It has been said that one can tell an army man by his erect posture, a sailor by his stride, and a college pr6fessor by his looks in general. Why can we not tell the medical worker by some outstanding characteristic? Should not doctors and nurses display a more radiant health than lay people?

The officials of the New England Sani­tarium, at Melrose, Massachusetts, thought the time had come to do something to make the average person cognizant of the radiance of health. The number of days of absence from work because of illness was not greater among the workers of the sanitarium than among those of other institutions in the community, and yet they felt that those who represent a Seventh-day Adventist health institution should possess a greater efficiency than the average hospital worker of the world.

Constantly dealing in health, the administra­tors knew that stressing health habits and health consciousness, and taking a worker checkup in terms of laboratory findings should, theoretically at least, be a means of fostering better health. To this end the officials set their mark—better health for institutional workers.

Health Contest Among Workers

On December 15, 5937, a health campaign was launched, to be run over a period of three months, to the middle of March, 1938. This period embraced a time during which the greatest total of days are ordinarily lost from upper-respiratory infections. The entire sani­tarium family of 210 workers was divided into two sides, with a leader for each. The prob­lems facing the leaders were: first, to generate a health consciousness; and second, to inspire the workers to health habits which would pro­mote health. Through a combination of health habits and laboratory tests, the health of each would be demonstrated.

Health Consciousness.—"Sales" promo­tional material was presented at regular assemblies to the sanitarium family. Motion pictures on health were shown, with films on travel and vacation scenes. Posters on food and nutrition were displayed, and the uses of proper rest, exercise, fresh air, water, sun­shine, etc., were discussed, as a means of fostering health consciousness. This was so successfully done that it became the constant subject of conversation at the table, in the hallways, and off duty.

Health Habits.—Securing a health-habit blank with numerical scoring was not as easy to do as fostering a spirit of health conscious­ness, for it seemed there was no such blank available. A questionnaire on health habits, which originated with Dr. Thomas Wood, of

Table and Weights Used for Health Habits

M-75					S.D.--io
	Habits	Wt.      A		U	ORN
1.	Trust in divine power	2	2	I	0	—I	—2
2.	Freedom from worry	2	3	2	I	o	–I
3.	Gratitude	2	3	2	1	o	—I
4.	Willing to persevere	3	4	3	2	1	o
5.	Baths per week	3	5	4	3	2	I
6.	Care of teeth	2	4	3	2	1	0
7.	Water between meals	4	6	5	4	3	2
8.	Relaxation	o	2	1	o	—1	—2
9.	Adequate sleep	3	5	4	3	2	I
to.	Recreation	4	7	6	5	4	3
11.	Exercise	3	5	4	3	2	I
12.	Wake refreshed	2 3	4 4 6	3	2	1	0
13.	Tonic bath daily			5	4	3	2
14.	Elimination	2	3	2	1	0	—1
15.	Bodily protection	3	4	3	2	1	0
16.	Proper shoes	1	2	I	0	—I	—2
17.	Care of hair and nails	2	3	2	I	o	--I
18.	Posture effort	4	5	4	3	2	I
19.	Weekly rest—spiritual	2	3	2	I	0	—I
20.	Regular meals	2	3	2	1	0	—I
21.	Nothing between meals	3	4	3	2	I	0
22.	Mastication	2	3	2	I	0	—I
23.	20-MITI. meals, breakfast 2		3	2	I	o	—I
24.	Good appetite	2	2	I	0	—I	—2
25.	Vegetarian	2	3	2	I	o	—I
26.	Milk, grains	2	3	2	I	0	—I
27.	No drugs	2                  2		I	0	—I	—2

Columbia University, was chosen as a basis. But this questionnaire also revealed the or­ganic condition of the health checkup, and since the weights were a part of this organic checkup, new weighing measures had to be de­vised for the health habits.

I was assigned the task of evaluating weights for each of the twenty-seven habits listed in this blank. Statistical procedure is greatly helped when an objective criterion is used. Those in charge suggested that a com­bination of the average weight, average blood pressure, and highest hemoglobin should, from a laboratory standpoint, constitute this criter­ion for a standard score. These criterion scores were prepared in three sets—superior, average, and poor. The superior was called Q₁, the average Q, and the poor group Q. These were grouped with the answers given for each of the twenty-seven items in the questionnaire appearing herewith, in which the "A," "U," '0," "R," and "N" were to be interpreted as Always, Usually, Occasion­ally, Rarely, and Never.

By combining the coefficients of reliability with the standard deviation for each item after a technique devised by Kelley ("Interpretation of Educational Method," pp. 66-71), the scores were computed for the •health habits. Each individual's score was standard scored and added to his criterion score of weight, blood pressure, and hemoglobin. Since both the cri­terion and the health-habit scores were in terms of standard scores, they were com­parable and could be dealt with as of equal weight.

Tests were given on December 15, and again on March 15. Those individuals who made a gain "in terms of standard scores," added points for their side to win. Those who lost points, deducted points from their side. Each individual knew nothing of his rating on the first paper until after he had finished the sec­ond test. However, he did know the results of the laboratory work. There is every reason to believe that these reports were filled out honestly, for the results were indicative of that type of atmosphere.

Results of the Health Campaign

The results of a health contest are found, we might say, in the "ability to go places and do things," and not in terms of graphs, or which side won. The accompanying graph reveals the number of days lost through ill­ness, over a five-year period, by the workers in the sanitarium. The results secured as in­dicated by the graph need no comment. At­tention to health habits and an atmosphere of health consciousness is largely responsible for the decrease in days lost and the increase of health efficiency. At the close of the contest, after filling out their second health-habit questionnaire and taking their laboratory test, one hundred sev­enteen workers also filled out the questionnaire sent out by the Vitality Records, Inc., 26 W. 44th St., New York City. These felt they had not only striven for, but had achieved many rounds in the ladder of health, and had laid a foundation for a longer and more useful life. All felt a degree of satisfaction in that the institution had achieved its goal, and those who participated had received a greater spontaneity for healthful living.