A plea for the improvement of mental health services for children is presented in this paper, which claims that children's needs in general are not adequately recognized. Quoting from a report of the Joint Commission on Mental Health of Children, the paper cites growing concern over the number of mentally ill and emotionally disturbed children in…

Careers that combine medical research and patient care should be described to students early in medical school. Opportunities for research training in M.D.-Ph.D. programs, the program offered by the National Institutes of Health and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the NIH postresidency physician-scientist programs are discussed.…

This article explores the provision of independent living services and other disability benefits for spinal cord injury rehabilitation in Europe and the United States. The specific focus is the medical and social financing systems and the decision-making processes which determine provision of adaptive equipment, accessible transportation, modified…

"Child Care Health Connections" is a bimonthly newsletter published by the California Childcare Health Program (CCHP), a community-based program of the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing, Department of Family Health Care Nursing. The goals of the newsletter are to promote and support a healthy and safe environment…

Through its Alaska division, the United State Bureau of Education is developing and educating an aboriginal population of different races dwelling in widely varying regions and climates, many of whom require assistance in adjusting themselves to the new conditions with which civilization has confronted them. The problem involves both educating…

Projects that the National Fund for Medical Education will fund in the 1980s include advances in medical education to help contain health care costs; educational programs to improve doctor patient relationships; promotion of careers in medical education and research; and integration of new subjects into the curriculum. (JMD)

Hand-held computers can give medical students instant access to research findings and patient data. The machines, relatively inexpensive in comparison with laptops, have drawbacks, including small screens and tiny keyboards. Many find the machines very useful; others do not see enough benefit to learn the needed skills. Some professors and…

Over a 3-year period, interviews were conducted with parents, caregivers, teachers, and social workers of 29 young children with complex multiple disabilities in rural Alaska. Discrepancies were found between perceptions of parents and professionals about the nature of support and the focus of intervention policies and delivery systems. (RE)

This article describes a pediatrically based, culturally sensitive, interagency screening program for developmental delays among Latino low-income preschoolers (n=52). Children with severe to moderate delays and age-eligible children were referred to preschool programs. (Author/DB)

The staff of the Center for the Future of Children analyzes policies to make the U.S. health care system more responsive to the needs of children and pregnant women focusing on (1) efficiency; (2) access; and (3) affordability. Recommendations are made in each of these areas. (SLD)

The relationship between a 4-group (control and low- through high-intensity intervention) health promotion intervention program and subsequent medical costs was analyzed for 1,188 employees in a California utility company. Results suggest strong associations between health promotion interventions and subsequent reduction in medical care costs,…

This study investigated the structure and content of the language that medical personnel used with 15 pediatric hospitalized patients during medical procedures, by observing in two hospital settings. Medical procedures were rarely characterized by appropriate verbal structuring. Results suggest that the unsupportive communicative environment may…

Current efforts to address the severe and worsening shortage of rural physicians include attracting and preparing rural students for medical school, enhancing medical school curricula, and placing and retaining rural physicians. Recommendations include creating incentives for successful rural training programs, encouraging innovation in rural…

Presents a relatively simple costs/benefits analysis problem perfectly suited for an introductory economics course. Reveals that neither the health insurer (which bears only the hospitalization costs of acute care) nor the patient (who incurs lost earnings and psychological costs) has an adequate incentive to pay for preventive care. (MJP)

We describe the accreditation of medical education programs that lead to the Doctor of Medicine degree in the United States and Canada. We identify select accreditation standards that relate directly to the preparation of medical school graduates, as required for the supervised practice of medicine in residency training and for developing the…