Youth suicide rates have consistently risen over the past decade, and stigma related to mental health may create a barrier to young people seeking help. Schools are a common intercept point for mental health and suicide prevention programming. Hope Squad, a school-based, peer-to-peer, suicide prevention program, uses trained and mentored students…

Adolescence is a critical period for developing risk behaviors such as substance use, which can impact health in adulthood. Culturally adapted evidence-based programs (EBPs) are promising for prevention. This review explores the processes for culturally adapting EBPs targeting alcohol, tobacco, or cannabis use, and/or anxiety or depression in…

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of photovoice in health education programs designed for young people. Methodology: Nine electronic databases were systematically searched and screened using specific predetermined criteria. Data, such as intervention characteristics, methodology, and analysis, were extracted and narratively…

Educators and caregivers can foster emotional wellbeing, growth, and resilience, contributing to a fulfilling and balanced adulthood by providing positive childhood experiences (PCEs). PCEs protect the brain and promote healing for people who have experienced adverse childhood environments (ACEs). In the presence of PCEs, adverse experiences in…

A number of school-based mental health prevention programs have been found to be effective in research trials, but little is known about how to support implementation in real-life settings. To address this translational problem, this systematic review aims to identify effective strategies for enhancing the implementation of mental health…

Clinics and community-based organizations (CBOs) are priority settings for implementing the evidence-based National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). Both program settings present theoretical advantages and disadvantages for engaging and helping populations most at risk for diabetes achieve lifestyle change goals. To date, few studies have…

Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among adolescents, globally. Though post-primary, school-based suicide prevention (PSSP) has the potential to be a key strategy for preventing adolescent suicidal thoughts and behaviours (STBs), there are persisting challenges to translating PSSP research to practice. Intervention and contextual factors…

In 2019, Native youth had the highest rate of teen pregnancy of all racial/ethnic groups. "Respecting the Circle of Life" (RCL) is one of the first evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs for Native teens and there is interest in replicating the program across tribal communities. To inform replication, it is important to…

Youth in foster care are more likely than their peers to require mental health supports to promote their well-being, and this level of need has likely been heightened by individual, familial, system-level, and societal factors arising during the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes have simultaneously produced a shortage in the supply of available…

Background: Most suicide prevention programs focus on increasing knowledge regarding the problem of suicide, yet many fail to include information on the science and application of means reduction approaches. In an attempt to address this gap in practice, the Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM) program was developed to educate clinicians on…

Emerging literature has highlighted the importance of discerning general and strategic organizational context (OC) factors (e.g., leadership and climate) and their interaction effect on individual implementation behaviors (e.g., attitudes toward evidence-based practices; EBPs) in youth mental healthcare. This study aimed to examine how leadership…

Discrete Event Simulation (DES) is a novel system modeling technique that allows for the evaluation of the potential costs and personnel needed for mental health services in school. A case study is presented to illustrate how DES could be used by a school's decision makers to help plan for implementation of an integrated mental health service…

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic elevated mental health needs among students. As such, in 2022 Chicago Public Schools (CPS) introduced the Comprehensive Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Policy to deliver mental health awareness and services to all pK-12th grade students. While transitioning back to in-person learning, an evaluation was…

This pilot study investigated the effectiveness of Healthy Minds, Healthy Schools (HMHS), a universal school cognitive-behavioral therapy program aimed at improving anxiety and emotion regulation. Using a quasi-experimental design with open assignment to groups, elementary students were assigned to either the intervention (n = 186) or comparison…

Background: There is a well-documented need for more responsive promotion and prevention programming for young immigrants and refugees in the context of mental health and healthy development. Incorporating the voice of newcomers in the development of promotion and prevention efforts could assist in producing culturally-relevant materials and…