Serious problems have been identified in the prescribing of medications for elderly patients and use of prescription and nonprescription drugs by older persons. Overuse, underuse, and inappropriate use of drugs by the elderly have been widely documen...

In 1986, the National Cancer Institute began a major grant program to enhance the technical capabilities of public health departments in cancer prevention and control. This effort, commonly referred to as "capacity building" for cancer control, provi...

The large number of Southeast Asian, Hispanic, and Portuguese immigrants in Rhode Island face formidable language and cultural barriers in gaining access to the health care that they need. As the funding for refugee-specific programs diminishes, the ...

The relationship between sociodemographic, biological, and prenatal care characteristics, and participation rates of pregnant women in the Special Supplemental Food Program For Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) was studied by interviewing 200 postpa...

There is little available information on the smoking habits of Native Americans. The authors used data from the Washington State birth certificate to determine the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy among Native American mothers in Washington Sta...

The "Healthy Children Ready to Learn" initiative starts with the underlying concept that health is a critical partner to optimum education. All children have a right to be healthy. At a minimum, this right assumes promoting optimum use of available a...

Data on occupational injury fatalities in Alaska for the period 1980-85 were complied from workers' compensation claims and death certificates. These data yielded 422 unique cases for the 6-year period, for an average annual fatality rate of 36.3 per...

Between February 8 and April 4, 1986, an outbreak of measles occurred in the State of Arkansas. A total of 489 suspected measles cases were reported from 53 counties; 86 schools statewide reported suspected measles cases. There were 284 cases confirm...

Matching of Medicaid and health department patients' files to birth certificates was used as a means of evaluating the effect of prenatal care given by public health departments on the birth weights of babies of women in Medicaid. Three years of live...

Evidence that death and injury rates for young children involved in automobile collisions could be reduced if children were restrained prompted the State of Tennessee to pass the nation's first child passenger law, a law that became effective in Janu...

This study evaluated a methodology for obtaining information on the prevalence of risk behaviors for human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV) in the general population. From two census tracts in an upper midwestern urban community, 334 households...

The researchers studied the self-reported practices of men infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Los Angeles concerning notifying past sexual partners of their risk of infection. The sample of 111 men consisted of 87 Hispanics, 14 w...

The Public Health Programs and Services (PHP&S) Branch of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services began a strategic planning effort in January 1986 to meet new disease trends, curb rising health care costs, consolidate limited resources,...

A reprise of selected known factors about the influences affecting the prescribing and use of drugs, and some new developments in the drug marketplace, are the basis for this summary and observations about future expectations regarding psychotherapeu...

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Effective programs for the prevention and control of CVD need to include data-based planning and evaluation at the State and local levels. The authors ...

Teaching cross cultural communication typically involves instruction in differences between groups. As part of this course in cross cultural communication, six specific underserved population groups are introduced to students as a cultural experience...