In recent years, universities worldwide have actively embraced University Social Responsibility (USR) to address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Expanding beyond traditional roles in teaching and research, universities now focus on societal service and national development to enhance their social impact. This study examines how the…

Columbus, the largest city in Ohio, is an epicenter for several overlapping health disparities, including poverty, food insecurity, and infant mortality. A group of volunteer undergraduate students at The Ohio State University sought to reduce some of these disparities through the creation of ENCompass: Empowering Neighborhoods of Columbus. This…

Background: Physical literacy-focused afterschool activity programs (ASAPs) can be an effective strategy to improve children's health-related parameters. We sought to compare physical activity, body composition, aerobic capacity, and fundamental movement skills between physical literacy-focused ASAP and a standard recreational ASAP. Method: A…

The Health Navigator Program (HNP) was a pilot health mentor intervention program for youth in British Columbia, Canada, with connections to the provincial child welfare system. In this article, youth participants are referred to as "independent youth" as they are independent of traditional familial care. Children and youth in the foster…

Managing health and well-being issues can be challenging for college students. Alternative supports, such as online programs, have been identified as cost-effective and efficient methods of providing inclusive support to college students, removing numerous barriers to health and well-being promotion. The article summarized a novel, evidence-based…

Indigenous communities demonstrate immense cultural strengths despite being impacted by mental health and academic disparities due to ongoing systemic racism and historical trauma. Given that schools are a context in which indigenous youths' needs have potential to be met through preventive intervention, this scoping review explores and summarizes…

Indigenous communities demonstrate immense cultural strengths despite being impacted by mental health and academic disparities due to ongoing systemic racism and historical trauma. Given that schools are a context in which indigenous youths' needs have potential to be met through preventive intervention, this scoping review explores and summarizes…

Background: High volumes of school-based sedentary time may impact academic achievement and executive function negatively. This study evaluated a multimodal classroom program's (POWER) effect on fifth graders' physical activity (PA) and executive function. Methods: Six 5th grade classes (3 = intervention [POW]; 3 = waitlist control [CONT]) in 2…

Background: To advance research on youth fitness promotion it is important to understand factors that may explain the disparities in fitness. Methods: We evaluated data from the FitnessGram NFL PLAY60 Partnership Project to examine school factors influencing aerobic capacity (AC) and body mass index (BMI) in schoolchildren. Individual observations…

The worldwide rise in obesity makes this the first non-infectious epidemic in human history. The rapid increase is, in fact, influenced more by environment than biology. In an effort to halt the trend, Quebec has launched a major awareness-raising campaign that focuses on healthy environments and targets stakeholders in schools, municipalities,…

Theoretically, the more important a role-identity is to a person, the more it should provide a sense of purpose and meaning in life. Believing one's life to be purposeful and meaningful should yield greater mental and physical well-being. These hypotheses are tested with respect to the volunteer role, specifically, Mended Hearts visitor, in which…

Raising a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be an overwhelming experience for parents and families. The pervasive and severe deficits often present in children with ASD are associated with a plethora of difficulties in caregivers, including decreased parenting efficacy, increased parenting stress, and an increase in mental and…

Of 79 overweight adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities who participated in a weight loss intervention, 73 completed the 6-month diet phase. The emphasis in the intervention was consumption of high volume, low calorie foods and beverages, including meal-replacement shakes. Lower calorie frozen entrees were recommended to control…

Purpose: Stigma and lack of access to providers create barriers to mental health treatment for older adults living in the community. In order to address these barriers, we developed and evaluated a peer support intervention for older adults receiving Medicaid services. Design and Methods: Reclaiming Joy is a mental health intervention that pairs…

Background: In 2008, the Irish Government initiated a pilot Healthy Schools Programme based on the World Health Organization Health Promoting Schools Model among children attending schools officially designated as urban and disadvantaged. We present here the first results on physical and emotional health and the relationship between childhood…