Focus Area News Post

Filling the Gaps in High School Sex Education in the United States

Elizabeth Porter2024-01-19T20:24:30+00:00

January 18, 2024, Durham, NC – Providing high-quality, comprehensive sex education to high school students is an important part of supporting healthy sexual development and decision-making in adolescents. During adolescence, youth often begin or continue forming beliefs about sex and relationships, making decisions about their own sexual health and romantic relationships, and developing a healthy sexuality. When equipped with high-quality sexual health resources and knowledge, high school students may be able to make healthier decisions and form healthy beliefs about their sexual health. Research has shown that comprehensive school-based sex education may reduce teenage pregnancy rates and increase safe sex behaviors [...]

Filling the Gaps in High School Sex Education in the United StatesElizabeth Porter2024-01-19T20:24:30+00:00

Addressing the Nationwide Addiction Crisis with Media Literacy Education, Mentoring, Mindfulness, and More

Elizabeth Porter2024-01-21T01:00:53+00:00

January 17, 2024, Durham, NC – The federal government and medical facilities across the United States have made substantial efforts to impede growth of the national opioid crisis, but trends in substance use have evolved in recent years making it increasingly difficult to thwart the addiction crisis. Updates on the decades-long opioid epidemic and prevention efforts have consistently made headlines as millions of Americans have faced opioid use disorders in the last three years. However, as rates of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl use continue to climb, it is vital to spread awareness of the pervasiveness of polysubstance use, in addition to [...]

Addressing the Nationwide Addiction Crisis with Media Literacy Education, Mentoring, Mindfulness, and MoreElizabeth Porter2024-01-21T01:00:53+00:00

iRT Research Scientist to Present at SAMHSA’s 20th Prevention Day Gathering

Elizabeth Porter2024-01-19T20:18:14+00:00

December 20, 2023, Durham, NC – iRT Research Scientist Dr. Rebecca Stelter will present at SAMHSA’s 20th Prevention Day gathering at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland on January 29, 2024. SAMHSA’s Prevention Day is the largest annual, national event dedicated to advancing substance misuse prevention. The 20th annual Prevention Day will take place in conjunction with CADCA’s National Leadership Forum and will provide opportunities for substance use prevention professionals, researchers, and advocates to share current developments and discuss future research and innovations in substance misuse prevention. Dr. Stelter will lead a live session entitled Sober lives, [...]

iRT Research Scientist to Present at SAMHSA’s 20th Prevention Day GatheringElizabeth Porter2024-01-19T20:18:14+00:00

Use the Drugged Driving Essentials Training to Learn About and Prevent Drug-Impaired Driving

Elizabeth Porter2023-12-20T20:27:32+00:00

December 20, 2023, Durham, NC – Many drivers are aware of the dangers of and steps to prevent alcohol-impaired driving due to having completed driver education courses and having been exposed to many public awareness campaigns designed to raise awareness about the risks of drunk driving. However, fewer drivers have received information about the risks of drug-impaired driving, and prevention professionals have reported significant gaps in drugged driving education. The lack of drugged driving training resources for general audiences may contribute to dangerous misconceptions about drugged driving and impact drivers’ decisions related to driving under the influence of drugs. Recent research [...]

Use the Drugged Driving Essentials Training to Learn About and Prevent Drug-Impaired DrivingElizabeth Porter2023-12-20T20:27:32+00:00

Online Training to Help Prevention Professionals Plan Drugged Driving Intervention Strategies

Elizabeth Porter2023-12-20T19:50:39+00:00

December 20, 2023, Durham, NC – Prevention professionals have vital responsibilities to plan and implement interventions to combat the risks of impaired driving and promote public health and safety. Many guides, toolkits, and resources exist to help prevention professionals plan and implement effective strategies to prevent drunk driving; however, prevention professionals are still in need of resources to guide their prevention efforts related to drug-impaired driving. A recent study with prevention professionals from across the U.S. working in areas of substance use prevention and highway safety found that prevention professionals don’t feel confident about implementing interventions to prevent drugged driving in [...]

Online Training to Help Prevention Professionals Plan Drugged Driving Intervention StrategiesElizabeth Porter2023-12-20T19:50:39+00:00

Plan My Ride Receives a LearnX Award for Best Accessibility

Elizabeth Porter2023-12-20T18:43:38+00:00

December 20, 2023, Durham, NC – iRT is pleased to announce that it received the 2023 Diamond Award from LearnX® for Best Accessibility in the Best eLearning Design category for the Plan My Ride eLearning course. The annual, international LearnX® Awards program recognizes the most innovative projects and technology solutions of the year that drive and support learning and talent development. Projects that receive a LearnX® Award have been carefully assessed through a quality-driven process and are awarded for the value they bring to enterprises of various structures and sizes. The Plan My Ride course received a Diamond Award, the second [...]

Plan My Ride Receives a LearnX Award for Best AccessibilityElizabeth Porter2023-12-20T18:43:38+00:00

iRT Researchers Present Findings from iRT’s Sexual Health and Media Literacy Education Research

Elizabeth Porter2023-12-19T19:55:34+00:00

December 19, 2023, Durham, NC – iRT Research Scientists Drs. Christina Dodson and Reina Evans-Paulson presented at The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality’s (SSSS) conference last month in New Orleans, Louisiana to discuss some of iRT’s research related to sexual health and media literacy education. Every year, SSSS hosts sexual health researchers and professionals interested in the sexual sciences to discuss recent research and issues related to sexuality and sexual health. Examining Resources to Address Sexual Health at Community Colleges At this year’s conference, Dr. Dodson gave an oral presentation entitled A Qualitative Study Examining Resources to Address Sexual [...]

iRT Researchers Present Findings from iRT’s Sexual Health and Media Literacy Education ResearchElizabeth Porter2023-12-19T19:55:34+00:00

iRT Researcher Contributes to the Development of a Guide for Youth Seeking Mentoring Relationships

Elizabeth Porter2023-11-29T21:39:09+00:00

November 29, 2023, Durham, NC - iRT Research Scientist Dr. Rebecca Stelter joined a working group with other researchers from the National Mentoring Resource Center (NMRC) Research Board to develop a youth-informed guide for young people seeking or entering a mentoring relationship. The guide is now freely available on the NMRC website. Impactful mentoring relationships involve informed participation from both mentors and mentees, as well as support from mentoring program staff and parents. Mentees must feel equally equipped for the mentoring relationship as their mentor, be informed about their role as a mentee, and learn appropriate expectations for the mentoring relationship [...]

iRT Researcher Contributes to the Development of a Guide for Youth Seeking Mentoring RelationshipsElizabeth Porter2023-11-29T21:39:09+00:00

A Guide to Finding Evidence-Based and Research-Informed Training Programs for Mentoring

Elizabeth Porter2023-11-30T20:20:49+00:00

November 28, 2023, Durham, NC – Implementing high quality training is an integral step in the process of building and maintaining a successful mentoring program. Research has shown that mentor training programs that prepare mentors to establish a meaningful connection with their mentee may directly impact mentee outcomes, volunteer retention, and mentors’ feelings of satisfaction and self-efficacy as a mentor. Training mentees about what a mentoring relationship is, what they can expect from their match meetings, and how they can benefit from mentoring may ease their anxiety and uncertainty about entering a relationship with a mentor, and therefore yield more positive [...]

A Guide to Finding Evidence-Based and Research-Informed Training Programs for MentoringElizabeth Porter2023-11-30T20:20:49+00:00

iRT Publishes Chapter in Media Literacy and Media Education Research Methods: A Handbook

Elizabeth Porter2023-11-18T02:57:02+00:00

November 17, 2023, Durham, NC – In an increasingly digital world, youth and adults are consistently exposed to a barrage of media messages. Some media messages include false or misleading information that may have a powerful influence on the beliefs and behaviors of consumers, particularly youth and young adults. Media literacy education is a growing, promising approach to helping youth and young adults become more active, rather than passive, consumers of media, so they can protect themselves from the potentially harmful impacts of exposure to misleading media messages on their beliefs and behaviors. Many media literacy education-based programs, such as those [...]

iRT Publishes Chapter in Media Literacy and Media Education Research Methods: A HandbookElizabeth Porter2023-11-18T02:57:02+00:00