Uncertain economic times and job availability are concerns for scores of Americans, including many new health education professionals who seek to enter the workforce. One way to distinguish health education professionals from their competitors to increase the chances of employment is certification. Yet, over the years, some health education…

The childhood obesity epidemic is one of the defining health challenges of this decade and perhaps the 21st century. Obesity rates among youths have nearly tripled in the past three decades. Solving the obesity epidemic requires that students understand and accept the changes within the environment and ultimately modify their health behaviors to…

The health and well-being of incarcerated women is a significant public health concern. Compared with non-incarcerated women, incarcerated women in the United States are more often from minority populations, younger (between the ages of 18 and 34 years), of low socioeconomic status, unemployed and mothers to children under 18 years of age. More…

Although the fundamental principles of health education remain unchanged, the practice of health education continues to evolve in response to the rapidly changing lifestyles and technological advances. Emerging health risks are often associated with these lifestyle changes. The purpose of this article is to address the role of health educators…

As health educators involved in their profession, as members of their professional organizations, and as authors, reviewers, and members of various professional journal editorial boards, and along with involvement with professional preparation programs, the authors' interest was piqued by the journal article titled, "What About Health Educators?…

"What about Health Educators? Nutrition Education for Allied Health Professionals" describes an important issue in health care that is the provision of nutrition education. Obesity and chronic disease rates are rapidly increasing. Due to increase in the prevalence rates of obesity and nutrition-related chronic diseases, there is a growing need for…

More and more, health education specialists are integrating technology into their work. Whereas most are familiar with social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, one relatively new form of social media, location based services (LBS), may be less familiar. Developed in 2000, LBS are software applications that are accessible from a…

In this article, the author discusses what life will be like in 2035, and what its implications will be for the way in which health education is practiced. He states that in the next 25 years health educators will have to leave their comfort zones and take a calculated risk with some radical and more creative approaches to health behavior change.…

Magic has to do with the supernatural and the unnatural. It is indifferent to natural law and science and is aloof from scientific inquiry. Its existence depends upon unquestioning faith. Granted such faith, it is extraordinarily potent. If it does not move mountains, it convinces the faithful that it can. It can damage health and perhaps, restore…

In the article "Magic, Morals and Health" the reader is treated to Dr. Warren Johnson's thoughts about health and society, and the role of health educators. If one stays with Dr. Johnson's train of thought, one will find Dr. Johnson is concerned that: (1) A large segment of society tends to base at least some of their beliefs about health on…

In this issue of the "American Journal of Health Education," Burke et al. provide a case review of an international videoconference between a U.S. and a German university. The authors highlighted the benefits and opportunities of international videoconferencing as well as the relevant limitations. Videoconferencing is an interactive tool that…

This paper is reformatted and reprinted as part of the 40th Anniversary of the American Journal of Health Education. (originally School Health Review) Health Education--Our Heritage series. The original article appeared in the inaugural issue of School Health Review (Volume 1, September 1969, pp. 4-8). At the time, Joseph H. Douglass, Ph.D., was…

In the 1969 inaugural issue of the "School Health Review", Douglass J.H. examined four major issues he felt were central to the question of choices one has about health: (1) problems with health care delivery methods; (2) persistent poverty in our population and its impact on health; (3) systemic problems inherent in social and institutional…

The term "person of color" has been used recently to describe respondents' racial and ethnic composition in a research study. Although the term has been used widely to describe members of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, a "person of color" is not a racial or ethnic category. Thus, one would question whether this term should be used in a…

This paper is reformatted and reprinted as part of the 40th Anniversary of the "American Journal of Health Education" (originally School Health Review) Health Education--Our Heritage. The original article appeared in Volume 1, "School Health Review" (September 1969, pp. 9-14). At the time, Myer Herman was director of the Division of Adult Health…