Dental hygiene education and practice do not have a solid theoretical foundation to justify its existence or purpose. Life course theory is used to understand the human condition in a nuanced and detailed fashion. Life course theory is used in nursing education and practice, elder studies, criminal justice, and especially in maternal/child…

Health Information Technology (HIT) is an in-demand occupation across Illinois and as such community colleges offer related preparation programs in the form of one-two semester Career and Technical Education (CTE) Certificates and Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees. Community college applied programs aim to meet the needs of local…

In August 2021 the Governor of Illinois passed a mandate (SB 818) that expanded the requirements for comprehensive sex education in schools. One purpose of the bill was to help ensure that sex education is inclusive and affirming of the LGBTQIA+ community. There is an abundance of research that shows that LGBTQIA+ students feel excluded from sex…

Similar to national trends, in Illinois, fatal opioid overdoses have risen. Black men (35+) outrank all other racial subgroups for the highest rate of fatal opioid overdoses in the state. To address this, Prevention First and the Illinois Department of Human Services developed a public health education campaign to support increasing enrollment in…

Collective impact (CI) initiatives provide a promising collaborative community-based approach for addressing health disparities, but they are challenging to evaluate. This paper provides a detailed strategy for addressing these challenges through a case study, with the goal of not only of evaluating the CI, but also putting organizations in a…

To assess the relationship between the training/preparation of physical education teachers and their perceived instructional confidence levels across major topic areas established by the Illinois State Board of Education as critical content areas. In total, 283 individuals participated and were included in the data analysis. The participants…

This study proposal will provide a theoretical framework based on persuasive communication theories for educators seeking to make their curriculum more gender inclusive for contemporary school settings. The authors argue that too many U.S. public schools lack educational materials for young students in health classes about the value of…

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is the nation's first nutrition education program and remains at the forefront of educational efforts to reduce nutrition insecurity of low-income families and youth today. Funded by the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), EFNEP supports program participants' efforts…

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of web-facilitated and hybrid course delivery formats on student learning outcomes for four sections of an undergraduate Personal Health course at a public institution. This is a quasi-experimental study. Two sections were taught as hybrid classes and two sections were taught as webfacilitated classes.…

This paper describes the development and evaluation of an interactive, narrative-based, multimedia game to promote learning and communication about sexual violence and health topics. High school-aged participants created the game concept in a three-week workshop, after which assets were assembled and refined by a university-based game design lab.…

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is applying research to assist in the selection of interventions that result in increased client quality care. Recently the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (2010), a new accreditation body for recreational therapy education, included standards that state students should obtain knowledge…

Objective: HIV disproportionately affects young men who have sex with men, and knowledge about HIV transmission is one factor that may play a role in high rate of infections for this population. This study examined racial/ethnic differences in HIV knowledge among young men who have sex with men in the USA and their correlation to condom usage…

Games may be useful tools for learning and communicating about sexual and reproductive health. This article discusses the collaborative design and subsequent evaluation of a narrative-based card game. This game was created in a workshop based on positive youth development, which allowed youth to be involved as game designers and game players.…

Rural-dwelling older adults often have difficulty obtaining needed medical and social services due to factors such as physician shortages, lack of transportation, and financial limitations. These factors are further exacerbated during an emergency. Understanding these challenges is important to implement successful health promotion interventions…

Child health is a complex issue that requires a comprehensive approach to address the many factors that influence it and are influenced by it. In light of the complexity of children's health, the Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) was developed as a framework for a systems approach to planning and implementing school-based children's health…