Critical steps in developing these curricula included: selecting integrative theory to address multidimensional antecedents of HIV/AIDS and substance abuse among Native Americans; using ethnography to obtain input from target groups and community members to ensure developmental and cultural sensitivity; and using process and outcome evaluations of…

Study examined roles assumed by state departments of education in bloodborne pathogen exposure control to protect physical educators and athletic coaches from contracting HIV and hepatitis B. Surveys indicated that 75% of states required written exposure control plans, but many failed to require full compliance with mandated federal guidelines.…

This study examined whether a comprehensive elementary health education curriculum influenced students' health behaviors after reaching eighth grade. Surveys of students in intervention and nonintervention districts indicated no apparent curriculum effects for most health behaviors. The only major difference was for the variable of age at first…

Two studies examined the efficacy of school-based exercise and nutrition programs with parent components. Elementary students participated in exercise and nutrition programs with or without home components. School/home program students scored significantly higher than the groups with no home component on tests of nutrition and fitness knowledge,…

A four-year intervention targeted students' fruit and vegetable consumption in 12 Archdiocese of New Orleans (Louisiana) high schools. Focus groups shaped program development. Intervention included schoolwide media marketing, food identification, workshops and activities, and parental involvement. Process, outcome, and impact measurements…

This article identifies several national developments that have focused renewed attention on promoting young people's health through schools, highlighting relevant National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) initiatives, and summarizing 12 recent NHLBI-funded studies of children and adolescents focusing on developmental stage, gender, and…

This study tested the impact of combining mass media interventions with school smoking-prevention programs. Students in two communities received combined interventions over four years, while students in two other communities received only the school program. Periodic surveys indicated that the combined interventions had a significantly greater,…

High intercommunity variation in adolescent smoking precluded detection of effects of mass media campaigns on initiation of cigarette smoking in a study with a final sample of 1,637 adolescent subjects. Implications for studies using the individual as unit of analysis and the community as unit of randomization are discussed. (SLD)

A survey of 531 tenth graders in an Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epicenter confirms their risk of acquiring the AIDS virus. Because socioenvironmental factors may strongly influence AIDS risk behavior, elucidation of the social influence process among adolescents should become a prevention research priority. (SLD)

This paper proposes structural reforms in the U.S. health care system based on the need for (1) workable, affordable solutions; (2) preserving and strengthening the biomedical research enterprise; (3) increased minority participation in science and the health professions; and (4) a culture of character emphasizing health promotion and disease…

The Tuskegee study of untreated syphilis in black males caused distrust by blacks of the public health system that has implications for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) studies. AIDS prevention among blacks may require openness about the Tuskegee study to allay fears of repetition. (SLD)

Reports on interviews with school personnel to determine the intensity of K-8 exposure to prevention topics and teaching strategies and to describe the degree of school support for prevention topics. Results indicated that the topics and strategies considered most necessary for successful prevention were those least used. Support for school…

Schools within the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health intervention were randomized into control, school-based, and school-based plus family intervention conditions. Measures of third graders' psychosocial determinants of risk behavior indicated significant improvements in all psychosocial determinants following the interventions,…

Describes the Health Promoting Schools Framework and its implementation in schools to prevent eating and body image disorders, examining the efficacy of preventive school-based strategies. The framework encompasses: school curriculum, teaching, and learning; school ethos, environment, and organization; and school-community partnerships and…

A sobering description of the state of college men's health is followed by discussion of the Six-Point HEALTH Plan and strategies for educational campaigns, marketing, and outreach efforts.