Background: Evidence supporting physical activity (PA) as an effective modality in the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases is robust. Medical doctors are ideally placed to translate this into practice; however, realising this has proved challenging. To ensure doctors are well prepared, the training of medical students to be…

Health education specialists play a major role in promoting a healthy lifestyle, preventing, and managing diseases. This study aimed at identifying the needed skills and knowledge of health education specialists with an interest in disease prevention and the transformation of healthcare in Saudi Arabia. This study employed a qualitative case study…

"Promoting Student Achievement through Improved Health Policy" is a quick primer of the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] CDC's "Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child" model, which highlights 10 important areas for connecting health and learning: health education; physical education and physical activity;…

Out-of-wedlock pregnancy among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa is a major concern, because of its association with health, social, psychological, economic and demographic factors. This article describes the development of the Teenage Mothers Project, a community-based intervention to improve psychological and social well-being of unmarried…

Many children, including those with asthma, remain exposed to secondhand smoke. This manuscript evaluates the process of implementing a secondhand smoke reduction counseling intervention using motivational interviewing (MI) for caregivers of urban children with asthma, including reach, dose delivered, dose received and fidelity. Challenges,…

Lay health advisers (LHAs) are increasingly used to deliver tobacco dependence treatment, especially with low-socioeconomic status (SES) populations. More information is needed about treatment adherence to help interpret mixed evidence of LHA intervention effectiveness. This study examined adherence to behavioral counseling and nicotine patches in…

Studies show that childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Today, more than 23 million American children--or nearly one in every three--are overweight or obese. If childhood obesity is left unaddressed, a generation of individuals could face health, social, and economic challenges that promise to stress government…

For the vast majority of persons of all ages who suffer from major depression, it is recurrent. A traditional wisdom has been that elderly persons respond more poorly to treatment for serious depression than younger persons. The psychiatric status of 127 elderly persons hospitalized for an episode of major depression was systematically assessed…

Treatment is one component of a strategy to reduce substance abuse. It can include detoxification; inpatient counseling; outpatient counseling; therapeutic communities; and self help groups. Referrals can take place in settings such as emergency rooms; employee assistance programs; churches; and physicians' offices. Unmet treatment needs can cause…

Successful counseling is possible if health care providers learn to interpret behaviors within cultural context. The paper describes a culture-centered approach, using a grid that matches same/different behaviors and expectations. Culturally accurate knowledge and skills provide a developmental sequence for more appropriate health-care guidance in…

In the absence of data, pharmacotherapy with benzodiazepines has become the mainstay of anxiety management in the elderly population. However, the use of benzodiazepines in the elderly has many problems. Elderly persons are more sensitive to anti-anxiety medications and are subject to a variety of increased risks, including cognitive impairment,…

A 1987 model for a coordinated school health program included a healthy environment, comprehensive health education, physical education, health and nutrition services, counseling, staff health promotion, and family and community involvement. Effective programs in two low-resource areas--Providence, Rhode Island, and Animas, New Mexico--are…

Following decades of mutual disengagement, coordinated school health programs (CSHPs) are emerging in response to the current state of children's health and education. CSHPs usually feature staff health promotion; health education; school health services; counseling, psychological, and social services; nutrition; physical education; a healthy…

To identify rates and factors associated with timely prenatal care (PNC) initiation, HIV test counseling, test offering, and test offer acceptance, we conducted a semistructured survey of a convenience sample of pregnant/recently delivered Hispanic women (n = 453, 418 with analyzable data) in four California counties in 2000. Only 68.4% and 43.5%…

The purpose of the study was to describe school nurses' (N=24) and teachers' (N=25) opinions of how the health-related goals in their counselling and instruction were attained and to find out the possible differences between the two groups in the Finnish European Network of Health Promoting Schools. The data were collected by a questionnaire and…