The "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report" ("MMWR") Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data presented by the Notifiable Disease Data Team and 122 Cities Mortality Data Team in the weekly "MMWR" are provisional, based on weekly reports to CDC by state health departments. This…

Using data from the Moving to Opportunity randomized housing voucher experiment, we estimate the direct effects of housing and neighborhood quality on child health. We show that, five years after random assignment, housing mobility has little impact on overall health status, asthma, injuries, and body mass index. The few effects that we observe…

Sanitizers and disinfectants can play an important role in protecting public health. They are designed to kill "pests," including infectious germs and other microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Unfortunately, sanitizers and disinfectants also contain chemicals that are "pesticides." Exposure to persistent toxic…

America has a serious weight problem. Two-thirds of adults and nearly one-fifth of children in the United States are overweight, placing them at greater risk for heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases including cancer and arthritis. Furthermore, obesity and its related health problems are placing a major strain on the U.S. health care…

Background: Children's health is an important indicator of community health because children are especially vulnerable to disease. The school setting is ideal for assessing these vulnerabilities and prevalence of disease, yet the methods that produce high participation among students and their families are not usually described or evaluated. This…

The present study investigated the co-occurrence of asthma and obesity in a sample of 193 children (mean age = 7.76 years). Specifically, this study was interested in delineating the associated comorbidities of internalizing symptoms and sleep disruptions among younger (younger than 7 years) and older elementary age children with asthma who were…

A survey of school nurses was conducted in New York State elementary schools to assess asthma and asthma management in students. The survey contained questions about asthma morbidity, management and education, obstacles to management, and school indoor air quality. The reported prevalence of asthma among students was 8.5%. Of the students with…

National guidelines define asthma control as the prevention of asthma symptoms rather than the treatment of asthma exacerbations. We hypothesized that we would find a discrepancy between what parents consider adequate control compared to what health care professionals mean by "control." Data from a telephone survey conducted for the…

School-based asthma interventions delivered by nonschool staff have been successful but are limited in their reach because of the cost and effort of bringing in outside educators and their inability to establish improved communication about asthma between schools, families, and primary care providers (PCPs). To address these problems, Columbia…

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) increasingly is being used to study and address environmental justice. This article presents the results of a cross-site case study of four CBPR partnerships in the United States that researched environmental health problems and worked to educate legislators and promote relevant public policy. The…

Children and adults in communities of color and low-income communities face disproportionately high exposures to environmental hazards and, consequently, greater risk of experiencing adverse health impacts from these exposures. Almost two thirds of children under 6 with elevated blood lead levels are children of color living in disadvantaged…

The Fifteenth International Congress on Hygiene and Demography, held in Washington City in the autumn of 1912, was a notable event in the history of sanitation and in the discussion of the conditions of the physical and mental health of the people. The exhibition held in connection with the congress was instructive in many ways, and contained much…

This guide is intended to help adult literacy teachers in New York present a learning module in which an empowering approach is used to provide adult students with information about child-rearing and prevention techniques to keep their children safe. The first half of the guide consists of reading materials concerning the following: home and road…

One of the most important factors in the education of children is the establishment of their physical health, without which all learning and training must have less value for the individual and for society than they would have with it. Implicitly in the act creating the Bureau of Education and explicitly in recent acts of Congress, investigations…

This KIDS COUNT data book examines trends in the well-being of New York's children. The statistical portrait is based on six general areas of children's well-being: (1) economic security; (2) physical and emotional health; (3) education; (4) citizenship; (5) family; and (6) community. Following an introductory section which describes the features…