Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Skills To Support Mental Health In Uncertain Times, Part 2: Cultivating Awareness, Heather H. Kelley, Rachel Byers, Ty Aller, Timothy Keady

All Current Publications

Uncertainty and worry can be a common struggle for many people, whether they are uncertain about their jobs, health, or relationships. Events such as COVID-19 and the recent wars in Israel and Ukraine increase the stress and uncertainty many people face. This fact sheet discusses awareness, a fundamental part of psychological flexibility, which can help individuals maintain a high quality of life—even when experiencing uncertainty and mental health concerns.

What Iron County Leaders And Residents Can Do To Strengthen The Impact Of Girls And Women In Their Area, Deborah Lin, Susan R. Madsen

All Current Publications

This fact sheet is part of a series from the Utah Women & Leadership Project. This idea sheet is based on a 2023 gathering of 33 leaders in Iron County. Girls and women face challenges unique to the area in which they live, and the goal of this gathering was to identify those barriers and determine strategies and initiatives that local leaders and residents can implement to address them. This document includes recommendations in the following areas: home and family, education, community engagement, business and economics, and culture.

Utahns' Wellbeing And Mental Health By Rural-Urban Location, Kristen Koci, Courtney G. Flint, Jessica Ulrich-Schad

All Current Publications

Many Utah residents experience poor mental health, with 1 in 5 Utah adults experiencing some form of mental illness and 1 in 20 experiencing serious mental illness (e.g., bipolar disorder or schizophrenia). Using data from the Utah Wellbeing Survey, this fact sheet explores wellbeing and mental health in Utah by rural-urban location, specifically highlighting differences between rural, growing, and urban places in the state.

Utahns' Wellbeing And Mental Health: Insights From The Utah Wellbeing Survey, Kristen Koci, Courtney G. Flint, Jessica Ulrich-Schad

All Current Publications

People in Utah face unique challenges today, including poor mental health. Using data from the Utah Wellbeing Survey, this fact sheet explores wellbeing and mental health in Utah, highlighting changes over time and emphasizing the increasing importance of mental health to overall personal wellbeing.

Effects Of Pornography On Relationships, Naomi Brower

All Current Publications

Pornography is not a new issue in relationships; however, the expansion of the Internet appears to have increased pornography viewing and exacerbated pre-existing tendencies. This fact sheet reviews some of the impacts of pornography on partner relationships and provide steps toward healing a relationship hurt by pornography.

The 2022 Utah College Sexual Behavior Survey: Initial Findings Report, Cris Meier, Julie Gast, Susannah Harris, Melissa Ferguson, Brittany Hansen, Moni Butte

All Current Publications

Purpose: The purpose of the 2022 Utah College Sexual Behavior Survey project was to use retrospective sexual behavior and education measures to gain a better understanding of the sexual behaviors and perceptions of sex education of Utah youth by asking students aged 18-21 years old about their sexual behaviors as youth.

Measures: The survey questions represented ten topical areas. These areas included questions about: basic demographics; non-penetrative sex; penetrative sex; contraceptive use and pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention; communication and consent; sexting; sex education; attitudes about sex; current sex behavior; and university programming.

Method: A one-time survey was …

How Healthcare Providers Can Support Timely Cervical And Breast Cancer Screenings For Individuals With Disabilities, Rachel Byers, Timothy Keady

All Current Publications

This fact sheet outlines how healthcare providers can apply current evidence and best practices in screening for cervical cancer and breast cancer in individuals with disabilities.

Values: Helping Agricultural Producers Find Motivation By Focusing On What Matters, Jacob D. Gossner, Elizabeth Fauth, Tasha Howard

All Current Publications

This fact sheet addresses the importance of tuning into values as a way of maintaining motivation and promoting mental health for agricultural producers.

Responding To Financial Stress For Agricultural Producers And Couples, Jacob D. Gossner, Elizabeth B. Fauth, Tasha Howard

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Finances are a necessary component of running an agricultural production and with an uncertain economy, drought conditions, and rising costs, financial stress is increasingly common. Although financial stress is linked with poor individual and relationship outcomes, research suggests that there are effective ways to manage financial stress so that it does not reduce personal or relationship well-being. We review the body's response to stressors and how to respond rather than react to stress. We present specific strategies couples can use to navigate financial stress together. We include ideas for practical application for individuals seeking to improve the way they manage …

Creating Positive Lasting Changes With Utah Farmers Markets: Usda Farmers Market Promotion Program Impact Report 2018-2022, Roslynn Mccann, Regan Emmons, Lacee Jimenez, Kelsey Hall, Jaclyn Pace, Celina Wille, Carrie Durward, Mateja R. Savoie-Roskos

All Current Publications

This report identifies ways that farmers markets and direct marketing farmers can address and connect low-income and ethnic-minority populations to healthy food in Utah. It outlines three objectives and highlights program impacts.

Utah Farmers Market Network: Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Community Of Practice, Jaclyn Pace, Regan Emmons, Kelsey Hall, Celina Wille, Lacee Jimenez, Carrie Durward, Roslynn Mccann

All Current Publications

The Utah Farmers Market Network convened a virtual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Community of Practice (CoP) to explore how markets could be more welcoming and inclusive to historically excluded populations. Between May and November of 2021, members of seven Utah farmers markets convened at least twice monthly to explore basic DEI concepts and create personalized DEI strategic plans for their markets. This document reviews impacts on participants and the personal, market, community, and organizational goals created.

Community Solar Dehydrator Plans, Kate Weigel, Roslynn Mccann

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As interest in home gardening and self sufficiency surged during the pandemic, many are looking for ways to preserve foods from their newfound harvests. This fact sheet provides an overview of how to build a community solar food dehydrator for food preservation, based on our experience doing so for the community of Moab, Utah. A list of needed building materials, tools, and specific plans are included.

Western Region Health & Wellness Programming Efforts: Qualitative Results From A Three-Part Listening Session, Cris L. Meier, Lily Ward, Anders Van Sandt, Sue Schneider, Riana Gayle

All Current Publications

The purpose of this project was to understand the programming efforts and experiences of Extension professionals in the Western Region of the United States. The Health and Wellness Working Group team held a series of listening sessions with a closed cohort of Extension professionals, hoping to learn from each other while also building the foundation for future collaborations and conversations about health and wellness programing in the western region.

The objectives were to understand: (1) the state of health and wellness work in the western region, including the gaps and challenges, (2) the programs that currently exist and ways that …

Bears Ears And Outdoor Recreation In San Juan County, Jordan Smith, Emily Wilkins, Anna B. Miller

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The creation and subsequent downsizing of Bears Ears National Monument has been one of the most publicized and politicized land management decisions within the state over the past decade. However, relatively little research has been conducted to determine if, and to what extent, the creation of the monument impacted outdoor recreation and recreation-related industries. Now, more than three years after the monument was created, there are sufficient data to take a retrospective look at the influence of the monument. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the influence of Bears Ears National Monument on outdoor recreation and its related …

The Influence Of Weather On The Spatial Behavior Of Visitors Within Utah National Parks, Emily Wilkins, Jordan Smith

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Social media has been increasingly used to understand visitor use in parks and protected areas (Wilkins, Wood, & Smith, 2020). When people post photos on social media, these photos often contain information on the location, time, and date the photo was taken; all of this information is stored as metadata. Using geotagged images from Flickr, we explored how summer visitors to Utah’s national parks may vary their locations within the park based on the daily weather. We specifically looked at the elevations visitors went to within the parks, as well as their distances from roads, waterbodies, parking areas, and buildings.

Understanding Caffeine Vs. Kids, Cindy Nelson, Rachel Mcmaster

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Children enjoy numerous foods and drinks on a regular basis that contain caffeine: soda, chocolate candy, energy drinks, and so forth. In fact, almost 3 out of 4 children consume caffeine regularly (American Academy of Family Physicians, 2020). This is a concern because studies show caffeine can affect children and adults differently, and too much caffeine can have detrimental health effects on kids. This fact sheet defines caffeine, reviews its effects and risks, identifies popular foods containing caffeine, and how to reduce consumption of caffeine.

Preventing Allergies In Infants: What Foods To Introduce And When, Annika Israelsen, Stacy Bevan, Mateja R. Savoie-Roskos

All Current Publications

Food allergies have become increasingly common over the past several years among children in the United States (Comberiati et al., 2019; Sicherer et al., 2017). Food allergies are a negative immune response occurring in the body after eating a specific food (Sicherer et al., 2017). Unlike food intolerances, such as lactose intolerance which causes uncomfortable symptoms in the stomach and intestines, allergic reactions to food can cause a wide range of serious and sometimes fatal symptoms (Konek & Becker, 2020). Food allergies can affect a child’s health and quality of life, while also impacting their caregivers’ lives (Sicherer et al., …

Cognitive Behavioral Therapies For The Management Of Chronic Pain, Kira Swensen, Maren Wright Voss, Alise Williams Condie, Ashley Yaugher

All Current Publications

Chronic pain is pain that lasts longer than six months and may continue even after illnesses or injuries have healed (Cleveland Clinic, 2017). Pain signals in the nervous system can remain active for several years if they are altered in the spinal cord, becoming stronger than they normally would or should be (Reichling & Levine, 2009). Chronic pain can also occur without illness or injury (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2019). Fortunately, many evidence-based strategies for managing chronic pain are available to ease the discomfort. This fact sheet reviews those strategies.

First Responder Mental Health, Kira Swensen, Timothy Keady, Maren Wright Voss

All Current Publications

Communities spend thousands of dollars on first responders to protect them physically: body armor for law enforcement officers, heat resistant gear for firefighters, gloves and reflective clothing for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel. Supporting and investing in programs related to first responders’ mental health is equally important in keeping their minds safe. First responders train long hours each year to stay prepared for almost any situation. In the past, training has centered around physical safety and job efficiency. In recent years, efforts have been made to include mental health training and reduce the stigma associated with mental health for first …

Donating Safe And Wholesome Food, Brian Nummer, Paula Scott

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Americans dispose of millions of pounds of tons of food, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 11.8 percent of American households, or about 15 million, had difficulty providing enough food for all their family members (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2018). Much of the food disposed into landfills is wholesome and edible. This fact sheet outlines how a potential food donor can get started and get food into the hands of the needy.

Culturally Responsive 4-H Youth Development In Southeast Alaska, Deb Jones, Linda Skogrand

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No abstract provided.

I'M Not Stressed: Effective Stress Coping Techniques, Naomi Weeks, Kimberly Stanley

All Current Publications

This publication gives tips on how to respond to stress and how to cope with stressful situations.

Understanding Autism, Naomi Brower, Clarissa Barnhill

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

The Death Experience: Helping Parents Understand Childhood Grief, Naomi Weeks, Kimber Peart

All Current Publications

Children sometimes experience the loss of someone they love or are close to, or may be suffering from a life-threatening illness themselves. This fact sheet provides a brief insight into how to help children cope with death.

Coping With The Loss Of A Child, Naomi Weeks, Kimber Peart

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Losing a child is a traumatic experience. This fact sheet covers some of the common responses and ways to cope with this loss.

Community Collaborations, Deb Jones

All Current Publications

The goal of community collaboration is to bring individuals and members of communities, agencies and organizations together in an atmosphere of support to identify and solve existing and emerging problems that could not be solved by one group alone. Collaborators form lasting partnerships, combine resources to work toward a common goal, and provide a support base for sustaining programs.