The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that more than 1 million children ages 5 and under are afflicted with unsafe amounts of lead. Schools can be a source of lead poisoning. Other sources include playgrounds near freeways, playground equipment, contaminated soil, and technology rooms with lead-bearing supplies. Sidebars…

Access to transportation to transverse the large distances between residences and health services in rural settings is a necessity. However, little research has examined directly access to transportation in analyses of rural health care utilization. This analysis addresses the association of transportation and health care utilization in a rural…

Environmental influences can significantly affect (both positively and negatively) the developing child. Three ways in which the environment affects the developing organism are induction, facilitation, and maintenance. In the case of induction the presence or absence of specific stimuli totally determines whether or not a particular developmental…

This publication reports the results of a review of scientific research on office job hazards, survey responses from more than 1,200 office workers in Cleveland and Boston, and in-depth interviews with more than 100 office workers. The report covers the following areas of health hazards for office workers: (1) job stress--physical and…

This paper, on the health hazards of cold weather for elderly persons, presents information from various sources on the death rates in winter throughout the United States. After reviewing the scope of the problem, specific health hazards associated with cold weather are discussed, i.e., hypothermia, fires, carbon monoxide poisoning, and influenza…

Sociocultural factors that may affect the Mexican-American population's accessibility to and use of health care systems are discussed, including language barriers, socioeconomic status, educational attainment, folk and religious beliefs, and family influence. (CJ)

The planning of health care systems is currently being carried out under conditions of uncertainty and economic constraint in Europe, and full integration of health projections into the decision making and planning processes at the highest levels is therefore essential. A study of work on projections of the future health situation in Europe was…

Traces the history of medical care at a residential school for Cherokee girls in the late nineteenth century. Describes the unsanitary conditions of the buildings and efforts by medical superintendents to improve them, prevalent diseases and their treatments, nutrition, and emphasis on physical fitness. Contains 58 references. (SV)

Information on women and health from around the world is provided in this guide. So far, no country has formal mechanisms through which women themselves can create the policies and practices so critical to their own health and that of their families. A major purpose of the guide is to assist the many women's initiatives attempting to change this…

Case studies of reactions of various cultures to western health practices, from Benjamin Paul's book "Health, Culture and Community" (1955), are reviewed. It is noted that this book, which makes the point that cultures and perceptions of different countries and peoples will always vary, is still not too "dated" for instructional use. (CJ)

Reviews and critiques past research that investigated the effects of various types of day-care provisions on the development of preschool children. Argues that, in view of the diversity of provisions offered in different countries, simple global generalizations about the effects of out-of-home preschool experiences on later development cannot be…

The 'rural' definitions applied by the Federal Government, especially by two data-gathering agencies, the Bureau of the Census and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), emphasize different dimensions of the concept, and delineate the rural-urban continuum in different ways. This report discusses the inconsistency of curent "rural"…

Although rural Texas residents have some access to medical care, it is often limited by poverty, lack of health insurance or coverage under public programs, cultural barriers, racial discrimination, and limited education. It is inaccurate to say that rural residents receive health care if health is defined in terms of environmental, physical,…

Intended as a companion piece to volume 2 in the Method Series, Environmental Health Planning (CE 024 230), this second of six volumes in the International Health Planning Reference Series is a combined literature review and annotated bibliography dealing with environmental factors in health planning for developing countries. The review identifies…

Addresses the following questions: (1) what is the effect of the stereotyped characterization of old black women on their well-being; (2) what are the major issues surrounding the social, economic, and health conditions of subgroups of aging black women; and (3) what should be the substantive content of advocatory efforts on their behalf? (BJV)