Making a Difference

1. Making a Difference Engaging Youth in Health Promotion Jolie Person HSR1 – Canyon

2. Learner Centered Objectives • Participants will explain the benefit of Adult-Youth partnerships. • Participants will discuss the effectiveness of Youth Peer-to-Peer Teaching. • Participants will describe three approaches adults should incorporate to support the successful engagement of youth.

3. Video: Behind Closed Doors

4. What is Peer Education? Peer education generally has meant that professionals – whether educators, program managers, health care providers, youth development specialists, or others – have decided to affect a target population by harnessing the potential power of its peers. [Shiner, 1999]

5. Effectiveness • Extensive research, published in the last two decades, has shown definitely and beyond question that peer programs can have statistically significant effects on attitudes, norms, knowledge, behaviors, and health and achievement outcomes. More: Advocates for Youth

6. The Cone of Learning

7. Youth Today The ABC of XYZ by Mark McCrindle

8. Youth Today

9. Youth Today - Builders VALUES Saving, Patriotism, Loyalty, Commitment ATTITUDES Black and white, Right and wrong, Don’t question authority figures, Don’t buy something until you have the money to pay for it LIFESTYLE Experienced hardship in early years and prosperity in later years, Saved first and bought later PERSONALITY Distrust of change, stoic, reserved, pragmatic

10. Youth Today - Boomers VALUES Work Ethic, Questioning, Participation, Enthusiasm for causes, Individualism ATTITUDES Free education, free love and free (easy) divorce; If you are unhappy in a relationship, exit it; Organize live around work not work around life; Work your way to the top LIFESTYLE Working longer and retiring later; Consumption and lifestyle take precedence; Many downsizing to release capital PERSONALITY Experimental; Idealistic; Hard working; Visionary; Self Centered; Materialistic

11. Youth Today – Gen X’ers VALUES Work-life balance, Independence; Family before work ATTITUDES Nothing is permanent and Nothing is absolute; Trust no one, especially governments and employers; Seek the Truth; Whatever LIFESTYLE Married in their late 20’s and early 30’s; Mortgage stress; In considerable debt; Living above their means PERSONALITY Reactive; Pessimistic; Innovative; Skeptical; Adaptable; Well grounded.

12. Youth Today – Gen Y’ers VALUES Fun & enjoyment; Tolerance of diversity; Social awareness; Friendship ATTITUDES Outcomes not processes; Enjoy the now; Organize work around life, not life around work; Why should I have to work my way to the top; Regarding respecting others “Whatever, Prove it!” LIFESTYLE Short term, Enjoyment before commitment; 75% are in debt; Juggling hectic work and social life; Friends are the new family PERSONALITY Confident; Cynical; Assertive; Demanding; Sociable; Optimistic; Values Driven

13. Youth Today – Gen Z’ers VALUES - ATTITUDES – LIFESTYLE – PERSONALITY Empowered Task-focused More options than ever Most educated and provided-for generation Mature beyond their years Sophisticated Serious

14. Why Youth Involvement? • Youth provide insight into the teen audience • Youth are credible influencers – teachers, mentors, role models to their peers • Youth-to-youth is most effective way to communicate our message • Youth bring energy and enthusiasm • Youth can infiltrate youth culture • Programs are youth-focused

15. Transitions in Youth Engagement From CDC Best Practices in Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs User Guide. Youth Engagement: State and Community Interventions Category

16. Transitions in Youth Engagement From CDC Best Practices in Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs User Guide. Youth Engagement: State and Community Interventions Category

17. Challenges • Not always reliable • Do not always fulfill commitments • Sometimes don’t deliver a complete effort • Don’t always recognize our point of view • Reluctant to accept our direction, guidance • Sometimes show lack of caring • Difficult to reach, communicate with

18. In Depth… • 1. Students Teaching AIDS to Youth • 2. Peer Provider Reproductive Health Service • Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) • Impact Futures Drug Free Community Coalition

19. 1. Students Teaching AIDS to Youth (STAY) • Current information about HIV/AIDS • The importance of sexual abstinence in adolescent relationships • Refusal skills, negotiation skills and peer resistance skills related to sexual health • Transmission and methods of prevention for sexually transmitted disease (STD) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) • Risk behaviors and situations involving possible exposure to HIV • The relationships between injecting drug use (IDU) and contact with contaminated blood products and the transmission of HIV • Evaluation of artificial means of birth control in preventing the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases

20. 2. Peer Provider Reproductive Health Service Program Goals: To improve adolescents’ clinic utilization and to decrease risky sexual behaviors Program Components: 1) Prior to medical services, intake session from peer providers focusing on: a) the reason for the visit; b) what to expect during a physical exam; c) importance of using condoms to prevent STIs; d) condom use demonstration; and e) answers to clients’ questions; 2) follow-up telephone calls to each female client; 3) two-person teams providing group outreach to adolescents in schools and to male youth in community settings; and 4) where possible, separate teen entrance, waiting room and counseling rooms or, if necessary, designated hours for peer providers to use adult spaces Findings: Increased use of contraception, Increased use of health care, Reduced incidence of pregnancy.

21. 3. Students Working Against Tobacco

22. 3. Students Working Against Tobacco MISSION To Empower and Unite Youth to Resist and Expose Big Tobacco’s Lies while Changing Current Attitudes about Tobacco. PROCESS Youth Empowerment is the process by which SWAT youth become active participants in the planning and implementation of activities within their state and local communities. FINDINGS Changes in attitudes and beliefs, as well as an increase of knowledge, skills and confidence to encourage change among others. PURPOSE To raise awareness about tobacco industry marketing practices that target youth as replacement smokers. To provide youth with opportunities for “real-life” learning experiences through mentoring, training, community assessment, and grassroots activism.

23. Peer Led Education - Tar Wars Tar Wars is a tobacco-free education program for 4th & 5th grade students. • Consists of a pre-activity exercise, a 1-hour classroom presentation (conducted by SWAT youth), and a follow-up poster contest More: www.tarwars.org

24. Peer Led Education - Tar Wars

25. Operation Storefront / Tobacco Teardown Youth teams inspect local stores (inside & outside) to document tobacco product placement and marketing. Helps to identify if tobacco is placed to attract children, invite shoplifters, and to see if certain brands are more available (targeted) in low income neighborhoods.

26. Operation Storefront / Tobacco Teardown Tobacco Teardown involves youth working with the store owner to remove tobacco advertising and ‘beautifying’ the establishment.

27. Policy Change • 24/7 Tobacco Free School Policy • Smoke Free Parks

28. Reward Reminder Visits Reward Reminder Visits are supervised visits that involve sending adults and minors into a community in an attempt to educate tobacco retailers about federal and state statutes concerning youth access to tobacco.

29. 1200 Lives are lost to tobacco each day in the United States

30. Youth Engagement

31. Youth Engagement

32. 4. Impact Futures

33. Video Spot: Sticker Shock - Impact Teens

34. Building Partnerships with Youth • Motivation(getting youth to be involved and excited about the opportunity to be involved with your program) • Capacity(giving youth tools & skills to take action) • Opportunity(showing youth how to apply their skills to real life situations)

35. Structured for Success • Empower us by helping us learn how to make decisions. Don’t make all the decisions for us. • Recognize our need for teens to educate other teens on the real problems and real issues. • Give us resources for our members so we can work and bring awareness to our communities. • Encourage us to be innovative and help us to become activists through empowerment, knowledge and skill building.

36. Structured for Success • Be positive mentors • Help us create partnerships among communities, schools, youth, organizations, health organizations, and government • Recognize our cultural diversity and maintain respect for our cultural traditions • Recognize individual and community rights to make their own decisions • Recognize the need and be prepared to help us move as conditions change

37. Lessons Learned • Members like to do more than just talk. • Conduct activities on a regular basis and let others know about them. • Plan, Plan, Plan and give yourself plenty of time. • Assign a task with a deadline to each person on the team. • The more a member is involved, the more ownership they will have. • Written action plans are especially helpful.

38. Just a few ideas to involve youth… • Campaigns: Traffic Safety Month, “Not texting and driving”, Immunization campaign, Heat stroke/sunburn/water safety campaigns • Youth contest created by youth (poster, video, social media) - have youth select winners • Have youth create an injury prevention presentation • Healthy recipe development for families to reduce childhood obesity • Health and safety education for parents or staff • Educate Head Start staff on road safety • Create flyers or handouts for participants • Bulletin boards • Evaluation (Parent pickup lane at Elementary School, city intersection, ) • Mentoring Program • Advisory Council • Have youth speak to County Commissioners and County Judges about policy change • Conduct needs assessment • Education children in after school programs

39. Helpful Resources • www.NOYS.org • www.ChildrensSafetyNetwork.org • www.fcclainc.org • www.bacchusnetwork.org • www.advocatesforyouth.org • www.sadd.com • www.advocatesforyouth(working with youth > peer education)

40. Thank you! Jolie Person Texas Department of State Health Services Health Service Region 1 Maternal and Child Health Program Canyon, Texas jolie.person@dshs.state.tx.us 806-477-1138