A literature review found that definitions of participation and participation rates in worksite health promotion programs vary dramatically. Men and blue-collar workers were less likely to participate. To improve participation, programs should involve management and labor representatives, use multiple communication channels, and target subgroups…

Literature review explores various components of spiritual health, defining and categorizing existing definitions identified in the literature into six perspectives: sense of fulfillment in life; values and beliefs of community and self; wholeness in life; a factor in well-being; a controlling higher power; and human/spiritual interaction. (SM)

Summer institute grouped secondary health teachers with current health research and education leaders, offering information to increase their perceptions of personal control over health teaching. Assessment indicated they developed a higher sense of personal control over health teaching and of influences exerted over personal health by powerful…

Examines research indicating that children are affected by U.S. society's preoccupation with thinness, discusses self-esteem and healthy body image, and offers suggestions for incorporating strategies into existing comprehensive school health programs to deter disordered eating and inappropriate dieting habits among children. (SM)

High school and college students (n=465) were surveyed about their knowledge of AIDS and how the knowledge affected their sexual behavior. Although reported information was good, several misconceptions were evident. Students' level of worry about contracting AIDS remained high; less than 50 percent reported behavior change since learning about…

Health education practitioners often neglect theories, possibly because of lack of training in their use or misunderstanding of their contribution to practice. Ways to make them more useful include (1) identifying helpful data; (2) fitting theories to projects and anticipating problems; (3) selecting appropriate theories; and (4) using parts of…

Exposes misperceptions of the nature and usefulness of theory and explains benefits for practice of generalizability and testability. Guides practitioners through application of theory to each stage of intervention or program development. (SK)

Discussion among health professionals of how they use theory in practice is intended to help theoreticians develop more useful theory and practitioners increase their understanding of the utility of good theory. (SK)

Over its 12-year history, an arthritis patient education program evolved from a basis not grounded in theory to one tightly linked to it. As cycles of research, intervention, and evaluation produced new results, the self-management program was revised and improved. (SK)

The Health Promotion and Education Council of Virginia became an effective advocate by incorporating elements of the theory of innovation diffusion, such as working through opinion leaders, creating information exchange relationships, tailoring attributes of the innovation to achieve objectives, and communicating the innovation to legislators. (SK)

To give practitioners greater control of theory, myths about theory must be dismantled; limitations in theories currently guiding practice must be acknowledged; and theory to fill the gaps and build a more adequate knowledge base must be developed. (SK)

Describes Staying Healthy after Fifty, a comprehensive health promotion program for older adults, and the teaching and learning methods used. Outlines the course content for instructors, facilitators, and course participants. (JOW)

Describes the selection and training of volunteers to conduct a national health promotion program, Staying Healthy after Fifty. (JOW)

Evaluation of the Staying Healthy after Fifty program indicated that medical self-care instruction produces substantial improvements in health-related knowledge, skills performance, and actions. It produced no evidence that medical self-care instruction has any effect on health status, use of medical care, or quality of life. (JOW)

Describes how Staying Healthy after Fifty, a successful health promotion program for older adults, was adapted and disseminated through the collaboration of three agencies. Includes the conceptual framework used to build the relationship, the outcomes, and an analysis of the experiences as they relate to diffusion of innovation. (Author/JOW)