Background: Health educators have long advocated health promotion, yet their health measurement techniques have a pathogenic focus. Pathogenesis refers to the origin of a disease and the chain of events (precursors) leading to that disease. Traditional health measurement tools with this focus therefore measure health by assessing for the absence of disease or associated risk factors. Salutogenesis, as proposed by Aaron Antonovsky, refers to associated factors and precursors of good health similar to how pathogenesis focuses on associated factors and precursors of bad health. Purpose: This study proposes a health measurement scale with a salutogenic focus that measures health by assessing for the multidimensional capacity or potential for good health. Methods: Two samples of university students (N=226, N=365) were surveyed to develop and test the psychometric properties of the Salutogenic Wellness Promotion Scale (SWPS). Results: The SWPS demonstrated a multidimensional structure with good internal consistency, that positively correlated with and predicted perceived health (p<.001), and did not invoke socially desirable responses. Discussion: The SWPS demonstrated preliminary evidence of reliability and validity in its measurement of health potential. Translation to Health Education Practice: Using the SWPS could assist health educators in developing methodologies and practices that facilitate improved health status.

Objectives: To test the validity, reliability, and uses of the multidimensional Salutogenic Wellness Promotion Scale (SWPS). Methods: Self-reported (n=2140) demographic and scale data from a large university (23,000+ students) were collected and analyzed. Dependent measures included grade point average (GPA) and perceived health. Results: Analyses confirmed the SWPS's 7-factor multidimensional structure and its use for describing and predicting associated out-comes. The analyses of frequency distributions, means, correlations, and regressions found significant relationships between measured health behaviors, perceived health, and GPA. Conclusions: The SWPS provides valid and reliable information about positive health potential for research and field health professionals.

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Professional preparation programs should provide future elementary teachers opportunities to develop competence in dealing with school-related AIDS issues. Curriculum writers and instructors of preservice elementary teachers could be more effective if they were aware of this groups' beliefs about school-related AIDS issues. A survey was conducted to assess the beliefs and opinions of preservice elementary teachers about school-related AIDS issues. Subjects (n = 157) generally agreed they would eventually have a child with AIDS in their classroom and agreed AIDS education should be included in the elementary grades, yet a substantial number did not believe they understood the basics about AIDS. Less than one-third indicated they knew how to clean up blood or body fluids safely. About one-third indicated they would feel personally threatened to teach a student with AIDS. These results are reflected in recommended AIDS educational content and resources for preservice elementary teachers and future research in this area.