This book provides a collection of current and historical data on some of the most pressing health challenges facing women, their families, and their communities. It is intended to be a concise reference for policymakers and program managers at the federal, state, and local levels. The book brings together the latest available data from various…

This teacher's guide is part of a multiculturally sensitive teaching package to promote health-enhancing nutrition concepts for Florida public high school students. These nutrition promotion materials are intended to be incorporated into life skills management, home economics, physical education, or life science classes. The guide includes…

The convergent validity of peer, self, and teacher methods of assessing youths' risk propensity and the relation of these measures to health risk behavior were studied with 436 elementary and junior high school students. Findings demonstrate low congruence between rater sources. Prediction depended on behavior assessed and grade level. (SLD)

Outlines innovations needed in school health education programs at four levels--national, state, school district, and school site. Implications for health education program developers at each level are indicated. (SM)

This study examined whether the Teach Well wellness program, offered to elementary teachers, would have an impact on teacher and student cardiovascular health, particularly diet. Evaluation of teachers and students at participating and nonparticipating schools found few significant differences between experimental and control groups but…

Investigated relative influence of background characteristics (age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, family type) and peer status on health-related behaviors (physical activity, eating habits, smoking, alcohol use, stress-related behaviors) in 589 junior high school students. Peer popularity provided no significant increment in prediction of…

A teaching methodology that can be utilized to address the lack of quality health instruction for special education students is cooperative teaching. A videotaped role play activity that involves the cooperation of health educators, special educators, and peer tutors can help special and regular education students develop health skills. (SM)

Investigated the physical activity and fitness promoting behaviors of health, physical education, recreation, and dance professionals and preprofessionals. Survey data indicated that most respondents were physically active. Overall, overweight and obesity rates were considerably lower than rates reported in the general U.S. adult population. Role…

This study examined cross-sectional correlates of smoking during early and late adolescence to compare patterns of prediction of smoking at both stages. Intention to smoke was the strongest predictor of smoking during both stages, particularly in late adolescence, as well as being the strongest predictor of changes in smoking. (SM)

As of April 2003, 64,801 HIV cases have been documented in Vietnam (Policy Project 2003), 53.9% of which are among individuals 20-29 years of age. Although HIV education efforts have increased, there remains a need for proven effective programs. We present findings from a randomized-controlled effectiveness trial of an HIV prevention program for…

There is limited information on how communication barriers impact on the health of deaf individuals. The present article describes the development of a standardized interview tool to collect health-related information from deaf adults via face-to-face interviews in American Sign Language (ASL). Questions were selected largely from existing…

Objective: Measure select Healthy People 2010 Leading Health Indicators in young adults with and without a history of developmental disabilities (DD) using a population-based cohort. Methods: Young adults were interviewed to assess the prevalence of seven Leading Health Indicators: physical activity, overweight and obesity, tobacco use, substance…

Identifying ways to increase and sustain active living among young people represents a priority for health promotion interventions. This qualitative study explored the experiences of adolescent boys and girls in the United Kingdom (aged 14-15 years) who had made the transition from inactivity to active participation in physical education (PE). The…

The purpose of the study was to describe school nurses' (N=24) and teachers' (N=25) opinions of how the health-related goals in their counselling and instruction were attained and to find out the possible differences between the two groups in the Finnish European Network of Health Promoting Schools. The data were collected by a questionnaire and…

While methods and results of school-based studies have been reported widely in the literature, little published information exists on the practical aspects of recruiting schools and students into a study. This paper reflects on the experiences of a UK-based sexual health survey among 3007 students aged 15-18 years. The survey explored beliefs,…