Wurtele is the author of several educational and scholarly materials for professionals, parents, and children on preventing childhood sexual assault and abuse.
Wurtele began comparing different ways to teach children body safety skills in classrooms in Pullman, Washington and Lewiston, Idaho.
[7] Wurtele was also the lead author on a research study showing that preschoolers in Head Start learned the correct names of their genitals better from their parents than from their teachers.
[17] During the summer before the 2017 academic year, Wurtele sat on the faculty-led redesign team that was preparing to move all Faculty Course Questionnaires online beginning fall 2017.
could enable them to improve the safety of the home environment by increasing monitoring and supervision, enhancing their communication with their children about sexuality, and screening substitute caregivers.
[7] Given the potential for adolescents to be abused through online sexual solicitation, Wurtele has also provided parents with guidance about safe Internet use and how to talk to their children about cyber safety.
[7] As well as child- and parent-focused prevention efforts, Wurtele has also addressed sexual abuse occurring in youth-serving organizations (YSOs) including schools, youth groups, foster care, correctional facilities, faith-based institutions, and recreational or sporting clubs.