title: A comprehensive examination of the health knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of students attending historically black colleges and universities.
abstract: There is limited information about African American students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the areas of health behavior, health knowledge, and attitudes. To fill this gap, a comprehensive examination offirst-year students was undertaken at a consortium of HBCUs. A non-random sample of 1115 freshmen were administered a survey that assessed several domains including: (1) demographics, (2) general health, (3) smoking habits, (4) disease risk, (5) weight perception, (6) physical activity, (7) perceived stress, (8) eating habits, (9) social support, (10) personal/family medical history, (11) leadership, (12) domestic violence, (13) substance use, and (14) sexual behavior. In general, most students knew about health behaviors and disease risk. Areas that warrant further exploration include physical activity, sexual behavior, and drug use. The analyses provide key information for health education and prevention.
authors.affiliation: Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA. bhayes@msm.edu
authors.forename: Brenda D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.forename: Rhonda Conerly
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Holliday
authors.forename: Bruce H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Wade
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Trawick
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hodge
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Caplan
authors.forename: Sinead
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Younge
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Quarshie
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Satcher
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017579:Domestic Violence; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D009043:Motor Activity; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012938:Social Perception; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013337:Students, Medical; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology