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Objectives: Nationally, community colleges provide academic instruction to 5.6 million students annually. However, sexual health services, are often lacking. This pilot study was developed to assess the feasibility of implementing screening for sexually transmitted infections in community college settings in New York City where approximately 86,075 students attend classes. Methods: We recruited and trained an interdisciplinary group of graduate students (public health, nursing, and post-baccalaureate/pre-med) to provide sexual health risk assessments, screening for sexually transmitted infections, and linkages to care at three community college campuses in New York City. Results: Over a three-year period (2017–2019), 545 students were screened for STIs and 7.2% were positive for Chlamydia. Conclusions: Community college students are at high risk for sexually transmitted infections yet have limited access to sexual health services. Coordinated partnerships between state and local departments of health, public health schools, and an academic medical center demonstrate an important model which can fill identified gaps for this vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People with opioid use disorder (OUD) are frequently in contact with the court system and have markedly higher rates of fatal opioid overdose. Opioid intervention courts (OIC) were developed to address increasing rates of opioid overdose among court defendants by engaging court staff in identification of treatment need and referral for opioid-related services and building collaborations between the court and OUD treatment systems. The study goal was to understand implementation barriers and facilitators in referring and engaging OIC clients in OUD treatment. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with OIC stakeholders (n = 46) in 10 New York counties in the United States, including court coordinators, court case managers, and substance use disorder treatment clinic counselors, administrators, and peers. Interviews were recorded and transcribed and thematic analysis was conducted, guided by the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework, employing both inductive and deductive coding. Results: Results were conceptualized using EPIS inner (i.e., courts) and outer (i.e., OUD treatment providers) implementation contexts and bridging factors that impacted referral and engagement to OUD treatment from the OIC. Inner factors that facilitated OIC implementation included OIC philosophy (e.g., non-punitive, access-oriented), court organizational structure (e.g., strong court staff connectedness), and OIC court staff and client characteristics (e.g., positive medications for OUD [MOUD] attitudes). The latter two also served as barriers (e.g., lack of formalized procedures; stigma toward MOUD). Two outer context entities impacted OIC implementation as both barriers and facilitators: substance use disorder treatment programs (e.g., attitudes toward the OIC and MOUD; operational characteristics) and community environments (e.g., attitudes toward the opioid epidemic). The COVID-19 pandemic and bail reform were macro-outer context factors that negatively impacted OIC implementation. Facilitating bridging factors included staffing practices that bridged court and treatment systems (e.g., peers); barriers included communication and cultural differences between systems (e.g., differing expectations about OIC client success). Conclusions: This study identified key barriers and facilitators that OICs may consider as this model expands in the United States. Referral to and engagement in OUD treatment within the OIC context requires ongoing efforts to bridge the treatment and court systems, and reduce stigma around MOUD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Schools have long been recognized as an excellent place to offer health education and supportive services. Teachers are among the most important influences in the lives of school-aged children and can provide valuable insight into the health issues important to adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential role general academic teachers may play in facilitating adolescent health promotion efforts. Methods: To determine what teachers think about the role of health promotion in schools and what tools and topics they would find most helpful as critical advisers to students, we administered a 28-question survey at staff development meetings in 4 New York City schools. Results: Teachers agreed that schools were an important venue for discussing and providing health messages. More than half of those surveyed reported having overheard student discussions about health once a week or more, and 70% stated that they had been actively approached by students 1-3 or more times per semester with reports of personal problems or health issues. Teachers expressed concern about their ability to handle student mental, behavioral, and reproductive health problems and desired additional staff development workshops to address these needs. Conclusions: Teachers felt that schools were important places to promote dialogue about health and accept the importance of playing a broader role in the lives of youth beyond education. To enhance the prospect of health-promoting interactions between teachers and students, attention must be paid to developing the overall skill and comfort level of teachers with respect to adolescent health concerns. (Contains 4 tables.)

Objectives. We evaluated the effectiveness of an intervention designed to increase preventive health care seeking among adolescents. Methods. Adolescents and young adults aged 12 to 21 years, recruited from community-based organizations in 2 different communities, were randomized into either a 3-session intervention or a control condition. We estimated outcomes from 3-month follow-up data using logistic and ordinary least squares regression. Results. Female intervention participants were significantly more likely than female control participants to have scheduled a health care appointment (odds ratio [OR]=3.04), undergone a checkup (OR=2.87), and discussed with friends or family members the importance of undergoing a checkup (OR=4.5). There were no differences between male intervention and male control participants in terms of outcomes. Conclusions. This theory-driven, community-based group intervention significantly increased preventive health care seeking among female adolescents. Further research is needed, however, to identify interventions that will produce successful outcomes among male adolescents. (Am J Public Health. 2005;95:331-337. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2003.028357)

Over the past three decades, the influence and importance of social support has been well documented and the findings have suggested a beneficial effect on stress-related situations, mental and physical health, and social functioning. More recently, small group/skills training behavioral interventions have demonstrated success in changing behaviors which affect the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV among populations at risk for these diseases. Studies of support groups to date have been conducted exclusively in research settings where women are offered financial incentives for participation. Little is known about the willingness of women to participate in ongoing support groups after successfully completing a skills training intervention. The present study examines the factors that may influence participation among women in a weekly support group after completing a structured, six session HIV/STD intervention. Both quantitative and qualitative data are collected from 265 women in the intervention arm of a multi-site randomized controlled behavioral intervention trial. Results reveal that less than a quarter (22%) of women participated in at least one support group. Participation varied significantly by site, ranging from 34% to 15% (p = .008). Participation was also strongly linked to recent use of domestic violence services. Qualitative data indicated that although monetary incentives play some role in the woman's decision to participate, other factors are also important. These include program outreach, support group size, salience of the group content, consistency of group leadership from the intervention to the support group, and use of peer leaders along with professional facilitators. Implications for design of post-intervention support groups programs are discussed. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: getinfo@haworthpressinc.com ] KEYWORDS. Support group, behavioral intervention, HIV, STD, women