Dialogic reading (DR) is a set of book-sharing strategies that caregivers can use with preliterate children. The strategies involve actively engaging young children and encouraging them to verbalize during shared book reading. There is a substantial research base that describes the benefits of using DR strategies with toddlers and preschool-age…

School mental health (SMH) programs and services have grown progressively in the United States in the past two decades, related to increased acknowledgement of their advantages and prominent federal initiatives (e.g., No Child Left Behind Act President's New Freedom Initiative; 20(13). Nonetheless, SMH is an emerging and tenuously supported field…

The study investigated the general population's perceived infectivity of asymptomatic and recovered severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients and factors associated with avoidance and discriminatory attitudes, including demographic background, SARS-related perceptions and emotional response to the SARS epidemic. A population-based survey…

Newborn screening has existed as a state-based public health service since the early 1960s. Every state and most territorial jurisdictions have comprehensive newborn screening programs in place, but in the United States a national newborn screening policy does not exist. This results in different administrative infrastructures, screening…

A significant number of children have chronic health conditions that interfere with normal activities, including school attendance and active participation in the learning process. Management of students' chronic conditions is complex and requires an integrated system. Models to improve chronic disease management have been developed for the…

Increasingly, public health promotion is about more than influencing individual behavior. Rather, it is equally important to undertake efforts to impact social, environmental, and political factors. Having a clear understanding of the inner workings of the legislative process enhances one's ability to effectively influence policy. It is important…

The Healthy People 2010 guidelines identify substance abuse as a major public health problem in need of effective interventions for diverse populations including racial and ethnic minorities. However, the literature with regard to substance abuse in the African American community is rather scant. This article discusses the need for a research…

Background: There is an emerging corpus of work on the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on education in sub-Saharan Africa. This mainly employs demographic models to make projections of student enrolments and teacher requirements. However, there is a paucity of research in basic schools to examine the experiences of AIDS-affected teachers and…

This new Iowa Kids Count data book, "Iowa Kids Count 2008: Trends in the Well-Being of Iowa Children," is the latest annually produced book containing data on 18 different indicators of child and family well-being for the United States, Iowa and its 99 counties. The 18 indicators provide a wealth of health, education, welfare and…

The AIDS epidemic presents a complex of issues that require global answers, involving entire societies. The only sustainable solution is to include all sectors of society in a multidisciplinary collaboration, within which the formal education system plays a key role in delivering a comprehensive response to the disease at the national level.…

Cigarette smoking almost always begins in the adolescent years and smoking at early ages increases the risk of becoming ill or dying from causes attributable to smoking. This report uses data from the 1992 National Health Interview Survey of Youth Risk Behavior and presents prevalence estimates for selected unhealthy behaviors among adolescents in…

This report discusses the role of graduate nurses in public health leadership and the development of new models of graduate education to prepare nurses for public health leadership. It reviews the need for graduate nurses in public health leadership positions, the health needs of the population, the role of public health in a changing health care…

Health care reform represents a major step toward achieving the goal of improved preventive and primary care services for all Americans, including children and adolescents. Adolescence is a unique developmental age district from both childhood and adulthood with special vulnerabilities, health concerns, and barriers to accessing health care. It is…

Noting that obesity among children is a major public health concern, this study sought to determine the relationship between the weight of mothers and weight of their offspring. Based on the literature review, the correlation between weight of mother and weight of offspring appears to be inconclusive. The subjects studied were 62 mothers and one…

The findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the Consultation of World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centers in Europe are presented in this report. The consultation was held in accordance with Health for All (HFA) targets 36 ("Planning Education, and Use of All Health Personnel for Health for All") and 37 ("Education…