Annual health checks for people with learning disabilities are a concept that was introduced by the Government in 2001 as a catalyst to improve access to health services and identify health needs that have previously gone undetected. Nonetheless, to date, there has been little evidence of the effectiveness of these health checks. This study seeks…

Reducing health inequalities is a key priority for the Scottish Government. Health authorities are expected to meet quality targets. The involvement of people with learning disabilities in health service review teams has been one of the initiatives used in by National Health Service Quality Improvement Scotland to empower patients and improve…

In spite of legislation mandating consumer participation in health care delivery, providers of care call the tune. This article analyzes the reasons for consumers' inability to make fundamental changes in professional priorities and their cooptation when they actually take part in decision making. (Editor)

Background: Coordinated school health programs (CSHPs) bring together educational and community resources in the school environment. This method is particularly important in rural areas like Kansas, where resources and trained health professionals are in short supply. Rural Stafford County, Kansas, struggles with health professional shortages and…

Discusses the current trend toward a corporate health care system in which services are often paid for by a third party (insurance company or government). Says this results in the consumer's loss of control over the quality and type of health care rendered. Recommends adoption of a federated health care system. (GC)

Describes the organization and functioning of a medical consultation program serving a child welfare agency. Shows how child welfare workers, with medical consultation, are in a pivotal position to provide services that promote healthful functioning and facilitate client access to the total health care delivery system. (JH)

The Refugee Health Education Program was developed to provide refugees from the Soviet Union, Iran, Vietnam, and Cambodia with information on disease prevention, chronic disease management, and effective utilization of New York's health services. Additional goals include health promotion through culturally adpated education and provision of…

A hearing was convened to investigate health care issues affecting children. Witnesses provided information about the way in which the health care system meets the needs of children in the United States. Components of the system include Medicaid for low-income children, the Maternal and Child Health block grant program, employer-sponsored health…

Nursing's concept of community health care does not include jail populations, yet inmates' health needs and problems, often rooted in the community, can be ameliorated or prevented by imaginative nursing input. (Author)

Sweeping changes to the Medicare program embodied in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), including a new prescription drug benefit, changes in payment policies, and reform of the Medicare managed-care program, have major implications for rural health care. The most efficient mechanism for research to…

Planning, implementing, and evaluating an effective community health program requires a basic understanding of the dynamics and precedents that affect such programs. A community health program's general goal is to assist individuals and communities in identifying and meeting their health problems. In order to accomplish this goal the American…

This study on health care and health and illness of low income families is based on findings from interviews with 301 low-income families in the state of Maine. The findings show that a majority of the families have various health or medical problems which need immediate attention. These problems range from dental care and chronic medical…

Examines the impact of medicaid coverage on access to and utilization of health care by poverty children during 1983 in Iowa. Survey results showed that poverty children receive less well care from private pediatricians and see the same health professional less often than do nonpoverty children. (SA)