Policy Development

A United Response in the Caribbean

A first-of-its-kind network in the Caribbean is uniting HIV and AIDS coordinators to use education to prevent HIV and AIDS, teach the public about how HIV is transmitted, and empower schools to be inclusive learning and working environments.

WHO Global AIDS Project (GAP)

HHD/EDC is working closely with Education International, a federation of teacher unions, and WHO to help teacher unions in Haiti and 11 African countries conduct an HIV/AIDS prevention program. The project’s objectives are to help teachers protect themselves from HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs); advocate for school-based HIV prevention programs and policies; and use skills-based health education in the classroom to prevent HIV/AIDS and other STIs among students.

WHO Rapid Assessment and Action Planning Process (RAAPP)

In the 1990s, HHD, together with World Health Organization (WHO), developed the Rapid Assessment and Action Planning Process (RAAPP) for School Health, an approach and package of tools—research instruments, training strategies, data analysis, and action planning techniques—to assess and strengthen a country’s capacity to deliver school health programs. Since 1999, RAAPP has been used in Indonesia, Nigeria, and, most recently, in India.

Campus-Level Costs of Tobacco Use

In recent years, as tobacco use rates among teens and adults have dropped or remained stable, tobacco use among college students has risen. To combat this disturbing trend, some institutions of higher education have implemented policies to restrict smoking on campuses. This project aims to encourage more institutions to take such actions by identifying costs savings and other benefits that colleges can realize by implementing strong tobacco control measures.

Healing the Body, Healing the Mind

As military personnel return from Iraq and Afghanistan, health care professionals are providing treatment not only for their physical injuries but also for psychological trauma. Employing face-to-face training and video and Web-based materials, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), working with EDC, has trained 900 clinicians to use Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), an intensive immersion method for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

A Tireless Advocate

Larry Lewis rarely appears in the limelight. Sometimes he gets written up in a local Michigan newspaper, but he certainly doesn’t seek it out. Ask him about his work, and he’ll tell you that the truly inspiring work is being done by his wife, who has been a clinician for as long as he’s been a community organizer. Try to steer him back to his work, and he names everyone on his team and describes them all as indispensable.

5 Steps to a Safer Campus

In the wake of the Virginia Tech shooting, five steps to maintain the health and safety of college students are offered.

Assisting Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress

A promising new treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) will be used nationally, thanks to an EDC team that collaborated with researchers from the U.S. Veterans Administration on a program to train mental health clinicians in its use.