Hand hygiene is a key element in preventing the transmission of cold and flu viruses. The authors conducted an experimental-control design study in 4 campus residence halls to determine whether a message campaign about hand hygiene and the availability of gel hand sanitizer could decrease cold and flu illness and school and work absenteeism. Their…

Purpose: We describe the impact of two interventions, a consumer-directed voucher for in-home supportive services and a chronic disease self-management-health-promotion nurse intervention, on the probability of use of two types of home care-skilled home health care and personal assistance services-received by functionally impaired Medicare…

The United States experienced a shortage of influenza vaccine for the 2004-2005 influenza season. The authors surveyed college health programs to determine whether they had targeted vaccine to priority groups and knew how to reallocate remaining vaccine. They used an electronic message to distribute a Web-based survey to the members of 3…

In this paper, the authors focus on informal learning as it is situated in and derived from everyday life experience (Lave, 1988; Lave and Wenger, 1991). Their concern is with informal musical learning and its link to health, well-being and the care of self, an area that has already received some attention from research in music therapy,…

The quality of students' lives can be greatly enhanced through music, and teachers know that musicians at all levels risk injury when they practice and perform. Overuse injuries are painful, disrupt progress, and can even permanently halt performing careers. Expert treatment can be difficult to find on short notice, especially when an injured…

One common piece of advice that exercise professionals give their clients is to drink water before, during, and after exercise. During exercise people can lose as much as three liters of water per hour (about 100 ounces) through sweat. Dehydration alters normal sweat patterns, which can lead to an increased core body temperature. Since most of the…

With heightened attention on childhood obesity prevention efforts, there seems to be some confusion between the terms "physical education" and "physical activity." Often the words are used interchangeably but they differ in important ways. Understanding the difference between the two is critical to understanding why both contribute to the…

Researchers at the University of Bern in Switzerland have identified a compound in the popular vegetable that appears to decrease bone loss in laboratory studies using rat bone cells. It is suggested that eating onions might help prevent bone loss and osteoporosis, a disease, which predominantly affects older women.

This study sought to identify successful strategies for garnering stakeholder support for coordinated school health programs (CSHP) - an interactive, multi-component approach to health promotion among students and school staff. In the late 1990's several states were awarded federal funding to build infrastructure for CSHP. Directors from these…

Community health initiatives typically involve time-limited funding from foundation or government grants to support their initial activities. But if there are to be lasting improvements in health outcomes, initiative activities must be sustained over a relatively long period of time. Despite the importance of sustaining work begun under health…

Daily stretching has many benefits for one's body. It can relieve stress and tension, it increases flexibility and it can help prevent injuries. There are many stretching exercises that a teacher can do with his or her students to help promote daily stretching routines. In this article, the author presents several stretching exercises and some…

Dr. Greene answers the following question in this brief article focusing on fitness: Everyone knows that children need plenty of exercise to stay healthy--But what does "fitness" really involve for young children? Following this discussion, the topics presented include: snack of the month; nutrition fact; and activities, "Move to the Music" and…

This brief paper reports the results of two observational studies examining the impact of fines for youth tobacco possession on public smoking among youth. Preliminary findings are presented that suggest that when police issued warnings and tickets to reduce underage youth possession of tobacco, in both towns the number of youth smoking in public…

With the advent of devolution, policies and programmes are being developed and delivered to meet the particular needs of the people of Wales. It is recognized that such policies and programmes need to be informed by the best available evidence to identify key issues, assess what has worked elsewhere to address them, and to have monitoring and…

As the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) releases its "Guidance for School Responses to Influenza During the 2009-2010 School Year," the U.S. Department of Education reminds states, districts, schools, students, staff, families, and communities about the importance of ensuring the continuity of learning in the event of student or school…