Project Grant R01HD111699

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) was awarded a 5-year, $1,156,440 Project Grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865). The funding will support a rigorous evaluation of the ICHAMPSS 2.0 implementation strategy to increase the adoption, implementation, reach, and maintenance of evidence-based sexual health programs in 15 school districts across South Texas. The goal is to scale up effective sexual health education in schools, thereby reducing risky sexual behaviors and teen births in this high-need region. The project involves conducting a stepped-wedge randomized controlled trial, determining the strategy's impact on implementation determinants, and evaluating the implementation process. This initiative builds on UTHealth's extensive experience working with Texas school districts to implement sexual health programs and develop the ICHAMPSS 2.0 dissemination approach.