Objective: We evaluated the effectiveness of a continuing medical education program, Physician Asthma Care Education, in improving pediatricians' asthma therapeutic and communication skills and patients' health care utilization for asthma. Methods: We conducted a randomized trial in 10 regions in the United States. Primary care providers were…

The Geriatric Scholar Program (GSP) is a Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) workforce development program to infuse geriatrics competencies in primary care. This multimodal educational program is targeted to primary care providers and ancillary staff who work in VA's rural clinics. GSP consists of didactic education and training in geriatrics…

Health care providers could help achieve the necessary shift to healthful eating and active living; however, lack of coverage or reimbursement, lack of time, and limited information about appropriate interventions are some of the documented barriers. This report highlights the potential for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education…

Purpose: We describe and evaluate a project designed to pilot test an evidence-based clinical intervention for assessing and treating depression in older adults in rural primary care clinics. Project ADAPT--Assuring Depression Assessment and Proactive Treatment--utilized existing primary care resources to overcome barriers to sustainability…

Context: Founded in 1971 with state funding to increase the number of primary care physicians in rural Minnesota, the Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) has graduated 1,175 students. Third-year medical students are assigned to primary care physicians in rural communities for 9 months where they experience the realities of rural practice with…

A program combining pediatrics and internal medicine is described. The four-year program, focusing on ambulatory care, alternates six-month rotations in each field and includes clinic training. Success factors include comparison of outpatient and inpatient care, developing an ambulatory practice to support resident salaries, and preparation for…

The Healthy Steps for Young Children program is a national initiative developed by pediatricians from Boston University in collaboration with professionals from the Commonwealth Fund. This program for families with young children (birth to 3 years of age) provides developmentally--oriented services within pediatric primary care through addition of…

A study of Dalhousie University (Nova Scotia) medical school primary care residency graduates (n=200) and other specialty graduates (n=371) suggests that the institution's policy of requiring first-year residencies in small community health services may cause more graduates, both primary care and specialists, to choose rural practice locations.…

In 1993 the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) began defining essential components of school health service programs, consistent with the public health model. The MDPH designed and funded the Enhanced School Health Service Programs to develop 4 core components of local school health services: (a) strengthening the administrative…

During the 1987 World Health Organization's Regional Assembly, the Ministers of Health of the African States launched the Bamako Initiative, an effort aimed at reorganizing the health system to ensure universal, permanent accessibility of maternal and child health services. Three conditions were initially seen as necessary for success: improvement…

Pediatric residents from Children's Hospital National Medical Center in the District of Columbia rotate through Holy Cross Hospital in Maryland to experience pediatrics at the community level. A structured rotation in pediatricians' offices is part of the resident training program. (JMD)

The Kellogg Foundation's Community Partnerships in Health Professions Education, a program designed to increase multidisciplinary, comprehensive, cost-effective primary care teams in communities, uses an organizational structure linking academic medical education with communities. The new structures have resulted in new curricula and other…

A collaborative summer program by the University of Washington medical school, a professional association, and regional and state agencies provides students with an early introduction to community medicine in rural and urban underserved areas. Students (n=74) have been extremely satisfied. Suggestions are made for identifying potential program…

The National Assembly on School-Based Health Care conducted the 2004-05 Census, the tenth count of school-based health centers (SBHCs) since 1986, to: (1) provide a better understanding of the role of SBHCs in meeting the needs of underserved children and adolescents; (2) collect up-to-date data on demographics, staffing services, operations,…

This report outlines the national and state environmental context for the SECCS Initiative in supporting MCH strategic planning in early childhood systems building. This strategic context has implications for roles, relationships, and activities within a planning process and ultimately an implementation process. It summarizes the opportunities and…