School Parent Attitudes and Perceptions Relating to Animals, Animal-Assisted Interventions, and the Support of Children's Mental Health.

Growing awareness of the negative effects of trauma has led San Antonio, TX, school districts to expand efforts that can help mitigate these effects and support mental health. Given the literature around the psychological benefits of human-animal interactions, the concept of incorporating animals in treatments or interventions is not a new one. While schools have begun considering or utilizing animal-assisted interventions (AAIs), there have been limited efforts to understand existing perceptions relating to animals and AAIs among school parents in this Hispanic community.

The : Using Implementation Mapping to adapt an online decision support system to promote culturally-relevant sexual health education for American Indian and Alaska Native youth.

Background: American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth experience serious disparities in sexual and reproductive health, including the highest teen birth rate among racial/ethnic groups, and disproportionate rates of sexually transmitted infections (STI), including HIV. A growing number of evidence-based programs (EBPs) that integrate the strengths and cultural teachings of Native communities exist. Yet, multiple factors, including lack of trained personnel, limited resources, and geographic isolation, may hinder their adoption and implementation.

Exploring School Staff Perceptions Relating to Animals and Their Involvement in Interventions to Support Mental Health.

Given the growing awareness of the health benefits of human-animal interactions, the use of animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) in educational settings has increased over the years. While many school districts are now considering or utilizing AAIs, the literature investigating AAI-related perceptions among school stakeholders is limited with previous studies focusing on evaluating specific programs. To address this gap, a qualitative exploratory study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with school staff in the San Antonio, TX community.

Using Implementation Mapping to Build Organizational Readiness.

Organizational readiness is essential for high-quality implementation of innovations (programs, policies, practices, or processes). The = MC heuristic describes three readiness components necessary for implementation-the general functioning of the organization (general capacities), the ability to deliver a particular innovation (innovation-specific capacities), and the motivation to implement the innovation. In this article, we describe how we used the for assessing, prioritizing, and improving readiness and , a systematic process for planning implementation strategies, to build organizational readiness for implementation of sexual assault prevention evidence-based interventions (EBIs).

Moving from Needs Assessment to Intervention: Fathers' Perspectives on Their Needs and Support for Talk with Teens about Sex.

Talk with fathers about sex and relationships can support teens' health, but its impact is limited as few fathers talk with their teens about sexual issues. Needs assessment and fathers' input on intervention content and structure can guide the development of programs that support fathers' health-promoting talk with their teen children about sex and relationships. In the present study, we explored fathers' goals in their talk with teens about sex and relationships and barriers they perceive to these conversations, as well as what they would look for in an intervention program.

Communication Preferences and Satisfaction of Secure Messaging Among Patients and Providers in the Military Healthcare System.

Introduction: Use of electronic secure messaging (SM) is rapidly growing in various healthcare settings. However, there is a large number of patients that choose not use SM or use it minimally. Thus, understanding preferences for patient-provider communication modalities is critically important, particularly among military healthcare beneficiaries.

Using Intervention Mapping for Program Design and Production of : An Online Decision Support System to Increase Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance of Evidence-Based Sexual Health Programs.

In Texas and across the United States, unintended pregnancy, HIV, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among adolescents remain serious public health issues. Sexual risk-taking behaviors, including early sexual initiation, contribute to these public health problems. Over 35 sexual health evidence-based programs (EBPs) have been shown to reduce sexual risk behaviors and/or prevent teen pregnancies or STIs.

Building academic-military research collaborations to improve the health of service members.

Background: Academic-military research collaborations are desirable for many reasons; however, little guidance in the literature exists to help researchers understand collaboration requirements.

Purpose: To describe the process for establishing academic-military research collaborations.

Method: Specific collaboration requirements researchers must be aware of are outlined, two case studies are provided, and opportunities for and challenges with collaborations are discussed.

iCHAMPSS: Usability and Psychosocial Impact for Increasing Implementation of Sexual Health Education.

Introduction: Diffusion of sexual health evidence-based programs (EBPs) in schools is a complex and challenging process. iCHAMPSS ( CHoosing And Maintaining effective Programs for Sex education in Schools) is an innovative theory- and Web-based decision support system that may help facilitate this process. The purpose of this study was to pilot-test iCHAMPSS for usability and short-term psychosocial impact.

The Context of Sexual Decisions and Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Factors Related to Sexual Initiation Among Female Military-Dependent Youth.

Despite the sizable population of military-dependent youth (MDY) in the United States and the military stressors they experience (e.g., relocations, parental deployment), little is known about MDY's sexual behavior, especially about the perceived role that military stressors play in their sexual decisions, such as the decision to initiate sex.

Associations between parental deployment, relocation, and risky sexual behaviors among a clinic-based sample of military-dependent youth.

Although sexual behaviors have been extensively studied among youth in general, they have been relatively understudied among military-dependent youth (MDY). Furthermore, the impact of unique military stressors, such as parental deployment and multiple relocations, on the sexual behaviors of MDY has not been assessed. In this pilot study, we estimated the prevalence of sexual behaviors among MDY, and examined the association between these behaviors and parental deployment and multiple relocations.