The quality of health services is a subject of increasing interest to health care providers and organizations responsible for financing and promoting health services. This paper utilizes family planning programs to explore issues of the quality of health services. Reviews the literature on quality of services and identifies the gaps in research…

Four middle school students from Groton, Connecticut, wrote and illustrated two booklets about Lyme Disease which are being distributed nationwide to health departments. The project involved having students view ticks under a microscope at Pfizer laboratories, having Pfizer mentors helping students refine their work, and visiting the publisher to…

Deaths from meningitis-type illnesses among college students are worrying health officials. Concerns include behaviors of students that may put students at risk, risk characteristics of dormitory housing, ethical concerns about disclosing the names of infected students, and possible need for immunization programs. (MSE)

Develops lists of jobs in which workers report functional disabilities, using 6,096 females and 3,653 males from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I Epidemiological Follow-Up and attrition and mortality analyses for 6,911 women and 4,723 men. Occupational safety and health are critical to understanding functional disability…

Summarizes 25 reports addressing the interconnectedness of children's health and education and incorporating a comprehensive health approach, detailing 5 themes: education and health are interrelated; social morbidities threaten public health; a comprehensive, integrated approach is needed; health promotion and education should center around…

The article describes implementation of the PATCH (Planned Approach to Community Health) model in an urban African-American community. It presents recommendations reflecting lessons learned in that community and notes four components crucial to such a community-based public health effort. (SM)

Knowledge about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) of Western New York's undergraduate teacher education students was determined via the AIDS Knowledge and Teacher Attitude Survey. Results indicated most students did not know enough about AIDS; females knew more than males; and secondary education majors knew more than elementary education…

The cost effectiveness of an attempt to identify new clients eligible for Medicaid was evaluated. Most poor clients served by the health department were ineligible, and most potentially eligible clients did not complete the application process. The exercise cost twice as much staff time as the department could have recouped. (SLD)

Examines the pattern of lethal violence among adolescent urban youth, and considers theoretical explanations for homicidal violence. Implications for community involvement and intervention are discussed. African Americans and other urban ethnic groups must recognize the violence in their communities and develop a clear and unified strategy to…

Discusses the failure to use condoms among U.S. Latino populations and identifies six "myths" related to traditional cultural values and gender roles, and associations between condoms and prostitution, infidelity, and disease, that prevent condom use in these populations. Suggests ways that programs can address these myths in HIV…

Discusses social influence and social cognition's effect on health and social well-being, and examines the efficacy of public health campaigns, the effects of negative stereotyping, and why some teenagers resist drug use and others do not as part of the social problems addressed by behavioral science research. Future directions for research on…

A review of the literature on the impact of exposure to violence on psychologic functioning, perceptions of well- being, and health decisions and behavior in the context of black and Latino low-income urban communities found that exposure to violence can produce feelings of powerlessness, hopelessness, and alienation that limit motivation,…

A study of 150 children and adolescents with reactive attachment disorder found that inpatient admission was related to limited psychosocial strengths, previous hospitalization, and history of sexual abuse. Most children admitted to inpatient care were rural and had never received community-based services. Implications for public health education,…

Gay bathhouses have long been subject to community and public health pressures owing to the perceived link between the behaviors associated with these settings and various sexually transmitted infections. The straightforward solution of closing gay bathhouses has not worked for long when it has been tried. The more complex approach of working with…

North Carolina A&T does it. Across the street, Bennett College does it too. So do Elizabeth City State University, Livingstone and Fayetteville State. These North Carolina-based historically Black institutions have made HIV/AIDS education a part of the student experience at their respective campuses, and one school, Johnson C. Smith…