Health behavior research: the quality of the evidence base.

All 1210 manuscripts published in the 12 most prestigious health promotion research journals in 1994 were reviewed and coded based on stage of research and setting. Of the total, 34% were nonresearch articles, 35% were health-behavior research, and 31% were related to innovation, diffusion, and institutionalization. Of the 469 health behavior research articles, 57% were observation studies, 11% were methods development, 19% were intervention studies, 1% were meta-analyses, and 13% addressed diffusion and institutionalization. Half (46) of the intervention studies had randomized controlled designs. Studies were conducted in nonspecific community settings (206), health care settings (88), schools (75), specific community settings (53), workplaces (32), and universities (11).