Recommends involving college students with their local community to establish a better understanding of the consequences of drug abuse, proposing a project in which students monitor driving while intoxicated (DWI) cases utilizing a service learning strategy. After participating in court monitoring of DWI cases, students write and share reflective…

Examined the relationship between teacher preparation and health teaching self-efficacy among elementary and secondary preservice teachers. Student teacher pre-post surveys indicated that students felt most comfortable teaching topics covered in the health classes they were enrolled in. Elementary education majors and minors had lower perceived…

Presents the significant health education needs of youth with disabilities, examining heath education issues and implications of the Healthy People 2010 agenda for this population and offering recommendations for improving the health status of youths with disabilities with regard to research, health education programs, and professional development…

Rural secondary school students completed questionnaires defining the terms "abstinence" and "sexual activity." There was no uniform agreement in students' perceptions of the terms. Students' definitions were not more precise than the terms they were asked to define. Age, gender, virginity status, attendance at religious services, and perceived…

Examined a collaboration between health education and psychological services in generating a high school depression and suicide prevention program. The five-component program raised awareness of teen depression and suicide, increased communication about these issues within the school and community, and provided information about available…

Surveyed ninth graders regarding the prevalence of nonverbal pressures in their daily experiences, noting gender differences. Students reported high levels of exposure to and conformity with nonverbal pressure, with differences in prevalence of receiving threatening gestures, space invasion from males, trust toward deceptive smiles from males, and…

Investigated the effectiveness of a violence prevention program within a rural middle school. Data collected from students at pre-test, post-test, and follow-up indicated that at follow-up, participants had significantly lower approval of violent behavior, more peer support for nonviolent behavior, less peer pressure to use drugs, greater…

Investigated the contribution of body size, self-esteem, age, mainstream acculturation, and athletic status to concern or preoccupation about weight among female Mexican American adolescents. Students had low acculturation, high body fatness, and moderate self-esteem. There was little difference between athletes and non-athletes. Greater body size…

Expresses concern that the dramatic increase in federal support of biomedical research, specifically the doubling of the National Institutes of Health budget, is producing an excess of Ph.D. graduates in biomedical sciences. Suggests that continual increases in program enrollment are primarily driven by personnel needs of the academic research…

Surveyed pharmacy schools regarding how the medication history interview is taught to doctor of pharmacy students. Found a lack of consistency in the interviewing skills taught at different schools; slightly less than half taught it before the end of the first year. (EV)

Studied social presence in an online learning environment and focused on three elements: social context, online communication, and interactivity: that emerged as important in establishing a sense of community among online learners. Discusses the privacy factor, learner characteristics, computer-mediated communication, and course design.…

Describes a study that was conducted to investigate instructor perceptions of the impact on instruction when asynchronous text-based Internet communication technology was integrated into distance courses at the University of Alberta. Highlights include the theory of transactional distance; and results of interviews with instructors regarding…

Discusses findings of an evaluation of university Web-based courses that used the Input-Environment-Outcome assessment model to control for student characteristics in order to decrease bias. Results of multiple regression analysis supported the view that students' satisfaction was influenced by the online environment and was not due to student…

Highlights the need to reinvigorate HIV prevention programs among youth, describing an emerging challenge for health practitioners--the belief that safer sex is no longer as important because of advances in treatment for HIV. Suggestions are offered to strengthen programs for youth in the third decade of AIDS (e.g., improve training of HIV…

Evaluated the impact of online, stage-based materials on exercise behavior and stage of readiness to change. College faculty participated in stage-based, action-message, or control groups. Occupational and leisure activity, 7-day physical activity, exercise self-efficacy, and stage of readiness to change were assessed at baseline and 6 weeks.…