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Gamified and engaging school-based alcohol social marketing programs have demonstrated effectiveness; however, wide-scale dissemination of these programs is limited by their resource-intensive character. The purpose of this paper is to address this limitation, a brief alcohol social marketing pilot program was derived from a comprehensive alcohol social marketing program to compare effectiveness.

A sample of 115 14–16-year-old adolescents from six secondary schools participated in the brief alcohol social marketing pilot program. Program effectiveness was assessed using repeated measure analysis on adolescents’ knowledge, attitudes, social norms, self-efficacy and intentions to binge drink. Results were compared with the comprehensive social marketing program and a control group.

The brief pilot program produced statistically significant outcomes for the same measures as the comprehensive program across attitudinal variables, descriptive norms and opportunistic self-efficacy.

Converting existing social marketing programs into brief alternates is more cost-effective and, in this case, demonstrated better outcome effects. However, findings are limited as in-depth comparisons were hindered by changes to content across program modes. No process for converting comprehensive programs into brief alternates was identified prior to this study, and therefore a number of considerations for program alteration were derived from program facilitator experiences.

The findings provide initial evidence that a brief version of an existing comprehensive program can be an effective alternate to more resource-intensive programs under more cost-effective circumstances for program developers and facilitators.

Parents are sometimes perceived as barriers to providing comprehensive and inclusive sexuality education to young people. However, little is known about parents’ actual attitudes towards providing such broad information to young people. The purpose of this paper is to examine two different approaches to measuring parents’ attitudes towards sexuality information, a programme title approach and a topic-centred approach.

Illinois parents of adolescents (n=301) indicated their knowledge about and attitudes towards sexuality education programmes and 18 sexual health topics via online survey. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine whether parents’ attitudes were more consistent with a programme-centred (i.e. abstinence-only, comprehensive) or a topic-centred (i.e. physical health, sexual and gender identity, pleasure, and relationships) approach.

Parents were uncertain about what form of sexuality education was offered but most were equally comfortable with both abstinence-only and comprehensive programmes. Parents’ ratings of topics grouped significantly better by the topic-centred than the programme-centred approach. Parents rated all four subjects as important, with the highest mean ratings given to physical health topics. Further, parents’ ratings of importance by subject matter were largely independent of their reported programming preference. Together these findings provide evidence that parents believe it is important for their children to have access to a broad range of sexual health education information.

This study is one of the first to document parents’ support for information for young people that goes beyond being comprehensive to include topics such as identities and pleasure. In addition, parents’ lack of knowledge about sexuality education programming may obscure their support for sexual health information. Measuring support by specific topics, however, can help to overcome issues due to parents’ lack of knowledge about programming.

This research study included an examination into the extent that a comprehensive wellness program affects employees' job satisfaction levels. As the leaders of more hospitality organizations implement wellness programs in the workplace, they will want to understand what factors, besides the employees' health, the wellness programs can impact. Survey participants were self-identified employees of the hospitality organization who did or did not participate in the wellness program. Research findings indicated there was a significant difference in extrinsic and intrinsic job satisfaction levels between employees who participated and employees who were nonparticipating in the wellness program.

The population for this study was from a contract foodservice organization that provides facility services to higher education organizations, from their northeast regional location that consisted of approximately 200 employees. The employees of the organization ranged from entry-level positions, up to and including senior-level management. The researcher solicited employees in all departments in the organization to participate in the survey. The company offers a comprehensive wellness program, and all employees in the organization had a choice to participate in the wellness program.

The intent of the study was to determine if participating in a wellness program affected the employee's job satisfaction levels. Securing a hospitality organization to survey was a challenge, possibly because the survey included questions about job satisfaction. The purpose of the study was to identify whether participation in the wellness program affected employees' extrinsic and intrinsic job satisfaction levels. Hospitality organizations continue to allocate resources to implement and improve existing wellness programs in the workplace. Researchers had not specifically focused on the potential impact a wellness program might have on employee job satisfaction levels. Cyboran and Goldsmith (2012) concluded organization leaders should take steps to create an effective workplace. The study showed that even though hospitality organization leaders are dedicating resources to the development and implementation of wellness programs, participating in the wellness program has an effect on increasing or maintaining current employees' extrinsic and intrinsic job satisfaction levels throughout the organization.

This is the author’s research that was conducted for a dissertation that has been turned into a research article for publication.

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a statewide assessment of worksite health promotion (WHP) programs to identify the number of comprehensive programs and the health needs of worksites in Kentucky.

A random sample of 1,200 worksites in Kentucky was selected to receive the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Worksite Health ScoreCard to collect cross-sectional information on their health promotion practices.

Few worksites in Kentucky have WHP programs and even fewer have comprehensive programs. More businesses rely on health insurance to treat chronic diseases than WHP programs to reduce chronic diseases. Small companies were less likely than larger companies to have WHP programs and less likely to have intentions of starting a program.

The response rate of 37 percent was a potential threat to external validity. Respondents had to recall activities conducted during the past 12 months, which could have led to recall bias. Response bias was a potential, as many of the respondents were human resources personnel who may not be as familiar with WHP programs in their worksites. Lastly, four sections of the survey had yet to be validated.

WHP programs, if accessible and comprehensive, have the potential to improve the working population’s health status.

Very little information on the availability and effectiveness of health promotion programs at worksites is available. A statewide assessment on WHP programs has never been conducted in Kentucky.

Coordinated school health programs (CSHPs), a type of health promoting school (HPS) program adopted by Canada and the USA, were developed to provide a comprehensive approach to school health in the USA. Community partnerships are central to CSHP and HPS efforts, yet the quality of collaboration efforts is rarely assessed. The purpose of this paper is to use Himmelman’s strategies for working together to assess the types of partnerships that are being formed by CSHPs and to explore the methodological usefulness of this framework. The Himmelman methodology describes four degrees of partnering interaction: networking, coordinating, cooperating, and collaborating, with each degree of interaction signifying a different level of partnership between organizations.

Data were collected as part of the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 CSHP annual Requests for Proposal from all 131 public school systems in Tennessee. Thematic analysis methods were used to assess partnerships in school systems. Descriptive analyses were completed to calculate individual collaboration scores for each of the eight CSHP components (comprehensive health education, physical education/activity, nutrition services, health services, mental health services, student, family, and community involvement, healthy school environment, and health promotion of staff) during the two data collection periods. The level of collaboration was assessed based on Himmelman’s methodology, with higher scores indicating a greater degree of collaboration. Scores were averaged to obtain a mean score and individual component scores were then averaged to obtain statewide collaboration index scores (CISs) for each CSHP component.

The majority of CSHPs partnering activities can be described as coordination, level two in partnering interaction. The physical activity component had the highest CISs and scored in between coordinating and cooperating (2.42), while healthy school environment had the lowest score, scoring between networking and coordinating (1.93), CISs increased from Year 1 to Year 2 for all of the CSHP components. Applying the theoretical framework of Himmelman’s methodology provided a novel way to quantify levels of collaboration among school partners. This approach offered an opportunity to use qualitative and quantitative methods to explore levels of collaboration, determine current levels of collaboration, and assess changes in levels of collaboration over the study period.

This study provides a framework for using the Himmelman methodology to quantify partnerships in a HPS program in the USA. However, the case study nature of the enquiry means that changes may have been influenced by a range of contextual factors, and quantitative analyses are solely descriptive and therefore do not provide an opportunity for statistical comparisons.

Quantifying collaboration efforts is useful for HPS programs. Community activities that link back to the classroom are important to the success of any HPS program. Himmelman’s methodology may be useful when applied to HPSs to assess the quality of existing partnerships and guide program implementation efforts.

This research is the first of its kind and uses a theoretical framework to quantify partnership levels in school health programs. In the future, using this methodology could provide an opportunity to develop more effective partnerships in school health programs, health education, and public health.

For a number of years, the American School Counselor Association has been working to identify and clarify the role and function of school counselors within Developmental and Comprehensive School Counseling programs. The terms “Developmental” and “Comprehensive” mean that school counseling programs establish goals for their programs that are developmentally appropriate to the age and needs of students and that current and future goals build upon previous goal achievement. Thus, school counseling programs should be in place throughout students’ entire K-12 academic experience.

People living with opioid use disorder (OUD) disproportionately encounter the criminal justice system. Although incarcerated individuals with OUD face higher risk for withdrawals, relapses and overdoses, most jails fail to offer comprehensive medications for OUD (MOUD), including recovery support services and transition of care to a community provider. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and implementation of a comprehensive MOUD program at a large county jail system in Maricopa County, Arizona.

The authors used the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) to develop a community-based, multi-organizational program for incarcerated individuals with OUD. The SIM is a mapping process of the criminal justice system and was applied in Maricopa County, Arizona to identify gaps in services and strengthen resources at each key intercept. The program applies an integrated care framework that is person-centered and incorporates medical, behavioral and social services to improve population health.

Stakeholders worked collaboratively to develop a multi-point program for incarcerated individuals with OUD that includes an integrated care service with brief screening, MOUD and treatment; a residential treatment program; peer support; community provider referrals; and a court diversion program. Recovery support specialists provide education, support and care coordination between correctional and community health services.

OUD is a common problem in many correctional health centers. However, many jails do not provide a comprehensive approach to connect incarcerated individuals with OUD treatment. The Maricopa County, Arizona jail system opioid treatment program is unique because of the ongoing support from recovery support specialists during and after incarceration.

Reports the findings of an earlier study which was conducted to determine the comprehensiveness of wellness programs provided by the 50 state police agencies/departments of public safety for their commissioned law enforcement officers. The study also focused on the attitude of the personnel directors about the effectiveness of their wellness programs. A national survey was sent to each personnel director of the 50 state police agencies/departments of public safety. The survey, with an overall return rate of 98 per cent, addressed five components of wellness: physical fitness, stress management, psychological and mental health, nutrition and dietary related issues, and alcohol and chemical dependency. Although 29 agencies stated they had a wellness program, none offered all five of the wellness components identified above. Of the 20 agencies which stated they did not have a wellness program, all provided at least some aspect of one of the five wellness components. Also identifies areas in which more emphasis should be placed in order to establish a comprehensive wellness program. It can also serve as a basis for an expanded study in the area of wellness.

The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the effects of gang prevention programs on gang membership.

The authors conducted a systematic literature review across 19 bibliographic databases and a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of these strategies.

The database search resulted in 3,850 hits. Of the 162 studies that were screened in full, six involved a prevention program with outcomes commensurate for meta-analysis. Pooled log odds ratios indicate a significant, positive effect of gang prevention programs at reducing gang membership; however, sensitivity analysis demonstrates that the results are driven by the effects of a single study.

Despite the small sample size, the current study presents the best available evidence regarding the effectiveness of gang membership prevention programs. There is a critical need in the field of gang control for rigorous evaluation of prevention strategies.

This chapter highlights the collaborative efforts of committed partners engaged in four distinct yet inter-related programs designed to build leadership capacity across schools serving rural Alaska. The Rural Alaska Principal Preparation and Support (RAPPS) program has built a comprehensive system of leadership development programs that develop aspiring leaders, induct and coach new principals, promote the professional learning of practicing principals, and support the school improvement efforts of the state education department. Each program is described in detail with special attention devoted to the unique elements of the program designs, including summer institutes; cohort models; distance learning offerings; targeted coaching; blended learning models using webinars; critical friends’ conversations; and a festival of ideas. Lessons learned are highlighted, and impact and evaluation results are also detailed.