Small groups of medical students are asked to enact a situation in which family members visit their general practitioner with a problem regarding one of the children, and the diffusion of this problem within the family is traced during the course of the simulation. Discussion focuses on the feelings evoked by the simulation. (Author/LBH)

Details of the fourth, fifth, and sixth clinical years' course in preventive and community medicine, introduced at New Zealand's Christchurch Clinical School in 1974, are presented. Topic studies, rotating attachments, preventive medical examinations and ward rounds, simulated disabilities, and conferences are discussed. (LBH)

Three factors that will have major effects on the medical cost quality debate are: industrial and governmental policy in regard to health-related expenditures, an aging population, and societal attitudes towards competition in the health care system. Approaches to conflict resolution are offered. (MLW)

An allied health occupations education program undertaken for the first time at a Dutch university and characterized by an interdisciplinary, problem-oriented approach is described. Its first year of operation is evaluated in terms of staff and student time requirements and administrative organization. (MSE)

This document examines the 10 essential attributes of primary health care contained in the U.S. Maternal and Child Health Bureau's definition of primary care. Primary care for children and adolescents is personal health care delivered in the context of family, culture, and community; the range of services meets all but the most uncommon health…

A series of five case studies examines (1) literacy, health, and conscientization in the Mandar region of India; (2) the training of community health workers in Indonesia; (3) the Chinese strategy combining health, political will, and participation; (4) British community-based health education programs, and (5) participatory methodology for…

A review of current trends in primary care career choice is reported. Questions addressed include whether students choosing the primary care specialties share similar attitudes toward their medical role, and whether student attitudes have changed during the last few years as the result of the national focus on primary care. (JMD)

A survey of 177 secondary students in rural Victoria (Australia) examined attitudes towards primary health care delivery. Most students valued general practitioners, felt their doctor was an empathetic listener who used language they could understand, and felt they had reasonable access to health care. Confidentiality issues were important,…

Assesses the complex problem of infant deaths in America and reviews the policy options before the nation. High infant mortality rates have been attributed to population heterogeneity, poverty, or differences in the way health services are organized. Links health policy issues to the larger issue of social and economic equity. (AF)

The University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Medicine has implemented a pilot interdisciplinary generalist program. This paper discusses the program's setting, management, curriculum, instruction, and student and program evaluation. The difficulties and procedures in making room for an interdisciplinary primary care program in a traditional…

Reports on health care and social service providers in Seattle (Washington) whose clients are mainly inner-city teens. It discusses the costs and benefits of collaboration among these organizations for adolescent service delivery and the conditions that support and threaten collaborative relationships. Special reference is made to changing…

The goals of this study are: (1) accelerated progress towards primary education for children, especially girls; and (2) the improvement of women's lives with regard to health, education, status, choices, and rights and opportunities, including the availability of family planning information and services in the Egyptian community. (LZ)

Ideas for integrating preventive medicine into the undergraduate medical curriculum include options for curricula in quantitative skills, clinical preventive medicine, primary care rotation, community health services, and independent continuing education. Recommendations are based on a guide assessing the effectiveness of 169 types of preventive…

Research has not yet identified the best combination of estrogen replacement, calcium, and exercise for fighting osteoporosis, but clinical experience indicates all are needed to prevent the rapid bone loss that occurs in postmenopausal women. Physicians must encourage women to reduce their risk using all available options. (SM)

Analysis of data from 532 graduates of Jefferson Medical College (Pennsylvania) found first-year students' expectation of income is an important predictor of family practice specialty choice, independent of age, sex, indebtedness, and initial specialty preference. Results are discussed in light of declining numbers of medical students choosing…