Elizabeth Porter, Author at IRT INC

New Research on How the Type of Sex Education Adolescents Receive is Related to Their Health Outcomes in Young Adulthood

Elizabeth Porter2025-04-10T17:39:07+00:00

April 10, 2025, Durham, NC – Providing sex education to adolescents can promote their wellbeing and prevent negative sexual health outcomes. However, the types of sex education that adolescents receive in school, and the sexual health topics they receive education on, vary greatly. For example, some students receive abstinence-only sex education, which emphasizes refraining from sexual activity or waiting until marriage to have sex – and often leaves out important information about topics like condoms/contraception and STI testing. Conversely, some students receive more comprehensive sex education that covers more sexual health topics, such as gender and sexual identity, sexual rights, pleasure, [...]

New Research on How the Type of Sex Education Adolescents Receive is Related to Their Health Outcomes in Young AdulthoodElizabeth Porter2025-04-10T17:39:07+00:00

College Students Find New Sexual Health Education Program Relevant and Engaging

Elizabeth Porter2025-03-28T16:38:26+00:00

March 28, 2025, Durham, NC – In a recent study, nearly 40% of community college students reported that they had not received school-based sex education since the ninth grade.1 Gaps in high-school sex education may put students at risk for negative sexual health outcomes as they enter adulthood. Colleges have the opportunity to fill these gaps and address students’ needs by providing high-quality sexual health resources to their students. Media Aware is an online, evidence-based program that was designed to meet the need for sex education for young adults and to promote sexual and relationship health and prevent sexual violence. Media [...]

College Students Find New Sexual Health Education Program Relevant and EngagingElizabeth Porter2025-03-28T16:38:26+00:00

Promoting Safe Driving in Teens with Plan My Ride: Reinforcing Safe Driving Skills

Elizabeth Porter2025-03-13T21:01:44+00:00

March 13, 2025, Durham, NC – iRT is dedicated to preventing distracted and impaired driving and helping drivers, prevention professionals, and community members protect themselves and others on the road. Plan My Ride is iRT’s interactive, multimedia, eLearning program developed with and for young drivers to teach safe driving skills to prevent distracted and impaired driving. Unlike many other safe driving educational programs, Plan My Ride uses a science-backed and theory-driven approach to change behavior by teaching concrete, practical strategies to avoid impaired and distracted driving, and providing opportunities for young drivers to practice the skills they have learned in 360-degree virtual scenarios. The [...]

Promoting Safe Driving in Teens with Plan My Ride: Reinforcing Safe Driving SkillsElizabeth Porter2025-03-13T21:01:44+00:00

New Research Intern Joins iRT

Elizabeth Porter2025-03-13T20:10:28+00:00

March 10, 2025, Durham, NC – iRT is pleased to welcome Sarah Soson as the newest member of our team of world-renowned researchers and creative professionals. Soson has joined iRT as a research intern to assist iRT in a new grant award focused on training program staff and mentors matched with mentees who have been impacted by substance misuse. Soson is currently a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She joined iRT through the Karen M. Gil Internship [...]

New Research Intern Joins iRTElizabeth Porter2025-03-13T20:10:28+00:00

iRT to Evaluate the Impact of Training Mentors on Youth Impacted by Substance Misuse

Elizabeth Porter2025-02-21T19:34:28+00:00

February 21, 2025, Durham, NC – iRT is excited to announce that it has received funding from the National Institutes of Health to evaluate the impact of a web-based training program on mentors working with mentees who have been impacted by substance misuse. Approximately 14.7% of youth 12 to 17 years old reported using illicit drugs in 2023, and more than 21 million children in the U.S. lived with a parent who misused substances between 2015 and 2019.1,2 Thus, youth can be impacted by substance misuse in more than one way – they may be at risk for misusing substances themselves; [...]

iRT to Evaluate the Impact of Training Mentors on Youth Impacted by Substance MisuseElizabeth Porter2025-02-21T19:34:28+00:00

Promoting Safe Driving in Teens with Plan My Ride: Practicing Avoiding Riding with an Impaired Driver

Elizabeth Porter2025-02-18T16:07:38+00:00

February 18, 2025, Durham, NC – iRT is dedicated to preventing distracted and impaired driving and helping drivers, prevention professionals, and community members protect themselves and others on the road. Plan My Ride is iRT’s interactive, multimedia, eLearning program developed with and for young drivers to teach safe driving skills to prevent distracted and impaired driving. Unlike other safe driving educational programs, Plan My Ride uses a science-backed and theory-driven approach to change behavior by teaching concrete, practical strategies to avoid impaired and distracted driving, and providing opportunities for young drivers to practice the skills they have learned in 360-degree virtual scenarios. The program [...]

Promoting Safe Driving in Teens with Plan My Ride: Practicing Avoiding Riding with an Impaired DriverElizabeth Porter2025-02-18T16:07:38+00:00

Meta-Analysis Uncovers Predictors of Condom Use in Adolescents

Elizabeth Porter2025-02-13T15:04:33+00:00

February 13, 2025, Durham, NC – Condoms are the only prevention method that are effective at both preventing the transmission of STIs and preventing unintended pregnancy. In addition, condoms tend to be more cost-effective and accessible for adolescents than other forms of contraception. Despite the benefits and accessibility of condoms, only 52% of sexually active adolescents in the U.S. report using a condom the last time they had sex. To effectively promote condom use among adolescents, it is important to understand what factors may make adolescents more likely to use condoms. A recent meta-analysis of the adolescent sexual health literature sought [...]

Meta-Analysis Uncovers Predictors of Condom Use in AdolescentsElizabeth Porter2025-02-13T15:04:33+00:00

Promoting Safe Driving in Teens with Plan My Ride: Practicing Avoiding Substance Use and Driving

Elizabeth Porter2025-01-28T19:41:49+00:00

January 28, 2025, Durham, NC – iRT is dedicated to preventing distracted and impaired driving and helping drivers, prevention professionals, and community members protect themselves and others on the road. Plan My Ride is iRT’s interactive, multimedia, eLearning program developed with and for young drivers to teach safe driving skills to prevent distracted and impaired driving. Unlike other safe driving educational programs, Plan My Ride uses a science-backed and theory-driven approach to change behavior by teaching concrete, practical strategies to avoid impaired and distracted driving, and providing opportunities for young drivers to practice the skills they have learned in 360-degree virtual [...]

Promoting Safe Driving in Teens with Plan My Ride: Practicing Avoiding Substance Use and DrivingElizabeth Porter2025-01-28T19:41:49+00:00

iRT Announces Collaboration with the Southeast Prevention Technology Transfer Center

Elizabeth Porter2025-01-28T19:45:58+00:00

January 22, 2025, Durham, NC – iRT is pleased to announce that it has begun a collaboration with the Southeast Prevention Technology Transfer Center (Southeast PTTC) to explore and advance substance misuse prevention efforts in the Southeastern United States. The Southeast PTTC, housed at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, is one of 10 regional centers that are part of the Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) Network (https://pttcnetwork.org/). The network was created to improve the implementation and delivery of evidence-based substance misuse prevention strategies across the nation. Funded by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Southeast PTTC offers [...]

iRT Announces Collaboration with the Southeast Prevention Technology Transfer CenterElizabeth Porter2025-01-28T19:45:58+00:00

Journal of Health Communication Publishes the Impacts of Media Aware on Young Adults’ Sexual Health Cognitions

Elizabeth Porter2025-01-16T16:08:22+00:00

January 16, 2025, Durham, NC – The Journal of Health Communication recently published an article detailing findings from an evaluation of iRT’s media literacy education-based sexual health promotion program called Media Aware. The article, entitled “A Media Literacy Education Approach to Sexual Health Promotion: Immediate Effects of Media Aware on the Sexual Health Cognitions of Young Adult Community College Students,” was authored by iRT Researchers Dr. Tracy Scull, Dr. Christina Dodson, Dr. Janis Kupersmidt, Dr. Reina Evans-Paulson, Dr. Katie Stump, and Liz Reeder. Media Aware is an interactive, web-based program that provides young adults with comprehensive, medically-accurate information about sex and [...]

Journal of Health Communication Publishes the Impacts of Media Aware on Young Adults’ Sexual Health CognitionsElizabeth Porter2025-01-16T16:08:22+00:00

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About Elizabeth Porter