Dental caries, periodontal diseases, tooth loss and oral cancers have significant burden of disease effects, quality of life and cost implications for the Australian community. Oral health promotion is a key approach to addressing these conditions endorsed as part of the National Oral Health Plan. Understanding the evidence for effectiveness of…

Objective: To assess the impact of a community based, low-contact intervention on the physical activity habits of insufficiently active women. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Participants: Inactive Irish women. Method: A population sample of women participating in a mass 10 km event were up followed at 2 and 6 months, and those who had…

Objective: This study examined the feasibility of using wireless mobile devices (MDs) to collect daily alcohol information among college students, in particular examining feasibility in the context of costs associated with the use of wireless MDs. This study reports on practical aspects of using MDs to collect alcohol data, including compliance,…

Objective: To describe the development of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) evidence-based guidance on one-to-one interventions for prevention of STIs and under 18 conceptions, as a focus for an integrated approach to sexual health services. Method: Documentation of the process for developing NICE guidance that is…

Objectives: (1) To investigate weight gain in first-year university students; and (2) to examine whether environmental and psychological factors, specifically accommodation and stress, predict weight gain. Methods: Eighty-four first-year university students (77 per cent female) were weighed and completed the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Kamarck…

Background: The purpose of this study was to gain insights into the perceptions and attitudes about teen pregnancy among high school students in a rural area with high teen pregnancy rates. Methods: Five focus groups were conducted with: (1) females in 9th-10th grades; (2) females in 11th-12th grades; (3) males in 9th-10th grades; (4) males in…

Objective: To assess the barriers and benefits of taking multivitamins among Hispanic women exposed to a folic acid social marketing campaign in Florida, USA. Design and setting: Evaluation of non-pregnant women aged 18-35 from multiple Hispanic subgroups. Method: For 6 months, participants exposed to social marketing campaign educational…

Objective: With the help of the "OPTIMAHL 60plus" counselling aid, it is intended to improve the nutritional and physical activity behaviour, the maintenance and enhancement of the quality of life, and the autonomy of people above 60 years of age. Due to their complexity, currently available didactical counselling aids are not considered suitable…

Objective: To examine older adults' beliefs about osteoporosis and osteoporosis screening to identify barriers to screening. Design: Cross-sectional mailed survey. Setting: Western Pennsylvania. Methods: Surveys were mailed to 1,830 women and men aged 60 years and older. The survey assessed socio-demographic characteristics, osteoporosis and…

Objective: The aim of the current study was to examine adolescents' perceptions of the quality of a Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) intervention, their preferences for sources of SRE and how these vary as a function of gender, school's faith and school type. Design: A non-experimental design was used. Setting: The participants (N = 759…

A relatively new area of research suggests that naturally occurring mentoring relationships may influence the development of adolescents by protecting against risk behaviors. Few studies have explored how these relationships function to reduce risk behavior among youth, especially in the school context. Based on previous research and theory, we…

This study examined the impact of two interventions on body image, eating disorder risk and excessive exercise among 170 (65% female) trainee health education and physical education (HE & PE) teachers of mean (standard deviation) age 21.6 (2.3) who were considered an "at-risk" population for poor body image and eating disorders. In the first year…

The objective of this study was to examine lay health advisor (LHA) programs designed to promote health among US Latinos and the extent to which educator-only versus educator-plus-bridge programs differed in designs and outcomes achieved. Two independent coders reviewed 128 published articles on LHAs yielding information at two levels: (i) study…

The goal of this study was to assess the effects of a school-based smoking prevention programme that used both a video and peer-led discussion groups among Romanian junior high school students aged 13-14 years. The programme embraced the social influence approach and concentrated on enhancing self-efficacy and the acquisition of cigarette refusal…

The school environment has been often identified as a prosperous venue for public health improvement. This study is a cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating the impact of a school-based helmet promotion program on knowledge, attitudes and practices of eligible adolescent drivers. Four public, four private and four vocational high schools…