This article presents the authors' response to the invited commentaries on their paper (Wallace and Beange, 2008). On the point of "specialism", the authors emphasise a fundamental premise of their argument: the proposed "specialist" hospital-based service is inherently enmeshed within generic services at the hospital level,…

This commentary discusses whether a sufficient case has been made for specialism in hospital services as a viable alternative to existing generic services. The impact of developments in specialist care such as those outlined by Robyn A. Wallace and Helen Beange should be assessed as a means of reducing inequality. In particular, model services…

In this article, the author comments on the paper "On the need for a specialist service within the generic hospital setting" (Wallace & Beange, 2008), which raises critical issues regarding effective models of healthcare delivery for individuals with intellectual disability (ID), particularly within a hospital setting (but not…

Although the presence of intellectual disability (ID) per se is not usually regarded as a health problem, the biopsychosocial implications of cognitive impairment contribute to the vulnerability of adult patients with ID in any healthcare system. The adult patient with ID differs from a patient in the general population in terms of health…

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)

Life expectancy among certain American Indian tribes is only 50 years of age as compared with 74.6 years for the general population. Leading causes of death among Indian infants continue to be respiratory, digestive, infective, parasitic disease, and congenital malformations. Child obesity, dental caries, atherosclerosis, iron deficiency anemia,…

Questions are raised about health promotion, particularly with reference to the role of individual and communal responsibility in encouraging a health-enhancing environment. Implications for holistic health care are discussed and the importance of health education for the holistic approach is stressed. (PP)

For more than 35 years, research has increasingly linked our nation's diet to heart disease and cancer--the nation's top two killer diseases. Yet there is no well-organized, vigorous effort to improve American eating habits. A National Nutrition Coalition should be established to educate the public. (BJV)

The responsibility for community health should be shared and coordinated among schools, parents, and health agencies. Children's knowledge and skills should be developed so that they too can promote personal good health. Issues and strategies are discussed. (BJV)

Examines alternate determinants of obesity, evaluates the efforts and results of current weight management programs, offers suggestions for change from traditional weight control programs, and discusses implications for health education. Comprehensive health education must include behavioral, cognitive, social, and nutritional components to…

Despite the traditional view of adolescence as a healthy period, there are increasing concerns about the health status of youth. Many adolescent health needs are unmet due to misconceptions and to the organization of health care services. Behavioral science can contribute research, interventions, and health policy to benefit adolescent health. (AF)

Proceeding from the implicit message promoted by the National Cancer Institute to the communication profession--expertise in health communication is central to the effort to alleviate the costs of the national burden placed on the economy because of cancer--this paper proposes the development of health communication as a career. Specifically, the…

Examines what is known about immigrant children and families, and identifies relevant issues that warrant further research. Emerging themes include the need to address health care and education policies regarding immigrant children, the importance of understanding public concern over the costs of immigrants, and the value of looking at immigrant…

This document contains the texts of 10 panel discussions presented at a seminar designed to give the media an opportunity to learn about occupational health problems. Discussed first were protecting the American worker, and disease on the job. Personal testimony on worker health and a case study of the effects of asbestos were presented. Also…

Nearly 20 percent of all migrant farmworkers are adolescents, and as many as half of these may be unaccompanied by their families. These youth clearly have special health and educational needs that require commitment from social institutions and agencies. In June 1991, a conference held in Delray Beach, Florida by the National Coalition of…