The national PTA president discusses the importance of keeping children healthy. She describes the school's role in children's well-being, noting that PTA has advocated legislative protection for children's health for years. (SM)

A survey of incidence of secondary disabilities, completed by 75 disabled Native American adults on 3 Montana reservations, indicated fair to poor ratings for overall health and independence, high incidence/severity for problems of mobility and access, and problems with behavioral components, such as pain, fatigue, and depression. (SV)

Describes some of the existing barriers to the provision of health promotion services to minority older adults and offers a plan for the education of medical professionals who seek to address the issues involved. Details reasons for offering and targeting health promotion activities to special populations. (Author/JOW)

Although there is no cure in sight, the life expectancy of people with HIV/AIDS has greatly increased thanks to significant medical advancements. Recreation professionals must take the lead in improving these people's quality of life by providing meaningful leisure outlets. This paper discusses the status of recreation for this population and…

Exercise can positively affect a broad range of quality of life parameters in people with cancer. The general exercise prescription is moderate-intensity exercise 3-5 days per week. Conditions that warrant prescription modification include fatigue during treatment, acute or chronic physical impairments, and presence of bone cancer. Research…

Illustrates how evaluating the Oklahoma City Smoke Alarm Project increased its success in reducing residential fire-related injuries and deaths. The program distributed and tested smoke alarms in residential dwellings and offered educational materials on fire prevention and safety. Evaluation provided sound data on program processes and outcomes,…

Examined age, source, accuracy, and impact of initial sexuality information on lifetime wellness in males and females ranging from 9 to 73 years. While age for obtaining sexual knowledge was similar, parents were never reported as primary information sources. Young participants citing teachers and siblings as primary information sources achieved…

Colleges are building luxurious wellness, fitness, and recreation centers in part to attract and retain students. They offer such features as rock-climbing walls, water slides, hot tubs, elevated tracks, massage rooms, racquetball courts, and wellness resource laboratories. Many college officials believe that investments in recreation are…

Discusses what parents can do to ensure their children's healthy eating, examining whether students are eating school lunches or junk food in the cafeteria; discussing junk food temptations outside of school; noting rising soda consumption rates; and presenting advice for healthy eating (e.g., include children in meal planning and preparation and…

Examined the impact of lifestyle on the effectiveness of a low-intensity dietary intervention. Analysis of data from the Eating Patterns Study indicated that people who practiced certain combinations of health behaviors responded differently to the low-intensity dietary intervention. People with high-risk behaviors were the least successful in…

Activities of the Tobacco Pilot Program in Mississippi designed to stop the use of tobacco among youth included a campaign for smoke-free restaurants, high school student skits for elementary audiences, and an antitobacco fundraising walk. Keys to the program were youth autonomy in activities, use of community resources, and extensive media…

Hand hygiene is a key element in preventing the transmission of cold and flu viruses. The authors conducted an experimental-control design study in 4 campus residence halls to determine whether a message campaign about hand hygiene and the availability of gel hand sanitizer could decrease cold and flu illness and school and work absenteeism. Their…

Purpose: We describe the impact of two interventions, a consumer-directed voucher for in-home supportive services and a chronic disease self-management-health-promotion nurse intervention, on the probability of use of two types of home care-skilled home health care and personal assistance services-received by functionally impaired Medicare…

The United States experienced a shortage of influenza vaccine for the 2004-2005 influenza season. The authors surveyed college health programs to determine whether they had targeted vaccine to priority groups and knew how to reallocate remaining vaccine. They used an electronic message to distribute a Web-based survey to the members of 3…

In this paper, the authors focus on informal learning as it is situated in and derived from everyday life experience (Lave, 1988; Lave and Wenger, 1991). Their concern is with informal musical learning and its link to health, well-being and the care of self, an area that has already received some attention from research in music therapy,…