A 3-year study compared 52 undergraduate nursing students with 93 education majors and with the general population. No significant differences among students on 9 health behaviors appeared. Compared with the general population, nursing students had inadequate time for sleep, exercise, and eating breakfast. (Contains 77 references.) (SK)

Examined the impact of lifestyle on the effectiveness of a low-intensity dietary intervention. Analysis of data from the Eating Patterns Study indicated that people who practiced certain combinations of health behaviors responded differently to the low-intensity dietary intervention. People with high-risk behaviors were the least successful in…

A risk behaviors survey was administered to students in a rural West Virginia high school. Findings indicate that some issues of national concern (tobacco and steroid use) were not confirmed in this sample. Suicide and food choices were areas of concern. Nutrition education and methods of coping with depression were targeted for curriculum…

Investigated the age at which college students started smoking and its relationship to subsequent smoking using data from the 1995 National College Health Risk Behavior Surveys. Most students had tried smoking, and most who had ever smoked daily began doing so at age 18 years or younger. Most smokers had tried to quit, but three in four still…

Canada's recent increase in HIV infections among men who have sex with men (MSM) is substantiated by data on ongoing sexual risk behavior and increases in sexually transmitted diseases among MSM. This situation is discussed in the international context, noting an upswing in HIV-associated risk behaviors among MSM worldwide and possible…

The present study tested the feasibility of an Internet-based method to obtain objective evidence of smoking abstinence and to deliver vouchers for evidence of abstinence. Four heavy smokers participated in this 4-week study. Twice daily, participants made video recordings of themselves providing a breath carbon monoxide (CO) sample with a Web…

The authors and associates conducted a social norms-based intervention targeting high-risk sexual behaviors among undergraduate students at 4 college campuses. Social norms theory predicts that widely held misperceptions may encourage risky behavior in a misguided attempt to conform to perceived norms and that information correcting these…

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 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…

This article assesses the relative importance of several factors believed to reduce the likelihood of health insurance coverage among working Latinos in California, including cost, immigration history, availability of insurance, beliefs about insurance, and beliefs about health and health care. According to a survey of 1,000 randomly selected…

Purpose: Over the past few decades, several theories and models have evolved to guide health education practice. Some of these models are participatory and democratic; nevertheless, much health education practice is based on achieving goals established by "health authorities," which are called here the didactic model. The purpose of this paper is…

Caring for young children is physically and emotionally demanding, but both parents and teachers experience great satisfaction when they help children develop in healthy ways. Wise caregivers know that they must keep themselves healthy as well, by including exercise in their daily routine. A trip to the gym does not always fit into a schedule…

This study examined health behaviors, utilization, and access to care among older Latina and Black American mothers who co-reside with a child with developmental disabilities. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey National Center for Health Statistics (2005a), we compared Latina and Black American caregivers to similar women who did…

Although large scale national surveys provide extensive data about the nature and frequency of alcohol use among American college students, survey research on alcohol does not provide detailed information on the context of college alcohol consumption that may contribute to drinking-related negative consequences. This research sought to gather…

Literacy is an issue for many low-income audiences. Using visual information processing theories, the goal was improving readability of a food behavior checklist and ultimately improving its ability to accurately capture existing changes in dietary behaviors. Using group interviews, low-income clients (n = 18) evaluated 4 visual styles. The text…