Using Smoke-Free and Tobacco-Free policies on college and university campuses as an example this article discusses these initiatives in the context of the role of health educators and health education programs. Issues raised are ones that health educators need to consider in any intervention effort. While the importance of intervention is well…

The purpose of this article is to describe the development of a theory-based, culturally and gender-relevant Community Health Worker (CWH)-led tobacco cessation intervention for low-income Brazilian women who augments the tobacco cessation program offered through the public health system using Intervention Mapping (IM). We began with the…

Background: Given its ability to exacerbate health inequities through its disproportionate impact on low-income communities, the need exists to better understand factors that influence substance use among adolescents. Moreover, given its multi-etiological nature, preventing adolescent substance use requires addressing intrapersonal, interpersonal,…

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosis and is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States for both men and women. The etiologies of many different types of lung cancer can be linked to risk factors that can be prevented, such as chronic tobacco smoking. Lung cancer is significantly more prevalent among…

Extension educators today face several challenges in designing, delivering, and evaluating programs. Achieving successful program outcomes is becoming increasingly difficult. Educators must choose amongst a wide variety of technology and delivery methods, all while facing resource constraints such as cost, time, and materials. Educators require a…

Adolescents may especially need social and emotional help. They are learning how to handle new demands in school and social life while dealing with new, intense emotions (both positive and negative), and they are increasingly feeling that they should do so without adult guidance. Social and emotional learning (SEL) programs are one way to help…

Adolescence is the period between childhood and adulthood and the most important stage of a human being. Adolescence is a period of stress and storm. Students cannot adjust with their new-fangled role in life. They can have Emotional, Mental, Behavioural, and Adjustment problems known as "disorders". Behavioural patterns that appear in…

Objective: Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. In addition, smoking rates among depressed and anxious smokers are higher than in the population at large. Furthermore, treating depressed and anxious smokers effectively is particularly challenging because of their significant negative affect,…

Health education researchers have continued to explore creative new ways to leverage the Internet and diverse new media applications to increase the efficacy of their interventions. The number of new media and health education studies continues to grow, as does the number of manuscripts related to new media that are submitted to "Health…

This article describes how the CS2day (Cease Smoking Today) initiative positioned continuing education (CE) in the intersection between medicine and public health. The authors suggest that most CE activities address the medical challenges that clinicians confront, often to the neglect of the public health issues that are key risk factors for the…

While the rates of teen childbearing have declined in the United States, adolescents who become pregnant and decide to bear and rear their babies are often from low-income, highly stressed families and communities. This article will describe the psychosocial problems of pregnant urban teens and how exposure to interpersonal trauma and current…

Tobacco control efforts in the early 1990s, such as the ASSIST program, recognized the importance of mass media intervention in the environmental model, along with community organization and mobilization through coalition building and policy advocacy. Since 1998, the Higher Education Center has recommended that colleges and universities embrace an…

For the past three decades, the "Healthy People" initiative has represented an ambitious yet achievable health promotion and disease prevention agenda for the nation. The recently released fourth version--"Healthy People 2020"--builds on the foundations of prior iterations while newly embracing and elevating a comprehensive "social determinants"…

Cigarette smoking has steadily declined among adolescents during the last fifteen years, although use of some tobacco products, like cigars, has seen recent increases. However, large numbers of teens continue to use tobacco products. This "Adolescent Health Highlight" presents key research findings; describes prevalence and trends; illustrates…

Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal mortality and a major public health concern. Risk factors for preterm birth include a history of preterm birth, short cervix, infection, short interpregnancy interval, smoking, and African-American race. The use of progesterone therapy to treat mothers at risk for preterm delivery is becoming more…