Background: Substance use in minoritized youth is associated with negative long-term health and life outcomes. The present study explores perspectives of school stakeholders at urban minority-serving schools regarding integration of an evidence-based intervention, screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) into existing…

LGBTQ-supportive youth programs provide access to critical resources and social support in identity-affirming environments. In Chicago, Illinois, an informal network of LGTBQ-supportive youth programs in the city's white, middle-class, gay enclave, Boystown, draws predominately low-income youth of color from across the city who seek emergency…

Background: It has been widely accepted that Sports-based Youth Development (SBYD) programs are potentially ideal contexts to develop children socially and emotionally. However, there is a limited empirical examination on how validated models-based practices could be harnessed in SBYD programs to promote children's social and emotional…

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), the nation's first federal nutrition education program for low-income families and youths, remains at the forefront of providing nutrition education to improve the lives of historically underserved populations. EFNEP contributes to food and nutrition security as program families and youths…

Research Findings: In this study, we examined the short- and long-term effects of Reading Express, a home-visiting intervention in which volunteers encourage low socio-economic status and ethnic minority parents to engage in interactive shared reading with their child. Outcomes of a quasi-experiment involving 176 children in the Netherlands (mean…

A 2014 report on global human capital trends found that many employers across the United States had difficulties maintaining a skilled and committed workforce. Yet unemployment among young people ages 16 to 29 years was well above the overall unemployment rate. In 2016, 8.2 percent of this group were unemployed, while the national average was 4.9…

Background: Summer camp is an experiential learning setting that supports youth development. Due to high fees, youth from low-income backgrounds often have fewer opportunities to attend. Subsequently, there is little literature about these youth's camp experiences. Purpose: This research examined growth and the characteristics supporting growth in…

In many countries, opportunities for higher education are reduced for some under-represented groups in society. One such group are young women from rural and underdeveloped areas who due to traditional, patriarchal lifestyles have much less chance to go to college and get education that their peers from urban areas have much more access to. Online…

Nutrition insecurity, reflected by poor nutrition, limited physical activity, unsafe food practices, and food insecurity, is a significant national health concern. Poor health disproportionately affects minority and low-income populations. The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is the nation's first nutrition education program…

Diverse backgrounds, viewpoints and experiences in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) are vital for innovation and creativity in STEM; and yet, racially minoritized groups, such as African Americans and Hispanics, remain underrepresented in the STEM K-12 and career pipeline. Studies show that exposure and access to STEM experiences…

African Americans (AAs) have higher prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension than Whites, which leads to reduced life expectancy. Barriers to achieving blood pressure control in AAs include mistrust of healthcare and poor adherence to medication and dietary recommendations. We conducted a pilot study of a church-based community health worker (CHW)…

This brief summarizes the published Cochrane Review, "Healthy Eating Interventions Delivered in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings for Improving the Diet of Children Aged Six Months to Six Years," by S. L. Yoong, M. Lum, L. Wolfenden, J. Jackson, C. Barnes, A. E. Hall, S. McCrabb, N. Pearson, C. Lane, J. Z. Jones, E. Nolan, L.…

Fifty years after he wrote "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" (1970), Brazilian educator Paulo Freire's work is as relevant as ever. But while many of Freire's ideas are well known in the United States, there is limited research on their application in social movement settings, a practice commonly known as "popular education". This…

Systems navigation can be difficult, especially for low-resourced families (i.e., families who are "low income" or meet one of the following indicators: mother has a high school diploma or less; primary caregiver is unemployed; or the family receives governmental assistance). Navigators may help families access services; however, the…

The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a comprehensive intervention program (including PA and RAN interventions) on improving early literacy skills in preschoolers from low socioeconomic backgrounds while exploring participant perspectives. The experimental group showed significant improvements in PA, RAN-object, and RAN-color performance…