In this article, the authors discuss some activities that will develop health-related fitness for students and recommend that teachers present activities that make students feel capable, confident and competent to their participation in physical activity. The authors present NASPE's Physical Best fitness education program and the Cooper…

The era of technical and scientific progress ushered in with the twentieth century brought new medical knowledge such as the Halstead 'radical' mastectomy, which promised a cure for breast cancer. These advances in medical knowledge were premised on an epidemiological model of disease, which shaped the treatment and public understanding of breast…

Recent years have witnessed broad public health transformations. Central to these changes is that partnership work is increasingly mandated and employed as a vehicle for health education and promotion and disease prevention. Such efforts involve partnerships that span National Health Service bodies, local authorities and health and social care…

Despite a growing body of research into children's concepts of illness, many basic questions still remain. This study aims to describe 8- to 11-year olds' lay beliefs of health, illness, health promotion and disease prevention. Children responded to open-ended questions about health and illness by drawing and writing their responses. Two primary…

"[T]wenty-five percent of today's teenagers have inordinate emotional baggage beyond the normal angst of adolescence." This burden can lead to unhealthy escapes, including substance abuse, sexual activity, violence, eating disorders, and suicide. One healthy escape, however, lies in books, where students can read about teenagers living in painful…

Objective: To examine the types of health messages delivered to males and females through the "popular" media of magazines that have a health content, and to consider the potential for "popular" magazines to play a role in communicating health promotion messages to men. Design: A qualitative approach that subscribes to content analysis of a sample…

The authors examine the notion of democracy and how it can be portrayed in school settings where efforts to promote health are prominent. Democracy is considered relative to the educational opportunities presented in school, in general, and through the study of human experience as it is portrayed in health contexts. Threaded into the dialogue are…

When it comes to preserving and improving the health of Russians, a great deal depends on people's individual perception of health and their own activity that is not in conflict with basic valeological principles. It is of particular interest to study and shape the valeological attitudes of students--attitudes that regulate people's health on the…

Fighting the childhood obesity problem at Mayfield Middle School is an ongoing campaign. As a family and consumer sciences (FCS) teacher, the author decided to go outside the box to teach students and their families how to cook healthy dishes, eat a balanced and nutritious diet, and exercise regularly. All students at Mayfield attend a 6-week…

The aim of this study was to test the utility and efficiency of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the health belief model (HBM) in predicting testicular self-examination (TSE) behaviour. A questionnaire was administered to an opportunistic sample of 195 undergraduates aged 18-39 years. Structural equation modelling indicated that, on the…

The introduction of a NEW physical education (PE) program at Ancaster Senior Public School had, at its root, the desire to make physical activity an inclusive domain for both athletic students and those not so inclined. With the growing concerns over the rapid and consistent rise in childhood obesity rates it was evident that the current model of…

The majority of individuals who will become "smokers" begin smoking during their teenage years. Schools are optimal settings for relaying messages about health risks associated with smoking and for implementing smoking prevention programs. This article presents successful components of smoking prevention programs, describes the evaluation process,…

The preschool is an important yet understudied setting for sun-protection interventions. This study evaluates the effects of Sun Protection is Fun! (SPF) on preschool staff behavioral and psychosocial outcomes related to protecting children from sun exposure. Twenty preschools participated in a 2-year, group-randomized trial to evaluate SPF, a…

Objective: To explore the diverse roles of drop-in services in the HLC sector; to develop further the classification of drop-in services offered by earlier studies; and to provide an example of some the challenges faced by HLCs in their attempts to tackle poor health using area-based methods with vulnerable, hard-to-reach users. Setting: Scottish…

Findings from recent epidemiological investigations indicate that substance use in rural America has increased to the point where it nearly equals, if not exceeds, the rates found in suburban and urban areas. Although previous research has examined factors that have influenced use patterns, little attention has been devoted to the social and…