Investigates the increasingly heavy utilization of institutional physical and mental health services by the Puerto Rican community in Hartford, Connecticut. Argues that increase is due to kin and community supports that previously offered alternatives to such care, and reflects the declining socioeconomic status of the Puerto Rican community. (CJM)

Eating disorders than may beset teenagers and seriously affect their health are discussed. Facts about causes, symptoms, and treatments for anorexia nervosa and bulimia, a disorder which involves overeating, followed by self-induced vomiting or purging, are presented. (PP)

Reports on the Center for Independent Living (CIL) in Berkeley, California, one of the most remarkable and probably the largest self-help enterprise of disabled people to have surfaced in the past 25 years. (Author/AM)

The California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) is a comprehensive youth health risk and resilience data collection service for local education agencies (LEAs) sponsored by the California Department of Education (CDE). It is an easily customized, comprehensive self-report youth survey for grades 5-12. It assesses all major areas of health-related risk…

Purpose: To develop an evaluation instrument that assessed health literacy competencies, specific to the national health education standards, that would provide less variability in response interpretation and greater speed of scoring than available in existing instruments. Methodology: Content was developed by professional practitioners with…

This report discusses the quality of health care for children in light of national health care reform proposals put forth in 1994, and is based on presentations and discussions at an invitational workshop on maternal and child health. The report examines issues related to: (1) the differences between health care provision for children and adults;…

Dental disease restricts activities in school, work, and home, and often significantly diminishes the quality of life for many children and adults, especially those who are low income or uninsured. Noting that dental caries (tooth decay) is the most common preventable chronic childhood disease, this Kids Count issue brief considers the extent to…

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was administered in a stratified random sample to South Dakota public schools including Bureau of Indian Affairs schools; private schools were not included. The six priority health-risk behaviors assessed in the YRBS are: (1) intentional and unintentional injuries; (2) tobacco use; (3) alcohol and other drug…

Noting that increasing numbers of elementary schools in the Czech Republic are interested in participating in a program of health promotion for their students, this document outlines the contents of the handbook developed for an integrated program of health promotion in schools. The handbook is described as containing four parts. Part 1 presents…

This curriculum guide is a compilation of curriculum pieces that have appeared either in "Intercom" or in another earlier curriculum guide but are still vital and relevant; what binds the issues in the pieces together is the urgency of the problems they pose--urgent issues for both developed and "underdeveloped" nations…

Discusses the reciprocal relationship between food and behavior, dealing with the subject as a two-way system; two parts of the brain are particularly involved, the hypothalamus and the cerebral cortex. (Author/JM)

This study reveals a common opinion regarding the importance of adequate health care at reasonable cost for all citizens, that it is a political issue. (JB)

This article begins with a general overview of the situation, and then focuses in more detail on the Puerto Rican case, the case of black students, and the needs of American Indians and Mexican-Americans for doctors and health workers. (JM)