Introduction: Various methods are used to assess healthcare professional students' physical exam skills. Hypertension is a common chronic disease that affects nearly half of adults in the United States, therefore measuring blood pressure is a clinical skill often assessed in a healthcare program curriculum. Methods: This study was conducted to…

Objective: To examine whether policies prohibiting smoking on college campuses contribute to greater decreases in smoking. Participants: This study compares smoking prevalence and perceptions of prevalence pre/post a smoking ban enacted in 2015 by using repeated cross-sectional surveys administered at a university in 2011 (n = 1.548), 2013 (n =…

Objective: To determine attitudes, behaviors, and intentions of university students regarding influenza vaccination. Participants: Undergraduate, graduate, and professional students enrolled at a private, midwestern university. Methods: A 24-item electronic survey was designed and distributed after literature review and inputs from experts on…

Background: The effects of environmental tobacco smoke is a risk factor for everyone, but more so for individuals living with asthma. Most studies have focused on youth and young adults as the vulnerable population affected by secondhand smoke with policies related to secondhand smoke enacted to lessen such exposure given the known negative health…

Background: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified Human Papillomavirus (HPV) as the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the United States, with approximately 24 million Americans currently infected. In 2018, men, ages 15-59, had higher HPV infection rates and HPV high-risk type infections compared to…

Objective: In a random sample of undergraduate students, we aimed to: (1) establish the prevalence of choking and being choked; (2) examine demographic and situational predictors of being choked, and (3) examine demographic and situational predictors of choking someone. Participants: 4168 randomly sampled undergraduates at a large public U.S.…

Objective: This study explores college women's beliefs and experiences about exercise informed by different framing strategies, and how they may influence exercise engagement. Participants: Four focus groups were conducted with 19 undergraduate women at a large public Midwestern university. Methods: Four differently framed group exercise…

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevents the immune system from fighting infections effectively. One in 48 Black women will acquire HIV throughout their life if current trends continue. Black women have the highest HIV infection rates compared to White and Hispanic women. In 2019, 55% of women with HIV in the United States were Black. There…

Background: Evidence for the effectiveness of state-mandated body mass index (BMI) screening programs in the United States has been inconclusive, and potential unintended consequences of the programs have been debated. The present review aims to understand parents' perceptions of and responses to school-based BMI screening, and to highlight…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between unrealistic optimism (UO) and risky sexual behavior (RSB) and related consequences in a college student sample. Participants believed they had significantly lower "personal" risk of engagement in alcohol-related sexual activity, unintended pregnancy, and STIs than the…

Background: Cardiometabolic risk factors are related to the early onset of chronic health conditions. Purpose: To identify factors associated with perceptions about the severity of three interrelated cardiometabolic risks (i.e., high blood pressure, obesity, and cardiovascular disease) among U.S. college students. Methods: Data were analyzed from…

Objective: Healthy equity (HE) implies the highest possible standard of health for all people while giving special attention to the needs of those at greatest risk of poor health, based on social conditions. The social determinants of health (SDH) are conditions within the environment in which people live that shape their opportunity to attain…

Objective: To examine fruit and vegetable intake and self-efficacy among U.S. college students in a rural, Southern location. Participants: Undergraduate students (n = 1503) enrolled in a university-wide health class at one large public institution during the spring 2017 semester. Methods: Cross-sectional survey data were collected online and…

Objective: To examine the relationship between race, gender, and pre-hookup relationship intentions and college students' participation in condomless vaginal sex. Participants: 3,315 Black and White college students who participated in the Online College Social Life Survey (OCSLS). Methods: Secondary data analysis of the OCSLS using Chi-square and…

Background: Many misconceptions about breast cancer exist. College students have the opportunity to perform breast cancer risk-reducing behaviors. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess breast cancer knowledge among university students and examine the influence of breast cancer knowledge on health behaviors for breast cancer prevention.…