Background: The resurgence of interest in virtual reality (VR) in recent years has been exciting for health educators and researchers, yet little is known about VR's effectiveness. This systematic literature review aims to provide an overview of the prevalence of VR in alcohol studies and assess its effectiveness. Methods: Peer-reviewed articles…

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of Cool and Clean, Switzerland's largest substance use prevention programme, targeted specifically at 10- to 20-year-olds who belong to a sports club and train as part of a team. Method: Based on a representative sample of young people who belong to a sports club and train as part of a team…

Objective: Age of initiation of drug use is closely associated with the risk of developing drug dependence or abuse. Effective programmes are needed to prevent adolescents from using drugs at an early age. The aim of this intervention programme was to prevent adolescents from using illegal drugs by using drama in education (DIE) to convey a…

Objective: Evidence suggests that younger mothers engage in poorer health behaviours, resulting in increased cancer risk. We aimed to better understand the health behaviours of younger mothers and the factors that influence their lifestyle choices, in order to improve cancer prevention within this population. Methods: A multiple focus group,…

Objective: To systematically review evidence for interventions to prevent early childhood caries (ECC) in Indigenous children in high-income countries. Search strategy: In November 2016, we searched Medline (from 1946), Embase (from 1980), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed (from 1996) and the Cumulative Index to…

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) gatekeeper suicide prevention training on individuals' ability to recognise the warning signs of suicide, intention to question someone they think is suicidal, persuade the suicidal person to stay alive, and know how and where to get help for the…

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a universal prevention programme for disordered eating behaviours (DEB) and sedentary lifestyle among Mexican young people. Design: Non-experimental single group field study with repeated measures (pre-test, post-test and at 6-month follow-up). Setting: Public high school in Hidalgo, Mexico. Methods: In all,…

Schools are an important venue for implementing drug prevention programmes. School-based programmes have been shown to be an efficacious and cost-effective method of reducing substance use disorders among youth. There exists lack of consensus, however, regarding who makes the most effective programme providers. Drug prevention programmes are led…

Objective: To examine whether the completion of a course of study relating to preventive health and lifestyle risk factors was associated with alterations in health behaviours. Design: Within-group intervention, repeated-measures design. Setting: Health behaviours of university students studying a course focused on health and well-being. Method:…

Objective: Internet-based health promotion offers a promising approach to fostering healthy sexual behaviour among adolescents. The objective of this study was to identify the potential of an Internet-based programme to improve sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge among Malaysian young people. Design: A pre-test/post-test design was used…

Objectives: Publications on tobacco control were quantitatively analysed to gain insight into the essential characteristics of the research field and trends and patterns in publication activities. The goal was to detect changes in the number of publications before and after the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO…

Objectives: Significant others can play a key role in suicide prevention, but little attention has been given to the resources they may need in order to do so effectively. Based on previous qualitative research and working in partnership with suicide prevention charities, we developed a simple educational leaflet to help family members and friends…

Objective: College students are a group at risk for contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs). While they are generally well informed about STIs, they do not consistently use condoms. An important element in preventing STIs is safer sex communication, especially with a sexual partner. This may be difficult, however, because of a lack of…

Introduction: Apprehension over a possible recurrence of Ebola remains pervasive among college students in Nigeria. Prevention education continues to be carried out through public service announcements (PSAs) on radio, television and in the social media. However, little is known about college students' knowledge, attitudes and adherence to PSAs on…

Objective: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of adolescents' use of smartphone applications and educational booklets in an educational programme about sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Design: Non-equivalent control-group time-series design. Setting: The study was conducted in two public high schools located in two urban areas of…