Background: Decisions related to the development and implementation of public health programmes or policies can benefit from more effective use of the best available knowledge. However, decision makers do not always feel sufficiently equipped or may lack the capacity to use evidence. This can lead them to overlook or set aside research results…

This study systematically reviewed evidence regarding health program and service evaluations in Indigenous contexts. Following the PRISMA guidelines and combining terms for 'Indigenous populations' and 'health programs and services'. Eight principles emerged: Principle 1: Adopting Indigenous led or co-led approaches is vital to balance power…

Objective: School Health Profiles (Profiles) is a national surveillance system operated by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A school-based system of surveys, Profiles monitors school health policies and practices in US states and other jurisdictions through questionnaires completed by school principals and lead health education…

Background: Obesity is more prevalent in people with intellectual disabilities and increases the risk of developing serious medical conditions. UK guidance recommends multicomponent weight management interventions (MCIs), tailored for different population groups. Methods: An integrative review utilizing systematic review methodology was conducted…

Approximately 250 million children across the world are not acquiring basic reading and math skills, even though about 50% of them have spent at least 4 years in school. Educational policies on Early grade literacy (EGL) in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region have long suffered from a disjuncture between school practice and research.…

Background: Adolescents with asthma face unique challenges due to hormonal changes, psychosocial development and healthcare transition. Peer-led self-management programmes may increase treatment adherence and social adjustment by addressing these challenges. The purpose of this study was to assess whether peer-led self-management programmes…

As employers look for ways to reduce rising health care costs, worksite health promotion interventions are increasingly being used to improve employee health behaviors. An alternative approach to traditional worksite health promotion programs is the implementation of environmental and/or policy changes to encourage employees to adopt healthier…

Motor vehicle safety and tobacco control are among the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the number of miles traveled in the United States multiplied 10 times from the 1920s to the 1990s, the annual motor vehicle crash death rate per vehicle mile traveled…

Background: The behavioural determinants of health among people with mild/moderate intellectual disabilities (ID) are of increasing concern. With the closure of long-stay institutions, more people with ID are living in the community. As they lead more ordinary and less restricted lives, people with ID may be exposed to social and environmental…

Human systems have to adapt to climate change and the natural disasters predicted to increase in frequency as a result. These disasters have both direct and indirect health effects. Certain groups, the poor, the elderly, children and those with disabilities are set to be more seriously impacted by disasters because of their greater inherent…

Objectives: This article provides an introduction to the October 2011 special issue of the "Journal of School Health" on "Healthier Students Are Better Learners." Methods: Literature was reviewed and synthesized to identify health problems affecting school-aged youth that are highly prevalent, disproportionately affect urban minority youth,…

Two basic issues in mental health are how tax monies and resources are being allocated and how the resources are being spent. More could be spent in the area of mental health prevention rather than in treatment. Prevention is action that prevents significant diminishment of function, or the development of organic disability, as a result of…

Weight loss clinics based on scientific fact and containing diet therapy, exercise therapy, and behavior modification components can be effective vehicles for weight loss among the mildly to moderately obese. Health educators are called on to disseminate the information necessary to establish scientifically based criteria and program evaluation…

Discusses development and evaluation of community-based, telephone intervention suicide prevention centers. Reviews evidence regarding effectiveness of these centers and presence of causal relationship between crisis counseling exposure and suicide rate reduction. Offers cautions and recommendations. Examines model of health promotion program…

Reviews some contraceptive education programs designed for adolescents that differ in educational process based on delivery setting. Reviews school-based, community-based, and college/university-based programs and discusses them in terms of their effectiveness, potential, and limitations. Notes that educational accountability in each setting…