The profession of medicine has a central role to play in ushering in the new paradigm of a health care system that will invest its efforts in health promotion and disease prevention on the one hand and in treatment and rehabilitation of the sick and injured on the other. (MLW)

The Medical University of South Africa (Medunsa) was founded to address underrepresentation of blacks in health professions and inadequate health care in the homelands. It trains most allied health professionals in the country, emphasizing community service and preventive medicine. Medunsa and American health professions schools can learn from…

Efficiently and inexpensively identifying athletes at risk for exercise-related sudden death is difficult. The article discusses types of cardiac disorders and outlines a practical screening method that features a cardiac history questionnaire designed to identify symptomatic athletes and those with a family history of congenital heart disease.…

A study investigated the ability of 415 medical students at four North Carolina medical schools to ask risk-behavior questions and provide risk-reduction advice when interviewing a standardized patient concerned about human immunovirus (HIV) infection. A majority did not assess several important risk factors, and many would have provided incorrect…

These guidelines for developing an undergraduate medical education curriculum in pulmonary disease prevention emphasize not only the most current scientific practice but also the active application of cognitive and behavioral skills related to patient education. Chapter 1 introduces the guidelines and the issues and trends in preventative…

Nutrition is well-recognized as a necessary component of educational programs for physicians. This is to be valued in that of all factors affecting health in the United States, none is more important than nutrition. This can be argued from various perspectives, including health promotion, disease prevention, and therapeutic management. In all…

Previous attempts to change the prevailing negative attitudes of health professionals toward cancer and cancer patients have consisted mainly of elective courses for small groups of students at advanced levels of medical training. In order to develop more positive attitudes, the Cancer Coordinating Committee at the Medical College of Pennsylvania…

The effect of a behavioral sciences course on first-year medical students' attitudes toward social factors as determinants of health or illness, preventive medicine, paramedical cooperation, physician-patient relationships, government role in health care, and general liberalism was found to be minimal immediately after the course. (MSE)

A model is presented that relates health promotion and disease prevention (HPDP) education to desired characteristics of medical school graduates, including knowledge and sense of ability in the HPDP field, specialty preference, and residency choice. The model facilitates: program evaluation using standard data sets, and identification of…

With federal officials leading high profile efforts to encourage HIV/AIDS prevention and new funding, blacks in academia are hopeful that more colleagues will join the fight. Notes some well-established models of community education, the emerging HIV/AIDS research agenda, the critical role of historically black medical schools in the HIV…

Nutrition is well-recognized as a necessary component of educational programs for physicians. This is to be valued in that of all factors affecting health in the United States, none is more important than nutrition. This can be argued from various perspectives, including health promotion, disease prevention, and therapeutic management. In all…

Problems of teaching and learning community medicine are discussed. Community medicine curricula must include experiential learning, with real patients and problems, in order to prove that health is affected by culture, politics, the environment, and individual behavior. (Author/LBH)

A study of the use of dental hygienists to teach periodontics, preventive dentistry, community dentistry, and public health courses looked at employment patterns and practices and the qualifications of the teachers. (MSE)

The AIDS epidemic is spurring social scientists to try to understand the social and sexual forces that spread the sexually transmitted disease, to learn how to change the personal behavior that makes up those forces, and to improve and prolong the lives of those who have the disease. (MLW)

In 1969 a committee of the Association of American Medical Colleges made recommendations relating to the health care of medical students. A 1979 survey of 82 U.S. and Canadian schools showed little change from the methods being used in 1967. The implications of the survey are discussed and a prototype program is presented. (Author/JMD)