Nearly all lifelong smokers start as children or young adults, and the tobacco industry targets these specific age groups. A key public health effort to limit the use of tobacco products by people under the age of 21 years is the promotion of the "Tobacco 21" initiative. This initiative promotes and supports efforts to establish bills…

Unhealthy relationships have a devastating impact on adolescents' academic performance, including poor attendance, difficulty concentrating, and feeling unsafe at school. Schools provide an ideal setting to positively influence adolescents' attitudes, knowledge, and relationship skills by integrating healthy relationship lessons into sexuality…

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for school age youth, with 1 in 12 high school students reporting seriously contemplating suicide over the past year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014). The majority of students and teachers have not received adequate mental health training (Jacobs, 2006); thus, there is a need to…

The increase of chronic disease in the United States has created a strong demand for health education specialists (HESs) who are trained to facilitate behavioral, environmental and policy changes through program implementation and evaluation. However, it is difficult for colleges and universities to prepare future health educators to be competent…

Promoting behaviors that prevent infectious disease is a primary curricular aim of school health education. Enabling students to advocate for influenza prevention using social media is a teaching approach consistent with this aim. Objectives: Students will be able to: 1) identify and describe strategies for influenza prevention; 2) describe and…

The introduction of the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model has challenged professionals working in school health to inspire school districts to embrace WSCC's philosophical and practical components. Adopting the WSCC model to foster wellness priorities in school districts encourages healthy people and healthy environments to…

This teaching technique asks students to evaluate the "badness" of 5-7 health-related behavioral statements of a specific health topic. Following the presentation of each statement, each students selects one of five choices: "Really Bad", "No Big Deal", "It Depends", "Go for It", or…

Advocacy at the local school or school district level has received emphasis as a strategy for improving school health education. The involvement of health educators in advocacy for school health education has been described as "imperative" at all levels of school-based policy. Allensworth's 2010 Society for Public Health Education…

Child health is a complex issue that requires a comprehensive approach to address the many factors that influence it and are influenced by it. In light of the complexity of children's health, the Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) was developed as a framework for a systems approach to planning and implementing school-based children's health…

Would You Rather (WYR), with a Sexual Health Twist! teaching technique uses two youth games, "Would you rather…" and Twister®, to actively engage students in developing decision-making skills regarding human sexuality. Utilizing the "Would you rather" choices, the teacher provides a short scenario with two difficult choices.…

This strategy is to provide health education teacher candidates with critical and creative thinking tools to explore gardening as a vehicle to integrate health education content with other subjects. According to the Competency-Based Framework for the Health Education Specialist (2010a), entry-level health educators should have skills and…

The purpose of this article to describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health Preconception Peer Educators program at a small private historically black college and university (HBCU). Peer educators were college students who completed a two-day training that…

Teaching philosophy (TP) statements are increasingly required within academia for hiring and promotion purposes. For health educators, a TP can be a valuable resource for academicians as well as practitioners, linking educational theory with teaching techniques, philosophy with practice. The process of formulating a TP statement provides the…

"The Wheels of Stress Go Round and Round" teaching idea uses three activity wheels to reinforce stress-related content and concepts. After presenting a definition of stress, the instructor assists students in identifying stressors, and aids in formulating a list of negative, reactive behaviors and a list of positive coping mechanisms. Using…

Too many racial/ethnic minorities do not reach their full potential for a healthy and rewarding life. This paper addresses the social determinants that impact, either directly or indirectly, child and adolescent health disparities. Understanding the role social determinants play in the life course of health status can help guide educational…