Protective face masks were one of the central measures to counteract viral transmission in the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior research indicates that face masks impact various aspects of social cognition, such as emotion recognition and social evaluation. Whether protective masks also influence social avoidance behavior is less clear. Our project…

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about significant changes for college students, teacher education programs, and K-12 schools. During the Spring 2020 semester, universities and K-12 schools cancelled campus activities and moved all instruction online, followed by attempts to re-open with varied instructional modes and precautionary strategies. The…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, mask-wearing in classrooms has become commonplace. However, there are little data on the effect of face-masks on children's language input and production in educational contexts, like preschool classrooms which over half of United States children attend. Leveraging repeated objective measurements, we longitudinally…

Background: We assessed the effectiveness of a handwashing program using hand sanitizer to prevent school absenteeism due to upper respiratory infections (URIs). Methods: This was a randomized, controlled, and open study on a sample of 1341 children 4-12 years old, attending 5 state schools in Almería (Spain), with an 8-month follow-up. The…

High retention and treatment adherence are essential to ensure the quality of evidence from clinical trials. Strategies for improving these have been explored but actual rates in lifestyle intervention trials indicate challenges. This study examined the use of a motivational interviewing-informed strategy during interactive group orientations…

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of healthy life practice (HLP) education on reported health behaviors, including health promotion, disease prevention, and safety among fourth-grade elementary school students. A quasi-experimental, pretest/posttest design was used. The 101 recruited participants from two schools were assigned to…

Background: Handwashing in the school setting is important for infectious disease control, yet maintaining adequate handwashing supplies is often made difficult by lack of funds, limited staff time, and student vandalism. This study measured the availability of handwashing supplies for students in New Mexico public schools and determined the…

Urine is the most commonly utilized biomarker for fluoride excretion in public health and epidemiological studies. Approximately 30-50% of fluoride is excreted from urine in children. Urinary fluoride excretion reflects the total fluoride intake from multiple sources. After administering fluoride tablets to children with disabilities, urinary…

The Hi Five study was a three-armed cluster randomized controlled trial designed to reduce infections and improve hygiene and well-being among pupils. Participating schools (n = 43) were randomized into either control (n = 15) or one of two intervention groups (n = 28). The intervention consisted of three components: (i) a curriculum (ii)…

Background: The Coronary Health Improvement Project (CHIP) is designed to lower cardiovascular risk factors among a group of generally healthy individuals through health education. Purpose: This study will evaluate the efficacy of the CHIP intervention at improving eating, sleep, stress, and depressive disorders. Methods: A health education…

Objective: Community-based health promotion intervention for improving unhygienic disposal of children's faeces was conducted in a rural area of Nigeria. Setting: The study was conducted in Ife South Local Government area of Osun State, Nigeria. Design: The study was conducted in 10 randomly selected rural villages: five control and five active.…

Single-session Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) risk reduction programs led by peer volunteers for 201 gay and bisexual men were slightly more effective than 4-session groups led by paid counselors for 88 subjects. Both were more effective than waiting-list control groups (n=212 subjects) in reducing the risk behavior. (SLD)