Posits that organizations in crisis situations must address multiple audiences with distinct needs. Analyzes the public communication offered by Jack in the Box restaurants during a food poisoning outbreak. Finds that ambiguity may provide organizations with a means for satisfying the divergent needs of their audiences--even where these distinct…

A public health approach was used to eliminate pinworm from a system of community residential settings for individuals with developmental disabilities. The approach involved screening and treatment of staff members and clients living and working in close proximity to index cases, and prophylactically treating many clients and staff based on…

Study examined the sexual risk profiles of delinquent and homeless youth. Medical histories and physical examinations indicated subjects in three youth serving agencies had many risk factors (sex for money, unprotected sex with multiple partners, and high levels of sexually transmitted diseases) that affected individual morbidity and public…

Describes Primary Care/Substance Abuse Linkage Initiative, federal effort to improve integration of health care services. Identifies barriers to achieving initiative's objectives: health care reimbursement issues; problems of professional/public attitudes toward alcohol/drug dependency and treatment; substance abuse treatment service deficiencies;…

Despite the need to change health behavior and the evidence that instruction can do so, health instruction is nonexistent or inadequate for most students in U.S. schools. The article recommends a national policy on sequential, planned comprehensive K-12 school health education. (SM)

The pros and cons of air pollution control efforts are discussed. Both national and regional air pollution control plans are described. Topics of discussion include benefit-cost analysis, air quality regulation, reducing ozone in the urban areas, the Los Angeles plan, uncertainties, and policy implications. (KR)

A Weberian perspective suggests that increased perceptions of environmental risk are related to fears of recreancy (institutional failure to fulfill societal responsibilities) rather than to ignorance or irrationality. Regarding nuclear waste facilities, analyses of survey data find that the recreancy perspective explains three times more variance…

Traumatic spinal cord injuries resulting from criminal violence is a growing public health concern. Citing the criminal justice system's failure to reduce violence and the costs of treating injuries, a public health-education approach is advocated. Approaches to prevention, gun control, and a comprehensive family policy are discussed. (Author/EMK)

Summarizes two speeches. William W. Stead offers three scenarios illustrating typical future interactions of consumers with a medical system based on informatics and information technology and then considers implications for academic medicine. Valerie Florance discusses a program that is exploring ways medical schools and teaching hospitals can…

This report reviews a massive body of research on where, when, and how much youth violence occurs, what causes it, and which of today's many preventive strategies are genuinely effective. It reviews violence from a developmental perspective and reflects on the responsibilities and spirit of the Surgeon General's public health mission to protect…

This project demonstrates how techniques of analyzing complementary literatures might be applied to problems of defense against biological weapons. The article is based solely on the open-source scientific literature, and is oriented on informatics techniques. Findings are intended as a guide to the virus literature to support further studies that…

Determines the extent to which people with and without health care insurance use public health care facilities and various health care services. Analyzes 6,298 patients from 4 county-funded primary health care clinics. Patients were overwhelmingly poor regardless of insurance status. High cost-sharing requirements, coupled with larger families and…

Examines whether crack-exposed children are necessarily doomed for failure and why specialized educational policies and programs are necessary. Reviews relevant research and explores implications of early-intervention and school-based programs. Punitive policies against crack users have displaced need for policy work in education. (Conatains 48…

Over 1,000 Alaskan women experienced domestic abuse during pregnancy in 1996-97. Alaska Native and teenage mothers are at increased risk of experiencing physical abuse before or during pregnancy. Most Alaska mothers do not receive domestic violence screening during prenatal care. Domestic violence training is recommended for prenatal care…

Six U.S. nursing students studied community health in Finland and communicated with U.S. instructors via the World Wide Web. The immersion program effectively developed cultural competence; information technology played a significant role in fostering learning exchange. (SK)