The Johns Hopkins Center for Adolescent Health (CAH), a collaboration of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, divisions of Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Baltimore City and State agencies, service providers, and other stakeholders - including youth, envisions adolescents with skills to: cope with adversity, avoid problem behaviors and form and sustain healthy relationships.
Our specific aims are to: (1) work with community partners and stakeholders to continue the development of CAH as a multi- disciplinary research center conducting high-quality applied prevention research in partnership with community constituencies; (2) improve public health practice affecting adolescents in Baltimore, through that applied research; (3) apply and increase the knowledge and expertise of JHU and partners to address practical adolescent public health problems in Baltimore; (4) design, implement, evaluate, and disseminate cost-effective methods and strategies for promoting adolescent health; (5) shorten the time lag between the development of new and proven effective prevention strategies and their widespread application; and (6) involve the Baltimore City Health Department, City Schools, and partners in the development, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of our Applied Research Project to reduce the involvement of students in multiple health risk behaviors including substance use, violence and sexual risk-taking; and to improve academic outcomes.
These aims will be accomplished through Center Cores and the support of the Community Advisory, Youth Advisory and Academic Advisory Boards and three Citywide Adolescent Health Stakeholder Networks: 1) Youth Advocacy and Leadership, 2) Service Providers, and 3) Policy Makers and Funders. We also propose to facilitate the learning and sharing of effective strategies among federal, state, and local policy makers and stakeholders by convening substantive Connecting the Dots meetings. Through a school- based randomized trial and Citywide monitoring our Applied Research Project focusing on Public Health Practices will expand an evidence-based program, LifeSkills Training (LST), in grades 6-8; 2) Integrate existing sexual risk behaviors prevention modules to supplement grade 7 and 8 LST; 3) Integrate school climate, health, and health risks behavior monitoring by City Schools; 4) Evaluate the impact of LST and LST+ on adolescent health and school outcomes; and 5) Identify school and community factors that moderate the intervention outcomes. CAH addresses the priorities of CDC including the winnable battles of teen pregnancy and tobacco and related Healthy People 2020 objectives (FP-8 and FP-9; TU 2.2). CAH addresses four priorities in the National Prevention Strategy Preventing Drug Abuse and Excessive Alcohol Use, Injury and Violence-free Living, Reproductive and Sexual Health, and Mental and Emotional Well Being, CAH also addresses the NCCDPHP domains of epidemiology and surveillance.
The Johns Hopkins Center for Adolescent Health (CAH), a collaboration of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, divisions of Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Baltimore City and State agencies, service providers, and other stakeholders - including youth, envisions adolescents with skills to: cope with adversity, avoid problem behaviors and form and sustain healthy relationships.
