The use of addictive substances by adolescents is a major public health concern; however, rural versus urban variations are poorly understood. The purpose of the current study was to examine rural-urban differences in the prevalence of recent use of 11 substances in grades 6 through 12 in a statewide sample of students from the Georgia Student…

Objective: This study aimed to identify predominant search patterns in a recent search for health information and a potential search for strongly needed cancer information, to identify the commonly scanned sources of information that may represent stable elements of the information fields characteristic of these patterns, and to evaluate whether…

Objective: To examine college student health centers' (SHCs) practices related to sexually transmitted disease (STD) screening and treatment over a 5-year period. Participants: College SHCs that completed the ACHA Pap and STI Survey between 2010 and 2014. Methods: Chi-square tests were conducted with Cramer's V providing a measure of association.…

Background: The elevated rates of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure and low rates of sun protection in young adult women indicate a need for age- and gender-appropriate interventions that address these behaviors. Aims: To examine the effects of daily behavior tracking and individually tailored text messages on sun protection and UVR exposure…

Health information is increasingly being shared online not just by credentialed sources such as physicians or health organizations, but also by patients with personal experience with a health concern. This dissertation proposes a new measure of vigilance-avoidance, or tendency to approach or avoid threatening stimuli, in order to understand how…

Children from low-income families are at greater risk for poor social-emotional development and physical health and may be in need of intervention. This study examined the extent to which the "Positive Action" ("PA") preschool lessons improved low-income children's social-emotional competence and health behaviors. Mixed…

Two studies evaluated the implementation of a stricter campus underage drinking policy on service utilization and bystander helping behaviors for alcohol-related medical emergencies. A program evaluation (Study 1) examined campus emergency medical service logs assessing changes in call volume and service utilization, finding a 30% reduction in…

Designing and implementing effective interventions for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) continues to challenge teachers. School connectedness is an emerging construct that is preventative for engagement in health-risk behavior and bullying. This article highlights a shift in intervention design and proposes a multifaceted…

Nutrition labels are seen as one means of enhancing diets, but there have been no studies of attitudes towards, and use of, such labels by college students in any of the Arab countries. A questionnaire-based survey of students in several of the colleges of Kuwait University was carried out. Data were analysed using t-test, 1-way ANOVA, crosstabs,…

Background: While dietary sources of calcium are important for bone health, the intake of milk and milk products decreases as children get older. A free milk in schools program may mitigate this decrease in milk consumption. We evaluated the Fonterra Milk for schools program (a free milk initiative) by determining changes in children's milk…

Background: Youth obesity in the United States is a major health concern. Obesity can be reduced by increasing health-promoting behaviors. Purpose: The goals of the present study were to (1) identify the strongest motivators of and barriers to health-promoting behaviors among a culturally diverse group of middle and high school students and (2)…

Background: Many misconceptions about breast cancer exist. College students have the opportunity to perform breast cancer risk-reducing behaviors. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess breast cancer knowledge among university students and examine the influence of breast cancer knowledge on health behaviors for breast cancer prevention.…

This cross-sectional study of 504 community-dwelling Australian adults (328 females, 176 males, mean age 50.8 ± 13.0 years) sought to examine the reliability and validity of measurement scales for physical activity (PA) self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Participants completed demographic and anthropometric measurements, and a 23-item…

Addictive disorders are a public health crisis that affects our society by draining our workforce, health care, judicial, education, and law enforcement, resources. Adolescents are particularly susceptible to social influence--for better and for worse--and addiction. Through social media, today's youth experience a whole new way of communicating.…

Children from low-income families are at greater risk for poor social-emotional development and physical health and may be in need of intervention. This study examined the extent to which the "Positive Action" ("PA") preschool lessons improved low-income children's social-emotional competence and health behaviors. Mixed…