Adolescent Health Communication ECHO - PRC Core Research Project in Action
The HYD-PRC, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), has successfully launched the newly developed ECHO training, "Adolescent Health Communication."
Based on the HYD-PRC developed TALK: Toolkit for Adolescent Care, this ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) training builds adolescent health communication skills and resources for primary care clinicians who live in or serve in rural communities. Housed within the AAP National Rural Adolescent and Child Health (NRACH) ECHO Training Center, this ECHO features practical Motivational Interviewing skills and access to practitioner-vetted 1-page talking sheets covering a dozen adolescent health topics ranging from sexual health to substance use to sleep. HYD-PRC core research project team members Chris Mehus and Jill Farris are the lead trainers of this ECHO program. They draw upon valuable expertise from other PRC team members, UMN clinical faculty, and other national adolescent health experts to conduct these trainings.
The goal of the “Adolescent Health Communication” ECHO is to build the capacity of primary care clinicians and others who provide care to adolescent patients to have productive, friendly conversations with young people and their families around health topics. Different from many traditional webinars, these ECHO trainings build in time for attendees to actively participate and learn from each other.
“This partnership with AAP to create this ECHO has provided a great opportunity to reach a larger network of primary care clinicians and share the TALK resources we have developed with a national audience,” said Mehus.
The first eight-session offering of the “Adolescent Health Communication” ECHO training occurs twice a month for four months. “We are excited to see the enthusiastic response to this training,” said Farris. “Being able to connect with people across the country and provide important adolescent health information is crucial to our continued commitment to eliminating health disparities and providing youth an opportunity for positive youth development.”
“We hope to be able to further disseminate TALK products in the near future and plan to offer a range of training opportunities for anyone interested,” said Mehus.