Differentials in the use of preventive health care were investigated for a sample of 123 rural white, urban white, and urban black infants from data reported by their mothers. The data were compared on two measures of preventive care: immunization records and frequency of well checkups. Immunization scores were highest for urban white children,…

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)

Romania's program is described in terms of: general information; medical studies and practical medical education; practical work in the first and second years; the third year; externships; and internships. (LBH)

To better assess infant behavior and development in developing countries, cross-cultural psychologists need to more systematically address the following issues: (1) demographic constraints; (2) risk factors; (3) infant care; and (4) the transfer of Western technology to the developing world. (Author/BJV)

A year-long interdisciplinary continuity-of-care elective for second-year, preclinical students in a medically underserved inner-city neighborhood is described. Students were able to learn the skills needed to implement and evaluate long-term health care and to assess the cost effectiveness of various approaches to such care. (MLW)

A large pediatric residency program conducted an extensive analysis of the reliability and validity of the rating forms used to evaluate the pediatric residents enrolled in the program. Data indicate that although the reliability of individual ratings is very low, several factors achieved acceptable levels of reliability when aggregated.…

A national representative survey of primary care physicians (N=648) was conducted to determine how they deal with patients who have substance abuse problems. The survey revealed how physicians identify substance abuse in their patients, what efforts they make to help these patients, and what barriers they find to effective diagnosis and treatment.…

This essay is based on a series of roundtables convened through the Knight Collaborative National Medical Education Roundtable. It reports that the challenges and transformations experienced in recent years by community-based medical schools and clinical campuses offer a lens to the whole higher education enterprise, and asks the fundamental…

A position paper presented to Congress for the development of legislation for the education of health professions personnel is provided. Recommendations include: scholarship program for minority and disadvantaged students; program development for cost effectiveness, health protection and promotion, primary care, target populations, and…

A three-year effort to develop a university health maintenance organization (HMO) into an effective clinical teaching site for the team practice of primary care is described. Initial resistance to team practice and teaching, assessment of HMO team development, and the effectiveness of the HMO as a primary care teaching site are discussed.…

Evaluating a person's physical and psychological make-up along with physical and cultural environment are skills that must be learned by physicians-in-training. The faculty of the Boston City Hospital Primary Care Training Program uses the home visit to help residents develop these skills. (Author/MLW)

A program to prepare future physicians to treat the milder emotional problems often encountered in primary care settings is described. Also reported are the ability of third-year medical students to function successfully in an outpatient setting, the performance of these trainees as compared with that of students in inpatient settings, and an…

The advantages of having a pediatrician, under the supervision of the program director, as member of a family medicine faculty are discussed. That academic role is outlined, and because it is a stopgap position, cautions regarding the future of a pediatric-family-medicine faculty member are offered. (JMD)

Presents a fascinating look at the practice of medicine aboard commercial and military ships in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Contemporary medical practice believed all diseases were created by one of four "humors." In spite of this, and the constant presence of disease, most seamen led relatively healthy lives. (MJP)

This paper examines key steps in the integration of school-based health centers in Massachusetts into managed care and describes the administrative and clinical impact of these relationships. Strategies include enhancing communication between SBHCs and health maintenance organizations, standardizing school-based care, and mandating integration of…