Given the current childhood obesity epidemic, it is especially important to find effective ways to promote healthful foods to children. School public address (PA) systems represent an inexpensive and a replicable way of reaching children with health messages. To test the effectiveness of this channel, messages were created to promote 2 dried bean…

The third in a series of reports from P/PV's three-year study of the role Boys & Girls Clubs play in the lives of the youth they serve, "Making Every Day Count" examines how Club participation is related to youth's positive and healthy development in three outcome areas identified by Boys & Girls Clubs of America as central to its mission: good…

Community participation in program decision-making and implementation is an ideal that community and academic stakeholders aspire to in participatory research. This ideal, however, can be difficult to achieve. We describe lessons learned about community participation from a quasi-experimental trial aimed at reducing the uptake of smoking among…

Student health advocates (SHAs) are high school students who, under the supervision of the school nurse, provide health education and health promotion activities to other students via a peer education model. This 3-year follow-up study explored how the SHA experience influences career choice and attitudes of the participants. It also examined what…

There is a need to investigate novel interventions that promote worksite physical activity and wellness. Objective: The authors' purpose in this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a 12-week walking program supplemented with a pedometer, computer educational program, and weekly e-mails. Methods: College faculty and staff participated in a…

The study aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a 2-year health-related physical education intervention in a pretest-posttest design. Sixteen elementary schools (764 pupils, mean age: 11.2 plus or minus 0.7) participated in the study. Schools were randomly assigned to the intervention condition (n = 8) and the control condition (n = 8). Making…

Programs and services that prevent substance abuse and mental health disorders have the potential to lessen an enormous burden of suffering and to reduce both the cost of future treatment and lost productivity at work and home. The availability and accessibility of these interventions to Americans whose health care is provided by managed care…

Uses a review-of-reviews approach across four areas (substance abuse, risky sexual behavior, school failure, and juvenile delinquency and violence) to identify characteristics consistently associated with effective prevention programs. Programs were comprehensive, included varied teaching methods, provided sufficient dosage, were theory driven,…

Highlights one strategy to improve health promotion delivery and generate better outcomes by creating "Microcultures of Meaning" (MOMs), which are intended to provide a context to help people learn and take action. The issue introduces key theoretical concepts associated with the MOM methodology, describes the scientific rationale, discusses…

Evaluated outcomes in selected Australian schools of an intervention project, Health Promoting Schools (promoted by the World Health Organization). Found that studied schools moved beyond oppositional constructions of health and education towards approaching health as an element of effective schooling. (EV)

Results of an investigation to evaluate the effectiveness of a portable self-instructional stress management program for college students are reported. Program components (five self-contained learning stations) are described. Program effectiveness was measured, using several instruments, by changes in subjects'(n=150) knowledge, attitudes, and…

Reports a study that evaluated the appropriateness and effectiveness of a self-help manual for postsecondary education students who used smokeless tobacco. Students participated in groups that received either two or four sessions of support for using the self-help manual. Results indicated both groups produced similar cessation rates. (SM)

Effects of the "Choices" program for reduction of unhealthy behaviors among student athletes (N=190) were evaluated. Program components are described. Pretest and posttest assessment was conducted. Results are compared to national norms and discussed. Unexpected results may be due to the program or response rate on posttest. (EMK)

Fourth in a series of articles summarizing studies that examined the impact of comprehensive health-promotion and disease-management programs on health and cost. The focus is on worksite health promotion and education. Study results provide cautious optimism about the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of these worksite programs and…

Tested the efficacy of a computer-assisted counseling intervention to reduce diet-related cancer risk. Healthy female HMO members were randomly assigned to nutrition counseling or attention-control interventions. Women completed dietary recalls and eating behavior questionnaires. Four-month follow-up results indicated that this moderate-intensity…