of the Baltimore City Health Department and Stephen Powell of Mentoring USA.  They shared insights and examples on how we can better involve adolescent males in teen pregnancy prevention efforts in both the clinical and community environments.  

In recognition of National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) hosted the Adolescent Males in Teen Pregnancy PreventionMore than 200 interested stakeholders participated in the event.  Guests represented a wide variety of non-profit and healthcare organizations; Federal, state and local government agencies; and research and advocacy groups.  Key messages and highlights from the event were disseminated broadly through a lively Twitter chat that began at the forum and continued for days afterwards under the hashtag #TPPBoys.  The event closed with an energetic networking session, giving attendees the opportunity to visit 15 resource tables hosted by Federal agencies. The large turnout and engaged audience demonstrated that there is great interest—at the Federal, state, and community levels—in the challenge of engaging teen boys in pregnancy prevention efforts, and improving efforts to support their positive development. Several key themes emerged from the forum:

  • Negative male stereotypes serve as barriers to healthy relationships and reproductive health.  Mr. Levack and Mr. Powell provided numerous examples of the ways in which boys receive negative and/or damaging messages about male identity—including the posturing of dominance and use of violence—that can result in unhealthy behavior and relationships.
  • More could be done to provide sexual and relationship education for teen boys.  Mr. Levack stressed the positive gains that can result from working with boys and girls together to discuss and deconstruct stereotypes. He also emphasized the importance of teaching adolescent males refusal and delaying skills, skills related to condom use, and dating and domestic violence prevention as an element of sexual and relationship education. Mr. Levack and Mr. Powell suggested that parents, teachers, and other adults who work with children could also benefit from education and training on gender issues.  
  • Clinical reproductive health services have specific challenges and opportunities in addressing the needs of young men, including implementing new strategies to engage and recruit males.  Ms. Watson detailed the opportunities and challenges that the Baltimore City Health Department encountered when trying to expand health center services to males, after recognizing that the vast majority of the population served in the city’s Title X clinics was female.  For instance, the health centers adapted their recruiting procedures, as well as the materials available and the settings of the clinics, to better engage males.

Overall, the messages around teen boys and their role in the prevention of pregnancy, violence and STDs, as well as how to develop and disseminate positive gender roles and stereotypes, resonated with the audience. OAH looks forward to continuing the conversation and making progress on these issues with our partners.

Last updated: August 14, 2012