Early childhood, defined as infancy through age 5 years, is a critical period and serves as the foundation for development throughout the life span. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in July 2015, there were almost 20 million children ages birth to 5 years. The physical health of infants and young children is addressed and monitored through…

This paper addresses issues of allocating public resources efficiently between mental health conditions that are associated with different levels of disability, and presents an adaptation of an established framework to help decision-making in this area. The adapted framework refers to psychological interventions that are universal, indicated,…

Professor of community pediatrics at the University of California at San Diego describes several cost-effective approaches to implementing a school health program. Includes, for example, taping underutilized community resources, carefully screening school health requests, prioritizing student health problems. (PKP)

This National Council on Disability (NCD) report defines or describes financial incentives affecting people with disabilities and presents research findings in key areas of people's lives, such as education and health care. It also describes selected state-level innovations affecting asset development and wealth accumulation. In addition, the…

A case history of the development of a new Kansas state policy on juvenile delinquency illustrates the use of policy impact analysis and suggests four principles to follow in prescriptive policy analysis. A Kansas governor's task force on juvenile delinquency found evidence linking delinquency to undetected health problems (in sight, hearing,…

The author discusses the relationship between education and health care costs. He examines the causes for increased costs, health promotion, cost effectiveness, the personal health passport, and nutrition programs. (CT)

Convincing industry to adopt health promotion programs presents problems not generally encountered in the public sector. This article describes a marketing approach for organizations and individuals planning to "sell" health promotion to private firms. (PP)

This discussion of an online, in-house computer system used in a group clinical psychology practice describes the development of a program designed to offer cost-effective testing services for patients of mental health professionals. The report provides detailed information on two psychological testing inventories rendered via computer. The first…

The wellness program is applied within the higher education setting as one means to control health care costs. Discussed are the program's design, objectives, content, facilities, structure and staff, financing, and evaluation. It is noted that wellness programs are not only cost effective but can help to improve morale and increase productivity.…

Successful corporate fitness programs contain several elements: participant compliance, program models and program elements that are applied systematically, and organizational commitment to the concept. Guidelines for observing effectiveness of health programs are given. (DF)

Based on visits to and interviews in 14 countries (Senegal, The Gambia, Niger, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Zaire, Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, the United States, France, Italy, and Canada) this report provides a detailed accounting of the present and potential use of television to support development through non-formal educational programming in…

Issues in the development of community health education programs for rural areas include: (1) knowledge of disease processes; (2) health care intervention; (3) systems intervention; (4) ethics for change; and (5) program implementation. (JN)

Cited as the largest single cause of lost work time and on-the-job fatalities for U.S. workers, motor vehicle crashes cause major nonrecoverable losses for U.S. businesses. Workplace programs to encourage employees to wear safety belts can thus help employers reduce traffic accident-related losses of work time and can substantially reduce the…

Progress during the first year of program implementation of the American Indian Education Act of 1972 (IEA) is reported via narrative and tabular data relative to the following: (1) distribution of Indian pupils by State; (2) distribution of IEA funds in 1973 by State; (3) relation between size of grant and number of Indians with the recipient…

Women have a higher prevalence of depressive disorders compared to men. The current system of care for women with depressive disorders provides significant financial barriers for patients with lower incomes to access mental health services. Primary care systems are used extensively by women and have the potential to diagnose patients at early…