Evaluate the comprehensiveness of primary school sun-protection policies in tropical North Queensland, Australia. Pre-determined criteria were used to assess publicly available sun-protection policies from primary schools in Townsville (latitude 19.3°S; n = 43), Cairns (16.9°S; n = 46) and the Atherton Tablelands (17.3°S; n = 23) during 2009-2012.…

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of Epstein's TARGET strategies on adolescents' intentions to be physically active and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) levels. A total of 447 secondary education students (193 females and 254 males), range age 12-17 years, were divided in two groups: control (N = 224) and experimental…

Despite evidence that preschoolers spend the majority of their time in sedentary activities, few physical activity interventions have focused on preschool-age children. Health promotion interventions that can be integrated into the daily routines of a school or other setting are more likely to be implemented. The Study of Health and Activity in…

Physical education has been an integral part of the school curriculum for more than a century. Although the focus has changed over time, the major objective has remained relatively constant: to provide students with the knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, and confidence to be physically active throughout their lifetime. As more physical…

Environmental health is a branch of public health that is concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines environmental health as those aspects of human health and diseases that are determined by factors in the environment. It also refers to the theory and practice of assessing and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of a toothbrushing intervention delivered in primary schools in Yorkshire and the Humber, a Northern district of England. The toothbrushing intervention was designed with the intention of improving the oral health of young children. The paper reports the effectiveness of the…

Mental health issues continue to present barriers for Canadian children, in terms of both psychological and academic outcomes. Growing numbers of students are placed "at risk" as a result. A mental health promotion approach suggests that students can develop a number of skills and competencies, namely those related to social-emotional…

Studies indicate that both preservice and in-service teachers find it difficult to connect to their role as health promoters within a school context. There is also evidence that those teachers most often responsible for delivering health education (i.e., physical education teachers) are at an increased risk for body dissatisfaction, dieting, and…

Sexual health text message services are becoming an increasingly popular way to reach young people with sexual health information. A variety of service types exist: some send automated messages on a set schedule; others provide personalized responses to individual questions. Young people's perceptions of interactivity, which is often based on…

Peer-led health promotion strategies in schools have been found to be effective in promoting healthy behaviours amongst youth. This study aimed to evaluate the views of the peer educators in implementing a health education programme using a qualitative approach. Informal discussions and eight in-depth interviews were used to explore the views of…

Objective: Our aim was to develop written resource material for use in the "Oral Health Information through Community Pharmacists" project. Poor oral health is associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Many people do not access dental services on a regular basis; however, they may access community pharmacies for help and…

The primary purpose of this study was to analyze the link between students' expectancy beliefs, subjective task values, out-of-school activity, and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) participation across secondary school physical education (PE) classes. The sample comprised 96 students (58 girls, 38 boys; Mage = 15.03, SD = 0.94) from…

Health education campaigns for preventing and reducing obesity often contain weight-stigmatizing visual content, which may have unintended negative health consequences. The goal of the present research was to identify non-stigmatizing visual content for health education materials that can promote exercise among people of diverse weight statuses.…

Background: Approximately 31.7% of children in the United States are overweight or obese. Interventions in the afterschool setting may help combat childhood obesity. Research exists on interventions in school settings, but a few data exist for interventions about afterschool programs. This study investigates increasing physical activity (PA) in…

Youth development professionals (YDPs) working at community-based organizations are in a unique position to interact with the adolescents because they are neither parents/guardians nor teachers. The objectives of this study were to explore qualitatively what sexual health issues adolescents discuss with YDPs and to describe those issues using the…