The American Cancer Society's guidelines, recommending that having Pap tests at three-year intervals is safe for many women, are questioned. Dangers to women with a high risk of cervical cancer, problems with faulty test results, and other gynecological problems that may be detected during pelvic examinations are discussed. (PP)

Temple University psychologist Barry Harris notes that today the major causes of death and chronic illness in the United States are stress-related. He asserts that traditional medical care, focused on disease, is inadequate and should be replaced by a strategy emphasizing healthy living and stress management. (Author/SJL)

Analyzes results of a 1982-84 survey of health conditions and needs among Mexican Americans in the Southwest, Cuban Americans in Dade County, Florida, and Puerto Ricans in the New York City area, a sample including approximately 76 percent of the 1980 U.S. Hispanic-origin population. (DM)

Interviewed 44 women who did not obtain prenatal care. Identified four categories of reasons for nonuse: women's lifestyles differed from mainstream; stressful events took priority over prenatal care; women attempted to receive care but were discouraged, turned away, or given poor information by service delivery system personnel; and women did not…

This study measured levels of self-reported social need in a sample of 684 veterans seen in four primary care clinics of a large Veterans Affairs health care system, using the Social Needs Checklist, and calculated levels of social work staffing to meet these needs. Data were obtained on the presence and severity of 15 areas of social needs,…

We model the dynamics associated with living-arrangement decisions of sick elderly individuals. Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics? Parental Health Supplement, we construct the complete living-arrangement histories of elderly individuals in need of care. We use a simultaneous random-effects competing-risks model to analyze the impact of…

To determine whether lack of medical insurance was associated with adverse health outcomes, this study examined hospital data on newborns in California's San Francisco Bay Area. The study also sought to determine which ethnic groups were most at risk. Computerized data on all civilian acute-care hospitalizations in the study area were obtained for…

Presents information on who gets medical care and what the needs for medical care are. A proposal for a National Health Service for mothers and children and what services this should include is presented along with other recommendations for reform. [Available from American Public Health Association, Inc., 1015 Eighteenth Street, N.W. Washington,…

Experience gathered to date confirms that capitation of Medicare does not necessarily decrease quality of health care and may in fact encourage an improvement in health care quality. Incentives inherent in capitated reimbursement are threefold. First, practitioners, by not receiving more payment for more service, are discouraged from providing…

Although the military health care system is the second largest in the nation serving approximately 6,000,000 people, little research has examined military reproductive health care services or their quality. Medical services can be provided by regional military medical centers and by base infirmaries and dispensaries. Often base infirmaries and…

The booklet explains ten principles of family-centered health care and six components of community based programs for children with significant medical problems. The principles are: The child and the family have basic rights of self-determination and autonomy. Health care services should be family oriented and maximize family control. Service…

This essay discusses family health needs in the developing world, their priorities, and the standards of health required, with particular reference to family planning. The author takes into account medical, social, and economic factors that influence those concerns. Some of the material presented in this essay first appeared in other international…

This report examines the current status of child health services in the United States and identifies priorities for an improved health care program for mothers and children. Its recommendations are designed as guidelines for constructive discussion by participants in the 1970 White House Conference on Children. A major thesis of the report is that…

This article shows that, while there has been a modification of health care facilities and new approaches to medical care, little change has been effected in the interrelationship between the poor and the delivery of quality medical care. (Author/GC)

A study that sought to identify and describe the nature and content of questions asked by pharmacy patrons at the prescription counter is reported. The results indicate that the pharmacy is an important area in primary and self-health care, and that students should be trained in methods of responding and educating in one-to-one situations. (JMD)