The Harlem Health Connection is a three-year project to develop and test smoking control interventions for African Americans, primarily those in Harlem (New York). Surveys of people from public housing, health care institutions, and churches found the highest smoking rates in public housing residents and people attending health care institutions.…

Discusses contraindications to athletic participation, examining the cardiac, respiratory, and central nervous system conditions that warrant activity disqualification. Provides guidelines about when it is safe for individuals to participate, and discusses the physician's responsibility. (SM)

Introduces a collection of articles that proposes standards for empirically supported prevention programming for children and youth and steps to integrate prevention science with practice. Articles highlight key research findings and common principles for effective programming across family, school, community, health care, and policy interventions…

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,…

Provides an overview of this special issue that examines the implementation of the Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) Initiative in seven local communities. An overview of the SS/HS Initiative is provided. Critical lessons learned from the seven sites are discussed with a focus on the special role that school psychologists can play in…

The Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative in Pinellas County, FL, emerged as a part of a broader local effort to implement creative educational and mental health programs to support children and families. Describes Pinellas County's plan, and highlights the instrumental roles played by school psychologists, which included grant writing, program…

A top-down approach to British community development is rooted in Victorian paternalism, a bottom-up approach in radical action. The case of ACHIEVE (Academic Centre for Health Improvement and Evidence of Effectiveness) shows how the current government's top-down approach is inadequate and potentially exploitive. It emphasizes development and…

Describes how therapeutic recreation in naturally occurring retirement communities (neighborhoods where most residents are older) can promote healthy lifestyles, presenting a case report of an in-home therapeutic recreation program offered in conjunction with nursing and social services in a such a community and discussing implications for…

A cost-effectiveness evaluation of an Arthritis Self-Management Program assessed direct and indirect costs through self-reporting of health services use. Diminished productivity and effectiveness were measured through a visual analog scale and the health status dimensions of the Canadian Medical Outcomes Study short form. (JOW)

Strength training is an effective method of developing musculoskeletal strength and is often prescribed for fitness, health, and for prevention and rehabilitation of orthopedic injuries. This paper describes and presents a rationale for the population-specific strength training guidelines established by major health organizations. (SM)

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)

Notes the rise of the harm-reduction model in the provision of substance abuse services and the history and success of syringe exchange programs. Describes the Xchange Point, a nonprofit community-based AIDS services organization founded in 1996 as a street-based outreach and syringe exchange program. (Contains 15 references.) (GCP)

Explored the relationship between the 1998 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) weight guidelines and concurrent medical costs among 177,971 employees, retirees, and adult dependents from a nationwide manufacturing corporation. Results indicated that the six weight groups defined by the NHLBI guidelines were consistent with concurrent…

Four lay health workers on two American Indian reservations were trained to present a diabetes curriculum while coordinating and guiding group discussion in "talking circles"--a culturally appropriate intervention. Facilitator interviews discussed their "calling" and commitment to the work and to Indian people, their journey of…