Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons^™

Precautionary Approaches For Health And The Environment: Making The Case For A Toxics Reduction Strategy At Multnomah County And City Of Portland, Stephanie Farquhar, Molly Chidsey, Neha Patel

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report summarizes an overview of the problem, local concerns, model policies, and best practices for toxic pollution prevention and provides recommendations for next steps to protect human health and the local environment in Portland and Multnomah County. This report accompanies the Multnomah County and City of Portland resolutions to "Recognize National Pollution Prevention Week and develop a Toxics Reduction Strategy jointly with City of Portland / Multnomah County using the Precautionary Principle."

All The News That’S Fat To Print: The American "Obesity Epidemic" And The Media, Natalie Boero

Faculty Publications, Sociology

Increasingly the term epidemic is being used to describe the current prevalence of fatness in the United States. Skyrocketing rates of obesity among all groups of Americans, particularly children, the poor, and minorities, have become a major public health concern. Indeed, it is difficult to open a newspaper or magazine without encountering a discussion of the expanding American waistline and the health problems associated therewith. In this paper I use 751 New York Times articles on obesity to examine the media construction of the obesity epidemic. I show that there is not one dominant discourse (i.e. medicine) constructing this epidemic, …

Introduction Of A Waterless Alcohol-Based Hand Rub In A Long-Term Care Facility, Lona Mody, Mcneil A. Shelly, Rongjun Sun, Bradley Suzanne, Carol A. Kauffman

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE:

To examine the impact of introduction of an alcohol-based hand rub on hand hygiene knowledge and compliance and hand colonization of healthcare workers (HCWs) in a long-term-care facility (LTCF).

METHODS:

Two floors of an LTCF participated. Ward A used the hand rub as an adjunct to soap and water; ward B was the control. HCWs' hands were cultured using the bag-broth technique for Staphylococcus aureus, gram-negative bacilli (GNB), Candida, and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). HCWs completed a questionnaire at baseline and after an educational intervention and introduction of rub.

RESULTS:

Hand hygiene practices, knowledge, and opinions did not change after …

Nsucommuniversity Link - January 2003, Nova Southeastern University

NSU Digital: Communiversity

No abstract provided.

Zimbabwe: Cbd Roles Modified To Address Zimbabwe's Hiv/Aids Crisis, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

In September 1999, the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) and the Population Council initiated a one-year study to assess the performance of ZNFPC’s community-based distribution (CBD) program. A continual decline in the program’s productivity, combined with the expanding HIV/AIDS epidemic, indicated a need to reconsider ZNFPC’s objectives and revise the roles and responsibilities of its full-time, salaried CBD agents. The study examined the productivity, costs, and potential sustainability of the CBD program. Researchers gathered information by reviewing program documents through 1999. They also interviewed program managers, district and community nurses, and community leaders and CBD agents from eight regions. …

Evidence For The Importance Of Community Involvement: Implications For Initiatives To Prevent Mother-To-Child Transmission Of Hiv, Ann Leonard, Purnima Mane, Naomi Rutenberg

HIV and AIDS

This paper offers lessons learned from a literature review of community involvement in biomedical and other technologies that can guide appropriate and effective introduction of services for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. A companion paper discusses research in Botswana and Zambia that showed gaps in community knowledge about HIV transmission, particularly from mother to child, and yielded insights into community perspectives about barriers to using voluntary counseling and testing services; stigma and fear associated with HIV; traditional norms on breastfeeding; and the role of family and community members in women’s decisions to participate in programs to prevent mother-to-child transmission …

Community Involvement In The Prevention Of Mother-To-Child Transmission Of Hiv: Insights And Recommendations, Naomi Rutenberg, Mary Lyn Field-Nguer, Laura Nyblade

HIV and AIDS

Mother-to-child transmission is the primary route of HIV infection in children under 15 years of age. Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, an estimated 5.1 million children worldwide have been infected with HIV. Clinical trials in several countries have shown that mother-to-child transmission of HIV can be greatly reduced through administering antiretroviral therapy to pregnant women. These trials culminated in a recommendation by UNAIDS and its partners in the Interagency Task Team for the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission that prevention of perinatal transmission should be a part of the standard package of care for HIV-positive women and their children. …

Kenia: Detectar La Sifilis Durante La Consulta Prenatal Resulta Costo-Efectivo, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

La Organización Mundial de la Salud ha estipulado que la detección y tratamiento de sífilis para todas las mujeres embarazadas resulta eficaz en función de los costos si al menos el 0.1 por ciento de ellas están infectadas. Para atender el problema de la alta tasa de sífilis entre mujeres embarazadas (6.5–7.3%), el Concejo de la Ciudad de Nairobi (CCN) introdujo en 1989 la detección y tratamiento de sífilis materna en sus clínicas de atención prenatal. Sin embargo, su enfoque centralizado—que requiere llevar las muestras de sangre recolectadas a un laboratorio central para hacer la prueba—era ineficiente. Por lo tanto, …

Ghana: Community Workers Can Communicate Sti And Hiv/Aids Messages Effectively, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

To support the Government of Ghana’s plan to expand community-based distribution (CBD) programs, the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) and the Population Council conducted a study in 1999 of the CBD programs of 13 nongovernmental agencies. The study also assessed in depth PPAG’s CBD program, which is the country’s largest and oldest. Data sources included interviews with 301 CBD agents, 27 supervisors, and 20 clinicians in rural and urban areas in 16 districts; observations of 51 PPAG agents interacting with 6 clients each; and 15 focus group discussions with community members, former CBD agents, and CBD clients. CBD programs …

Kenya: On-Site Antenatal Syphilis Services Are Cost-Effective, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

The World Health Organization has determined that screening and treating all pregnant women for syphilis is cost-effective if at least 0.1 percent of pregnant women have syphilis. To address the high rate of syphilis among pregnant women (6.5–7.3 percent), the Nairobi City Council (NCC) introduced maternal syphilis screening and management in its antenatal clinics in 1989. However, its centralized approach—taking collected blood samples to a central laboratory for testing—was inefficient. Therefore, in 1992 the NCC tested a decentralized approach in 9 of its 54 antenatal clinics, which featured on-site rapid testing of women by clinic staff and same-day treatment of …

South Africa: Providers Should Encourage Sexually Active Youth To Use Condoms, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

To assess the effectiveness of youth centers in reaching adolescents with reproductive health information, life skills, and services, the Reproductive Health Research Unit in KwaZulu Natal and the Population Council conducted an assessment of 12 youth centers and their affiliated peer education programs. The centers were run by the KwaZulu Natal Department of Health, the loveLife program, and the Youth and Adolescent Reproductive Health Program. Researchers also examined young people’s use of condoms as protection against pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. Data sources for this study, conducted in 2000, were an inventory of youth center services, interviews with center staff and clients, …

History, Culture And Alcohol: Drinking Patterns In Poland And Australia, Barbara Wolska

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

It is a widely held view in Poland that for centuries those in power have promoted heavy drinking among their subjects in order to achieve their various goals and that this contributed to the development of Polish drinking patterns. There is some empirical evidence that the political economy of alcohol in Poland promoted heavy drinking among the Polish population. Drinking alcohol in Poland was an important aspect of social situations. The most popular beverage was vodka(s). Social pressure to drink in the extreme was attributed to the tradition of hospitality. Cultural norms encouraged very heavy drinking among men and imposed …

Housing And Population Health: A Review Of The Literature, Stephen Hwang, Esme Fuller-Thomson, J. David Hurlchanski, Toba Bryant, Youssef Habib, Wendy C. Regoeczi

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Publications

Research into the relationship between housing and health has frequently been narrowly focused, fragmented, and of marginal practical relevance to either housing or health studies. Population health research, in its reference to the importance of the social and physical environment, rarely mentions housing. While it has been recognized for some time that there is a need for the development of a co-ordinated, integrated and cumulative body of housing and health research, there is still very little formal co-ordination between housing policy and population health policy. More attention needs to be paid to measuring the nature and extent to which better …

Dual Protection In An Integrated Community-Based Program: A Case Study Of Tanzania Family Health/Ministry Of Health Project In Mbeya, Grace Mbekem, Jane Chege

Reproductive Health

One of the most pressing challenges for health programs in most sub-Saharan African countries is effectively addressing the increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Recent evidence suggests that controlling sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) through undertaking preventive measures, early diagnosis, and treatment significantly slows the spread of HIV/AIDS. In regard to STI/HIV, Maternal and Child Health (MCH) and Family Planning (FP) clients are described as “low risk” groups. However, in a number of sub-Saharan African countries, the reported levels of STDs are significantly high enough to justify use of limited resources to target this group for STD services. MCH/FP programs have begun to …

Attitudes Toward Sexuality And Sexual Behaviors Of Asian-American Adolescents: Implications For Risk Of Hiv Infection, Connie S. Chan

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

Until 1990, Asian Americans represented an ethnic minority group that was perceived to be at lower risk than African Americans or Hispanics/Latinos for HIV infection, the presumed causal agent for AIDS. Reasons cited for this perception include behavioral differences in intravenous drug use, sexual behavioral habits, and underidentification of AIDS cases. However, in urban areas such as San Francisco, Toronto, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and Seattle, where Asians have immigrated and settled in large numbers, cases of HIV infection and AIDS have begun to increase dramatically, perhaps reflecting the rise in the number of AIDS cases in Asia. In …

Integrando La Sexualidad En La Planificación Familiar: La Experiencia De Tres Proyectos De Vih/Ets En América Latina Y El Caribe, Julie Becker, Elizabeth Leitman, Mahmoud F. Fathalla

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Esta edición de Quality/Calidad/Qualité relata la experiencia de tres asociaciones de planificación familiar afiliadas con la International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region que han tratado de incorporar una estrategia de prevención del VIH/SIDA en su esquema de trabajo cotidiano. Se examina cómo BEMFAM/Brasil, ASHONPLAFA/Honduras, y FAMPLAN/Jamaica han logrado una transición hacia una oferta de servicios de planificación familiar más enfocada en los clientes mismos y más explícita en el tratamiento de temas sexuales. En cada uno de los tres países, el personal recibió capacitación especial que no sólo los habilitó para proveer información sobre el VIH/SIDA, sino que también les …

Introducing Sexuality Within Family Planning: The Experience Of Three Hiv/Std Prevention Projects From Latin America And The Caribbean, Julie Becker, Elizabeth Leitman, Mahmoud F. Fathalla

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This edition of Quality/Calidad/Qualité relates the experience of three family planning associations affiliated with the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region that have tried to incorporate an HIV/AIDS prevention strategy into their existing family planning programs and services. It examines how BEMFAM/Brazil, ASHONPLAFA/ Honduras, and FAMPLAN/Jamaica have made a transition toward a range of family planning services more focused on the clients themselves and more explicit in the treatment of sexual themes. In each of the three countries, the staff received special training that not only enabled them to provide information on HIV/AIDS, but also helped them adopt a broader …

Review Of: Bonnie L. Walker, Injury Prevention For The Elderly- A Research Guide (Greenwood Press 1995), David E. Belfort

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Review of: Bonnie L. Walker, Injury Prevention for the Elderly- A Research Guide (Greenwood Press 1995). Acknowledgments, appendices, author index, bibliographical references, foreword, preface, subject index. LC 95-32989; ISSN 0743-7560 [328 pp. Cloth $75.00. 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881.]

Community-Based Aids Prevention And Care In Africa—Dissemination Of Phase I Findings: Report Of Five National Workshops, Population Council

HIV and AIDS

Given the constraints faced by the health care infrastructure in responding to the AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa, and the limitations of traditional educational approaches in motivating people to modify their sexual behavior within the African context, community-based efforts at AIDS prevention, and care of those affected, are the first lines of defense against the disease. Thus, they deserve greater scrutiny, to learn from the experiences and to continue and expand their efforts. The “Community-Based AIDS Prevention and Care in Africa: Building on Local Initiatives” project is being carried out by the Population Council with support from Glaxo Wellcome. The …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 65, No. 34, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Poynter, Chris. Pearce-Ford Tower Dwellers Asking for Breath of Fresh Air
• Howard, Laura. Still Here, Paul Cook’s Duties Mount
• Lockert, Anya. Officials Blame ’83 Act for Low Ratio of Blacks – Desegregation Plan
• Regents Ask for Students’ Opinions
• Bricking, Tanya. More Cooks to Stir Recipe for Budget – Thomas Meredith
• Committee Will Study Athletic Reports
• Rubber Ducky Business Has Holiday Boom
• Wessling, Susan. Group Works to Ban Public Smoking
• Students Need AIDS Education
• Chattin, John. Editorial Cartoon – AIDS Skeleton
• Bright Ideas Projecting New Image …

Improved Public Health Practices In A Disadvantaged Rural Community, William H. Groff, Beatrice E. Manning

Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station

No abstract provided.