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Adverse Childhood Experiences are highly associated with the development of sexually transmitted infections (Felitti, 1998). People who have experienced just one ACE have a 1.4 odds ratio of having an STI in their lifetime. Whereas those who have 4 or more ACEs have a 2.5 odds ratio (Felitti, 1998). The state of Georgia is not legally required to teach medically accurate sexual health education. In essence, compounding the existing problem of their high HIV incidence. This intervention aims...

Abstract Type 2 diabetes and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can lead to negative health outcomes. Therefore, a trauma-informed approach in low socioeconomic communities is proposed as a solution to combat these concerns. This prevention program will be considered to be a secondary prevention public health focus and it aims to reduce the impact of ACEs as the potential cause for development of type 2 diabetes, especially in young African-American adolescents in low socioeconomic...

Abstract Mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders in children present numerous complications that can extend into adulthood. The current standard of care uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and/or medication (Ogundele, 2018). Research suggests that utilization of canine-assisted therapy (CAT) may have profound effects on behavior (Schuck, 2015). The current study uses a trauma-informed approach to compare the effectiveness of CBT alone, or in combination with CAT, in school-aged...

The University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions partnered with Peace4Tarpon under the Robert Wood Johnson Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC) grant. Together they created 2 online graduate courses that focus on addressing ACEs and creating trauma-informed and resilience-based programs from a public health approach. Peace4Gainesville and Peace4 TheBigBend have also contributed to these courses. This post is intended to showcase some of the work of the...

A connection between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and opioid misuse has been established in recent years. Palm Beach County ranks first in Florida for opioid overdose deaths and non-fatal overdoses(Florida Charts, 2017). This intervention sets out to inform the members of this community who have experienced ACEs of the connection between ACEs and opioid misuse. In person counseling sessions and an online education course have been developed to not only help with the healing of past...

My grant proposal topic was to implement the Miss Kendra program in 10 of Alachua County, Florida’s elementary schools. Miss Kendra's program is engages students in direct discussions of sensitive subjects involved in ACEs. It aims to provide open classroom discussions where children can learn that they can find the help they need when they talk about their experiences. By sharing their burdens and worries, communication skills are strengthened early before they need to communicated through...

Abstract: Having a parent with mental illness increases a child’s likelihood of developing mental health disorders later in life (Afifi, 2008). Studies have found that mothers with mental health conditions are more likely to have children who experience behavioral difficulties (Whitaker, 2006). More specifically, observing a parent with mental illness can affect a child’s ability to manage their emotions and handle stress. In this intervention, we will be targeting children 4-18 within...

The fourth week of the 6-week "Warriors of Hope" event will continue this Sunday night at 8 pm Central Time on "Breaking the Silence with Dr. Gregory Williams" radio program. This 6-week event features six very special guests that will offer their insight on the power of HOPE in their lives and provide encouragement, wisdom and insight on the need for resilience in lives today. This series has resulted in praise from around the world from the listeners that have tuned in. This week's guest...

Summary There are four common co-occurring issues—parental substance abuse, parental mental illness, domestic violence, and child conduct problems—that are related to parenting and that lead to child maltreatment (Barth, 2009). Understanding and responding to these issues is vital for our parental education programming goals of preventing abuse and other forms of maltreatment. My program will be focusing its efforts in low-income communities where resources for parents may not be readily...

This trauma-informed, culturally sensitive HIV intervention will focus on the diverse subset of the men who have sex with men (MSM) community who have experienced at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE). Current data suggests exposure to ACEs increases a person’s risk to contracting HIV; as such, our program will be based in resilience. Through education, peer mentoring, motivational interviewing, and therapy sessions, we will guide our participants toward safer sex practices. These...

African American women in Alachua County are experiencing higher rates of poor birth outcomes than their white counterparts (FLHealthCharts, 2018). This is, in spite of the fact that women from both races have clinically similar starts to their pregnancies (FLHealthCharts, 2018). Trauma, experienced in the form of toxic stress from environmental and social variables, is the key difference between these women (Sandoval, 2018). My grant proposal looks to reduce the amount of stress a black...

Grant Proposal Summary: This program will target patients receiving care through the county free clinic who meet the diagnostic criteria for Syndrome X and who are identified during initial intake or subsequent visits as having experienced one or more adverse childhood events defined by UNICEF (2019, p. 5) and Minnesota Department of Health (2019, para 2) as “a traumatic experience in a person’s life occurring before the age of 18 that the person remembers as an adult.” Each patient...