{
  "id": 3944870,
  "title": "Starting upstream: Rethinking how public health supports young people",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/starting-upstream-rethinking-how-public-health-supports-young-people",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-28T11:00:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-08-upstream-rethinking-health-young-people.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "GCH assistant professor Rochelle Davidson Mhonde observed the long-lasting effects of sexual violence trauma on adolescent survivors, including depression, anxiety, and substance use. She began researching the factors influencing whether survivors feel safe disclosing their trauma, expanding the scope of prevention efforts to include families, communities, cultural beliefs, and institutional access. College researchers are redefining prevention approaches by involving young people themselves, recognizing their strengths, and incorporating their lived experiences. A Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth project is studying why LGBTQ+ young adults vape more than their peers, with researchers finding that discrimination and rejection contribute to stress and vaping as a coping mechanism. The team is also rethinking who delivers prevention messages and the language used, ensuring that individuals who share similar experiences are involved. In some cases, young Syrian refugees are being trained as community mental health workers to deliver evidence-based interventions. Researchers are also examining how technology can help reach young people earlier and on their own terms, such as through virtual reality (VR) scenarios that prepare students for difficult situations in a low-stakes setting. These innovative approaches aim to improve decision-making and violence prevention attitudes among college students. Additionally, a project led by GCH Professor Jhumka Gupta uses an app-based interactive game to help Black and Latina adolescents and young adults recognize symptoms of endometriosis, reduce stigma, and build confidence to advocate for themselves in the healthcare system. By recognizing young people's strengths and involving them in creating solutions, researchers across the College of Public Health believe that prevention works best when it accounts for their unique experiences, relationships, and strengths.",
  "summary": "When GCH assistant professor Rochelle Davidson Mhonde began working with adolescent survivors of sexual violence, she saw the ripple effects of their trauma: depression, anxiety, substance use and other health challenges. \"Survivors often know what support they need to heal. But when they don't receive it, the consequences can compound far beyond the original harm,\" she said.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}