West Virginia University's Recruitable Community Project provides rural communities with community education on recruiting physicians and health personnel, as well as planning assistance, assessments, and recommendations on broad-based community development to enhance recruitment potential. This model of community training and development has…

An Alabama initiative aimed to improve access to oral health care for Medicaid-eligible children through four components: improved Medicaid claims processing, increased reimbursement for providers, outreach and educational activities to support providers, and parent and patient education about children's oral health. In the first 3 program years,…

Explores the status of health care coverage, or lack of coverage, for children and for working families, noting President Clinton's budget plans for improved access, and the implications of managed health care. Suggests that until policymakers devise a solution that will contain skyrocketing health care costs, many American families will continue…

Discusses the issue of equal access to mental health and developmental disabilities services for Haitian immigrants in New York State. Demonstrates that Haitians' needs are not being met due to lack of program availability and poor quality care. Presents barriers to access that include cultural, political, legal, and institutional factors. (JS)

Recent polling data suggest that there is a growing consensus to pay special attention to children's needs in the health care reform debate. The public generally desires children to have greater access to health care services, even if this would mean higher taxes, but is unsure that government is the best vehicle to provide such services. (MDM)

Describes three state-initiated programs that address the challenge of providing access to health care for Appalachia's rural residents: a traveling pediatric diabetes clinic serving eastern Kentucky; a telemedicine program operated out of Knoxville, Tennessee; and a new medical school in Kentucky dedicated to training doctors from Appalachia for…

Wayne Myers, director of the Office of Rural Health Policy, discusses Appalachian rural health and access to health care. The health manpower shortage in Central Appalachia still exists but is less severe than 10 years ago. The needs of underserved areas could be address by training local people in the community and through telemedicine and…

Reviews research on lesbian health risks and behavior, noting methodological difficulties, and focusing on health risks (alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use and sexually transmitted infections) and health care (early detection behavior and barriers to preventive care). Overall, there are behavioral, perceptual, and experiential differences…

Suicide rates are higher in rural than in urban areas in the United States. One explanation that is frequently offered is scarcity of health and mental health treatment providers in rural areas. The current study tested whether number of providers per capita would explain differences in urban and rural suicide rates within the counties of…

In 1999 Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) implemented the Overseas Service Veterans (OSV) At Home Pilot Project in response to the problem that a growing number of clients were on waiting lists for beds in long-term care facilities. The At Home pilot offered certain clients on waiting lists, who met nursing-level care and military-service…

Family and consumer sciences (FCS) professionals often are called upon to work with groups that are seeking to create healthier communities. This article offers an expanded perspective on what it means to include a family focus in these discussions and it answers the question, How does a family perspective lead to different solutions for creating…

The author's reflections on Becky's legacy (see Werth, this issue) revolve around the idea that she can serve as a role model and that Becky's and Jim's experiences provide guidance to others who will inevitably go through the dying process. She also highlights several themes she saw in Werth's article: a cultural revolution around dying, the…

Background: In the planning of services and health care for individuals with intellectual disability (ID), information is needed on the special requirements for habilitation and medical service and associated disabilities. Material and Methods: An unselected consecutive series of 82 adult persons with ID was studied. The medical examination…

To understand the impact of ongoing reform of mental health and dementia care in Ontario, an examination of prevalence and health services utilization rates is needed. However, there exists a gap in current prevalence and health services research specific to dementia care in Ontario. The objective of this study was to address these concerns using…

Background: There is an enduring association between socioeconomic position and health, both over time and across major causes of death. Children and adults with intellectual disabilities are disproportionately represented among the poorer and less healthy sections of the population. But research on health inequalities, and on the broader societal…