Ohio University's Community Health Program has developed a unique online personal health course that combines online learning and classroom participation to support student success. It has improved the consistency of information presented to students and increased overall quality. Guidelines are presented for preparing and implementing such…

Women's ability to affect their socioeconomic status (SES) has significant health consequences. Paid employment is an increasingly important factor in women's SES. This paper presents a historical overview of working women, challenges faced by women (including unique challenges for minority women), and strategies for rectifying these problems,…

Investigated student satisfaction with a writing-intensive health education methods course and perceived improvement in their writing and thinking. Surveys of 103 predominantly white, female students from four sections of the course indicated that students had high levels of satisfaction with various aspects of the course, and they perceived…

Suggests a unique mental health prevention strategy that focuses on spiritual education in public schools, defining spirituality, describing the spirituality-mental health connection, highlighting educators' responsibility toward spiritual education, and offering specific activities and strategies for enhancing students' spirituality suitable for…

Surveyed adolescent boys who had participated in a brief outreach program to high school health education classes designed to increase boys' knowledge about and improve their attitudes toward testicular self-examination (TSE) and early cancer detection. Results indicated that the 1-hour outreach improved students' knowledge and attitudes regarding…

Determined current health risk behaviors of rural college freshmen using elements of the National College Health Risk Behavior Survey (NCHRBS). Student surveys indicated that for some behaviors, the incidence among these rural students was higher than the incidence among freshmen from the NCHRBS (e.g., binge drinking, ever smoking marijuana, and…

Professional literature indicates that peer programs in the 1990s were widely used to address a variety of health education content. The literature shows a paucity of peer program evaluations. The increased focus of peer education programs illustrates the importance of conducting evaluations to establish whether these programs are cost effective,…

Surveyed fibromyalgia syndrome support group members about characteristics of the disease and how it affected their lives. Respondents had symptoms for many years before being diagnosed. Symptoms varied tremendously on a daily and yearly basis, so disease management was in a constant state of flux. Most symptoms significantly impacted quality of…

Surveyed college students using 12 selected components of social cognitive theory (SCT) to identify factors related to appropriate use of male condoms during vaginal intercourse. Results indicated that 8 of the 12 SCT constructs significantly correlated with appropriateness of condom use. Factors that affected appropriate condom use behavior were…

Assessed six categories of college students' health risk behaviors. Student survey data indicated that respondents were engaging in risk behaviors that could impact educational achievement and lead to serious consequences. Youth tended to enter college with established patterns of risk. Most regularly consumed large amounts of alcohol. Differences…

Summarizes evidence regarding disparities in health status and access to health services across disadvantaged U.S. populations, reviewing major contributing factors to these disparities, highlighting examples of advocacy approaches that have been conceptualized and implemented in health education efforts, and discussing the role of advocacy aimed…

Describes the Florida Tobacco Pilot Program, a focused anti-tobacco initiative that uses youth advocacy training to accomplish its goals. The paper examines several of the Florida Tobacco Pilot Program's youth-related activities, which are designed to empower participating teens to be successful in resisting tobacco products. (SM)

Examined the expressed needs or health interests of high school freshmen enrolled in health education at seven high schools, comparing the interests according to school. Students completed the Needs Assessment Content Survey. Results indicated that significant differences existed among the students at the seven schools. There were differences for…

Role play can teach college students responsible alcohol consumption behavior. The paper presents a technique to help students develop skills and attitudes that lead to responsible alcohol use behaviors. The technique models appropriate behaviors for party hosts, helps students put knowledge into action, and lets students explore the potential…

Discusses four key community-based coronary heart disease prevention interventions, elaborating on some of the challenges they encountered. The four interventions are the Stanford Three Community Study, Stanford Five-City Project, Minnesota Heart Health Program, and Pawtucket (Rhode Island) Heart Health Program. (SM)