Objective: The purpose of this study was to clarify the problems and needs of drug abuse prevention education efforts from the perspective of the universities, and to examine how best to provide drug abuse prevention education for Japanese university students.
Methods: A cross-sectional investigation was conducted among persons in charge of drug abuse prevention education programs at Japan's 746 universities. Ultimately, 486 respondents completed the self-report questionnaire (response rate: 65.1%). The contents of the survey covered current status of drug abuse prevention education programs and problems faced in their delivery, frequency of drug abuse incidents, and methods of drug abuse prevention education used at the university.
Results: Although 89.5% of the respondents recognized the need for drug abuse prevention education, 74.1% identified obstacles including a lack of time for such programs and inherent difficulties in gathering students to participate. By conjoint analysis, the key educational conditions sought by universities were found to include access by more students with a fewer number of sessions. On the other hand, at universities with high drug abuse rates, the tendency differs from the whole and lecturer selection becomes increasingly important.
Conclusions: The results of the study highlighted the limitations of drug abuse prevention education programs at Japanese universities, which tended to be most readily implemented at those universities where drug abuse incidents did not occur. An effective educational program that can be easily conducted within universities' limited conditions and educational frameworks must be developed.

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Purpose: To examine the relationship between social participation and sense of coherence (SOC) in middle-aged community-dwelling adults.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, questionnaires were mailed to 2,000 men and women aged 40-64 years randomly selected from residents of Akiruno city, Tokyo. Valid responses were received from 200 men and 300 women. Questions covered SOC, social participation(as indicated by membership of 12 organizations related to such interests as sports, hobbies, and volunteer work), and basic demographic data. The number of groups participated in at least once monthly was used as an index of social participation. ANCOVA was performed to assess the relationship between this social participation variable and SOC.
Results: Among men, 122 (61.0%) did not participate in any social groups, 56 (28.0%) participated in 1 group, and 22 (11.0%) participated in 2 or more groups. Among women, 174 (58.0%) did not participate in any social groups, 83 (27.7%) in 1 group, and 43 (14.3%) in 2 or more groups. The most common type of group for participation among both men and women was sports-related. Social participation and SOC were not associated in men (F=0.56, p=0.57), but were significantly associated in women (F=5.54, p<0.01). Estimated mean SOC in women was 14.7 points, 15.3 points, and 16.3 points for those participating in 0, 1, and 2 or more groups, respectively, showing a tendency toward higher SOC in those participating in more groups.
Conclusion: Among middle-aged community-dwelling adults, SOC was associated with the number of groups memberships, as a measure of social participation, in women only. Overall, SOC tended to be higher among those participating in more groups.

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Objective: To explore factors related to the continuation of smoking among pregnant women.
Methods: The study population of this cross-sectional study consisted of pregnant women who visited the health center in a Japanese city between April 1, 2004, and March 31, 2006, to officially register their pregnancy. A total of 2,533 among 2,536 eligible pregnant women (99.9%) participated in the study. Using a self-administered questionnaire, 2,511 (99.0%) valid responses were collected. Factors associated with the continuation of smoking at pregnancy notification were investigated using χ²tests. Multivariate logistic regression analysis with forced entry was then performed, using independent variables selected from the survey items based on bivariate analyses and smoking status at pregnancy notification as the dependent variable.
Results: Current smokers numbered 232 (9.2%), and 397 (15.8%) women quit smoking after learning they were pregnant. Continuation of smoking at pregnancy notification was significantly associated with the following four variables: partner's smoking, family budget concerns, having at least one previous pregnancy, and submitting notification in the twelfth week of pregnancy or later.
Conclusion: Efforts to reduce the smoking rate among partners of pregnant women and to resolve economic anxiety may be effective strategies to reduce the number of pregnant women who continue to smoke after officially registering their pregnancy.

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Background: In contemporary society, prolonged sitting has become pervasive in our lives across many settings, including transportation, the workplace, and the home. There is a rapidly accumulating evidence that large volumes of daily sedentary time (typically in the contexts of television viewing, computer use, workplace sitting, and time spent in automobiles) are adversely associated with cardio-metabolic risk biomarkers, type 2 diabetes, some types of cancer, and premature mortality. Importantly, these detrimental associations remain even after accounting for time spent in physical activity. To inform future directions on sedentary behavior research among adults, the present paper reviews the evidence from recently-published studies, applying the behavioral epidemiology framework.
Contents: This review includes evidence on the relationships with sedentary behavior (too much sitting) with health risk indicators; self-report and device-based measurement of sedentary behaviors; the prevalence and trends for key sedentary behaviors; an ecological model and the environmental correlates of sedentary behavior; the effectiveness of interventions to reduce sedentary time; and, an overview of public health recommendations on reducing and breaking up sedentary time.
Conclusions: Future directions for sedentary behavior research are as follows: population-based prospective studies using device-based measures to better understand the impact of sedentary time on health outcomes, prospective studies to clarify the multiple levels of determinants of prolonged sitting time in different life settings, further intervention trials to reduce and break up sedentary behaviors in domestic, workplace, and transportation environments, translational research (such as mass media campaigns) to spread messages about reducing sitting time in daily life, and experimental studies to determine underlying mechanisms and dose-response relationships.

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Objective: Based on recent systematic reviews, this report provided an overview of the model and the effectiveness of community-wide intervention for physical activity promotion of the whole population.
Contents: Community-wide interventions for physical activity promotion are implemented based on the ecological model consisted of a wide range of intervention approaches. In this report, three representative models for such community-wide interventions were shown: including a policy and environmental intervention model, a logic framework model consisted of intervention and assessment factors, and a logic model consisted of development and implementation levels of strategies. Summaries were shown about the effectiveness of intervention using coordinated communication strategies, behavioral control skill development and social supports, and policy and environmental changes on physical activity. Evidence was also reported based on the recent systematic reviews about the community-wide interventions using a wide range of strategies for physical activity promotion of the whole population.
Conclusion: The impact of community-wide interventions on physical activity levels of the whole population remains controversial due to a great variation of the study results. Future studies are needed for identifying the impact of community-wide interventions on it.

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Background: It is one of the important health policies of our country to promote the physical activity across the life course.
Contents: Policy Audit Tool (PAT) which is a tool for inspecting the national policy aiming at promotion of a physical activity was developed in 2011. The process of completing the tool can foster collaboration between different departments and other organizations interested in health-enhancing physical activity. It can provide a catalyst for greater communication and joint strategic planning and actions.
“The Toronto Charter for Physical Activity: A Global Call for Action” was adopted at the 3rd International Congress of Physical Activity and Public Health held in Toronto, Canada, in May, 2010. The Charter is call for action and an advocacy tool to create sustainable opportunities for physical activity lifestyles for all.
Conclusion: PAT and the Toronto Charter are considered to be the tools for supporting development of the national policy and action plan. Furthermore, these tools would be useful also for implementation of them. It is expected that health education-related the researcher, practitioner, and policy maker of our country would be effectively utilized in these two tools for development of the local planning of 2nd Healthy Japan 21 and implementation.

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Background: Peer review is an effective way to improve the quality of academic articles. By recognizing common problems and issues raised in the feedback process, authors can avoid basic mistakes prior to submission. This article identifies such common issues for researchers who might submit their articles to this journal.
Contents: The title and key words are entry points for an article to be read by other researchers. The title should be attractive and the key words easily searchable by using MeSH terms. The abstract should contain headings, describe the research design, and present the main data as evidence for the conclusion, which should be written with a view to how it might be quoted by other researchers. The English abstract in particular should be highly readable. Just being grammatically correct is not enough. Regarding the main text, the introduction should flow from the general to the specific, whereas the discussion should be written from the specific to the general. The number of tables and figures will total around five, and the data and conclusion presented should be closely and logically linked.
Conclusion: By avoiding basic mistakes, submitted articles can be much more efficiently and effectively reviewed by specialists. To receive more substantive comments on their articles, researchers should master the basic rules of writing and then use these to write articles that are both clear and compelling.

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Background: The Japanese Society of Health Education and Promotion (JSHEP) conducted a peer review seminar on January 27, 2013 to improve the quality of communication between authors and reviewers. The aim of this paper is to report the content of the discussions that took place during group work.
Contents: Seventy-seven authors and review board members participated in this seminar and its group work. Participants were divided into 10 groups - five themes (i.e., “Abstract and Introduction”, “Method(s)”, “Result(s) and Tables/Figures”, “Discussion” and “Field Reports”, each composed of two groups. Then, they discussed their experiences in communication with reviewers and editorial board members for one hour. After the group work, they presented the main points of their discussions, and editorial board members provided comments on the presentations. During this seminar, the participants enhanced their understanding of the peer review system and the attitudes of the editorial board members. Moreover, editorial board members clarified certain issues, such as the setting of writing guidelines for qualitative research papers and the handling of “field reports” as original research papers, and so on.
Conclusion: This seminar deepened the mutual understanding between the attending authors and editorial board members. Further improvements in peer review communication are expected by the JSHEP.

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