Conceiving of agricultural labor as different from other work and assuming that agricultural workers differ from other workers obscure the real need for information about farmworkers. Improvement in farmworker health status in the long term can only result from informed policies based on solid research. (SLD)

Discusses the problem of drug-exposed infants from the perspective of a county attorney's office, focusing on a new Minnesota law that responds to the problem through early identification and provision of services. The approach calls for mandated reporting by medical providers and includes the possibility of civil commitment. (SLD)

The problems presented by alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use and abuse among college students are varied and sometimes complex. College student health services should continue to take a leadership role in addressing substance abuse issues on campus, through efforts to change both behavior and environment. (MSE)

By the 21st century, there will be 5 new challenges for health education. Shifts in demographics, conceptions of family, and levels of activism will demand new thinking. Health educators must provide powerful leadership to pave the way. Approaches based on a new perception of health education are presented. (SM)

Recommendations concerning California's efforts to provide for the health needs of its children were developed at the California Conference on Health Care for Children in Foster Care. The conference was organized to discuss California's implementation of the Child Welfare League of America's Standards for Health Care Services for Children in…

Today's children manifest more serious behavior problems than those of the midseventies, resulting from changes in the economy, the racial and ethnic landscape, government policy, and the family. Immense structural changes are necessary in education, health care, government, and political leadership if families and children of the underclass are…

This paper discusses how the health care needs of underserved children, particularly urban children, can be met through an ecological model of health care. Ecoprimary care, infant mortality, and the experiences of King/Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles (California), an example of maximization of resources, are described. (SLD)

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)

This paper presents a review and comparison of qualitative improvements in the organization, needs assessment, educational methodology, evaluation, and research in continuing medical education in the United States and Canada. Accreditation, medical schools, medical societies and specialty boards, and health care systems and continuing medical…

The process used in Papua New Guinea to integrate national and district health planning in a decentralized setting is described, highlighting the key elements of participation, learning by doing, and integration. The importance of this three-pronged approach for program development and application is discussed. (SLD)

Reviews the experimental literature concerning the effectiveness of prenatal and newborn home visiting programs in improving the lives of children and families, focusing on studies employing randomized trials. Results suggest that home visiting programs have had mixed success, improving some outcomes but not others. (MDM)

Examines the first 30 years of school medical services in one English local education authority against the background of social and educational legislation, the first world war, political and economic uncertainties of the interwar decades, and changing public opinion. Details the rise in importance of school medical officers in this period. (DSK)

Molly Stark School in Bennington, Vermont, is a year-round community school that offers a range of education, health and social services benefiting the students, community, and parents. Five successful initiatives (after-school, birth-to-5, mentoring, health and wellness, and parent literacy and involvement programs) are described. (MLH)

Describes the evolution, implementation, maintenance, and evaluation of comprehensive school-based mental health services in the Dallas, Texas public schools. A collaboration between mental health services, other health services, and the schools established 10 Youth and Family Centers to serve local schools. Benefits and challenges to coordinated…

Presents information from a 1996 meeting by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Adolescent and School Health and the American Nurses Association's National Center for School Health Nursing. Participants reviewed progress since 1994 on seven critical needs, updated priority actions, determined strategies for achieving…